Podcasts about Forbes

From losing his entire $25,000 life savings on his first investment to backing over 70 startups, Andrew Ackerman shares proven strategies for evaluating founders, testing assumptions cheaply, and why the best entrepreneurs see deals where others see nothing. In this episode of the DealQuest Podcast, host Corey Kupfer sits down with Andrew Ackerman, a serial entrepreneur turned early-stage investor and innovation expert. Andrew is currently a strategic advisor and head of Reach Labs at Second Century Ventures, consults on corporate innovation strategies and venture studios, and serves as an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship. He previously served as managing director at DreamIt Adventures, one of the top five accelerator programs in the world. He has invested in over 70 startups and written over 60 published articles for Forbes, Fortune, and other major publications. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: In this episode, you'll discover why Andrew looks for the instinct to hustle for deals rather than focusing on the idea itself, how accelerators fill the gap between friends and family money and proper VC rounds, and why testing assumptions with a five-dollar pack of index cards can save months of development time. Andrew explains the real difference between SAFE notes and convertible notes, what makes lawyers often terrible startup advisors, and the SeatGeek origin story that proves early testing can turn a failing startup into a billion-dollar company. ANDREW'S JOURNEY: Andrew's path started with both grandfathers as entrepreneurs, one running candy shops and the other creating insurance products. Coming out of University of Chicago in the 90s when startups weren't a thing, he chose consulting before realizing the startup world had caught up. His first venture Bunk One provided internet services for summer camps and exited successfully. His second startup taught harder lessons through founder drama and failure. Angel investing came accidentally through a pharma deal he admits he had no business making, but getting lucky early hooked him. Eventually he joined DreamIt Adventures, running their New York office. KEY INSIGHTS: When evaluating founders, Andrew looks for the instinct to hustle. He shared an example of a founder who rented pencils in fifth grade for a nickel a day. Not sold. Rented. That entrepreneurial DNA shows up early and separates successful founders from everyone else. The SeatGeek story proves early testing works. A startup in his accelerator tested conversion rates early instead of waiting, discovered they were completely off, pivoted in seven weeks, and built a billion-dollar company. Lawyers often make terrible startup advisors because their incentive structure is backwards. Billing by the hour doesn't reward speed, and careers focused on avoiding mistakes rather than making deals happen. Perfect for founders thinking about raising capital, anyone curious about how accelerators work, aspiring angel investors wondering how to evaluate founders, and entrepreneurs who want practical frameworks for testing assumptions. FOR MORE ON THIS EPISODE: https://www.coreykupfer.com/blog/andrewackerman FOR MORE ON ANDREW ACKERMAN:https://www.andrewbackerman.comhttps://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Odyssey-Approach-Startup-Success/dp/1032883545/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0http://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewbackermanhttps://x.com/andrewackermanhttps://www.instagram.com/andrewbackerman/FOR MORE ON COREY KUPFER https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreykupfer/ https://www.coreykupfer.com/ Corey Kupfer is an expert strategist, negotiator, and dealmaker. He has more than 35 years of professional deal-making and negotiating experience. Corey is a successful entrepreneur, attorney, consultant, author, and professional speaker. He is deeply passionate about deal-driven growth. He is also the creator and host of the DealQuest Podcast. Get deal-ready with the DealQuest Podcast with Corey Kupfer, where like-minded entrepreneurs and business leaders converge, share insights and challenges, and success stories. Equip yourself with the tools, resources, and support necessary to navigate the complex yet rewarding world of dealmaking. Dive into the world of deal-driven growth today! Guest Bio Andrew Ackerman is a serial entrepreneur turned early-stage investor who has invested in over 70 startups. He heads Reach Labs at Second Century Ventures, previously ran DreamIt Adventures' New York office, and teaches entrepreneurship. He has written over 60 articles for Forbes and Fortune and authored The Entrepreneur's Odyssey, written as a novel because stories stick better than frameworks. Related Episodes Episode 370 - Gerry Hays: Democratizing Venture Capital Through VentureStaking Episode 350 - Tom Dillon: Understanding Business Valuation and Exit Planning Realities Episode 89 - Sherisse Hawkins: Capital Raising Journey and Funding Realities Keywords/Tags angel investing, accelerator programs, startup evaluation, founder assessment, SAFE notes, convertible notes, early stage investing, venture capital, startup testing, lean startup, DreamIt Adventures, Second Century Ventures, startup validation, startup pivots, SeatGeek

What does it really mean to be happy? Even the happiest people aren't happy all the time. Maybe happiness isn't a constant emotion at all — maybe it's a philosophy. A way of living. A sense of meaning shaped by what you do and who you do it for. Stephanie Harrison has spent years studying what truly makes people happy — and she believes many of us have been chasing the wrong version. She is the creator of the “New Happy” philosophy, a powerful rethinking of happiness that has reached millions through art, a newsletter, a podcast, and programs around the world. Her work has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, and Harvard Business Review. You can learn more at https://www.thenewhappy.com. She is also author of New Happy: Getting Happiness Right in a World That's Got It Wrong (https://amzn.to/3WxgOlR). This conversation will challenge how you define happiness — and offer a refreshing, practical way to pursue a deeper, more lasting kind of joy. PLEASE SUPPORT OUR SPONSORS QUINCE: Refresh your wardrobe with Quince! Go to ⁠⁠⁠https://Quince.dom/sysk ⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns. Now available in Canada, too! HIMS: For simple, online access to personalized and affordable care for Hair Loss, ED, Weight Loss, and more, visit ⁠⁠⁠https://Hims.com/SOMETHING⁠⁠⁠ for your free online visit!  SHOPIFY: Sign up for your $1 per month trail and start selling today at ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://Shopify.com/sysk⁠⁠⁠⁠ DELL: Dell Tech Days are here. Enjoy huge deals on PCs like the Dell 14 Plus with Intel® Core™ Ultra processors. Visit ⁠⁠⁠https://Dell.com/deals⁠⁠⁠ PLANET VISIONARIES: We love the Planet Visionaries podcast, so listen on Apple, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you're listening to this podcast! In partnership with The Rolex Perpetual Planet Initiative. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode of the Live Greatly Podcast, Kristel Bauer sits down with conflict consultant and author Anna Lecat to explore how to have tough conversations in a way that strengthens relationships instead of damaging them. If you've ever avoided a difficult conversation, struggled with anger in the workplace, or defaulted to sarcasm or passive-aggressive behavior, this conversation is for you. Anna shares practical strategies to help leaders and professionals navigate conflict with clarity, emotional intelligence, and confidence. Together, Kristel and Anna unpack why passive-aggressiveness is not the answer, what's really behind sarcasm, and how to approach conflict as an opportunity for collaboration rather than division. Whether you're leading a team, managing workplace dynamics, or simply looking to improve your communication skills, this episode delivers actionable insights to help you handle difficult conversations more effectively. Tune in now to learn how to transform conflict into connection. Key Takeaways From This Episode: Why learning how to have tough conversations is essential for leadership and workplace success Practical strategies for navigating anger in professional settings Why passive-aggressive behavior is not the answer What sarcasm often signals beneath the surface How to approach conflict in a way that strengthens relationships ABOUT ANNA LECAT: Anna is an international entrepreneur, intimacy and conflict consultant, and the author of Loving Conflict: Creating Collaboration Where Others See Division. Anna was born in Ukraine, shaped by life across China and the United States, and she now lives in France with her family. Anna speaks five languages, including fluent Mandarin. Her work exists at the intersection of connection, communication, and what happens to us when relationships get hard. For more than twenty-five years, she has led companies, built multicultural teams, and worked with leaders, partners, and families who want to move beyond reactive conflict and toward deeper collaboration. Her approach blends what she's learned with embodied practices inspired by tango, where every movement begins with listening. In this listening, relationships change. Connect with Anna Lecat: Website: https://annalecat.com/  Order Anna's book, Loving Conflict: https://annalecat.com/book/  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anna-lecat/  About the Host of the Live Greatly podcast, Kristel Bauer: Kristel Bauer is a corporate wellness and performance expert, keynote speaker and TEDx speaker supporting organizations and individuals on their journeys for more happiness and success. She is the award-winning author of Work-Life Tango: Finding Happiness, Harmony, and Peak Performance Wherever You Work (John Murray Business November 19, 2024). With Kristel's healthcare background, she provides data driven actionable strategies to leverage happiness and high-power habits to drive growth mindsets, peak performance, profitability, well-being and a culture of excellence. Kristel's keynotes provide insights to "Live Greatly" while promoting leadership development and team building. Kristel is the creator and host of her global top self-improvement podcast, Live Greatly. She is a contributing writer for Entrepreneur, and she is an influencer in the business and wellness space having been recognized as a Top 10 Social Media Influencer of 2021 in Forbes. As an Integrative Medicine Fellow & Physician Assistant having practiced clinically in Integrative Psychiatry, Kristel has a unique perspective into attaining a mindset for more happiness and success. Kristel has presented to groups from the American Gas Association, Bank of America, bp, Commercial Metals Company, General Mills, Northwestern University, Santander Bank and many more. Kristel's work has been featured in Forbes and she has had multiple TV appearances including NBC News Daily, ABC News Live, FOX Weather, ABC 7 Chicago, WGN Daytime Chicago and more. Kristel lives in the Chicago, IL area and she can be booked for speaking engagements worldwide. To Book Kristel as a speaker for your next event, click here. Website: www.livegreatly.co  Follow Kristel Bauer on: Instagram: @livegreatly_co  LinkedIn: Kristel Bauer Twitter: @livegreatly_co Facebook: @livegreatly.co Youtube: Live Greatly, Kristel Bauer To Watch Kristel Bauer's TEDx talk of Redefining Work/Life Balance in a COVID-19 World click here. Click HERE to check out Kristel's corporate wellness and leadership blog Click HERE to check out Kristel's Travel and Wellness Blog Disclaimer: The contents of this podcast are intended for informational and educational purposes only. Always seek the guidance of your physician for any recommendations specific to you or for any questions regarding your specific health, your sleep patterns changes to diet and exercise, or any medical conditions.  Always consult your physician before starting any supplements or new lifestyle programs. All information, views and statements shared on the Live Greatly podcast are purely the opinions of the authors, and are not medical advice or treatment recommendations.  They have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration.  Opinions of guests are their own and Kristel Bauer & this podcast does not endorse or accept responsibility for statements made by guests.  Neither Kristel Bauer nor this podcast takes responsibility for possible health consequences of a person or persons following the information in this educational content.  Always consult your physician for recommendations specific to you.

Travis Chappell delivers a solo masterclass on building a powerful personal brand and network using his proprietary ACT method (Attention, Credibility, Trust), drawn from over 1,600 podcast episodes, hundreds of books, and years of real-world experience in content creation and online marketing. On this episode we talk about: The ACT framework: A = Attention, C = Credibility, T = Trust—and why trust equals transactions. How Travis engineered his own Forbes feature by interviewing the author and networking strategically. Why "best known beats best" and attention is the foundation where money flows every time. Building credibility through high-profile associations (like big-name podcast guests) over one-off media mentions. Maintaining trust by overdelivering on every sale, even small ones, to boost lifetime customer value. Top 3 Takeaways 1. Get attention first—post content relentlessly because every post is a lottery ticket that could explode your reach. 2. Credibility comes from associating with known experts; it's harder than media hits but moves the needle more. 3. Trust must be continually earned through overdelivery, since one bad experience can kill repeat business forever. Notable Quotes "If you're an online marketer and you're not coming up with methods and cool acronyms, then you're not really a marketer." "Best known beats best. You're the best kept secret in your field... but nobody knows that you exist." "Where there's attention, that's where money goes. Attention is where the money flows. 100% of the time." "Every post is a lottery ticket. You never know what's going to be the thing that actually takes off." "The question you should be asking yourself is not does this convert? But does this continue to earn me trust?" Connect with Travis Chappell: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travischappell Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/traviscchappell Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/traviscchappell Other: https://travischappell.com (Website & Podcast) ✖️ ✖️ ✖️ ✖️

Behind every effective leader is someone quietly protecting their time, energy, and focus. When leaders clarify what matters most and empower the right executive assistant to guard it, everything works better — decisions get clearer and you gain margin. Great leaders go further faster when they build a true partnership with a high-capacity executive assistant. Download the application guide: https://bit.ly/4ska4oi Here is what they cover in this episode: The difference between an administrative assistant and an executive assistant — and why it matters. (6:52) Why giving up your calendar may be the most strategic leadership decision you make. (14:11) The emotional intelligence required to become a world-class executive assistant. (17:31) How weekly meetings protect trust, clarity, and momentum. (33:25) The one-sentence responsibility description that changes everything. (41:52) Special thanks to our sponsor BELAY for offering a free download of their resource The Future of Financial Leadership. Just text the word ANDY to 55123 to claim your free guide now. Recognized as one of Forbes' 6 Leadership Podcasts To Listen To In 2024 and one of the Best Leadership Podcasts To Stay in the Know for CEOs, according to Industry Leaders Magazine. If this podcast has made you a better leader, you can help it by leaving a quick Spotify or Apple Podcasts review. You can visit Spotify or Apple Podcasts, and then go to the “Reviews” section. Thank you for sharing! ____________ Where to find Andy: Instagram: @andy_stanley Facebook: Andy Stanley Official X: @andystanley YouTube: @AndyStanleyOfficial See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

FACE FOUNDRIÉ was born from a deeply personal need and built with a sharp entrepreneurial lens. After founding and scaling PRIMP to eight locations and styling nearly a million women, Michele Henry saw firsthand how underserved women felt when it came to accessible, effective skincare. Following the birth of her third child, she experienced hormonal shifts and skin changes that the market simply wasn't addressing—so she created the solution. Designed from day one as a franchise model, FACE FOUNDRIÉ empowers other entrepreneurs to build scalable, community-driven aesthetics businesses with proven systems and brand power behind them. Under Michele's leadership, the company has become one of the fastest-growing private companies in the Midwest, ranking #35 on the Inc. list. Michele's impact has earned her recognition as an EY Entrepreneur of the Year, a Forbes-profiled founder, and a Minnesota 40 Under 40 honoree. With a proprietary product line and curated partnerships, FACE FOUNDRIÉ delivers results-driven services in a modern, approachable environment—bridging the gap between luxury aesthetics and everyday accessibility. In this episode, Michele also discusses: Transitioning from fashion to skincare Franchise marketing secrets: brand cohesion and local market dominance Designing fully customizable facials tailored to individual skin goals The no-downtime facial clients can't stop booking The most requested add-ons, including dermaplaning Building a seamless brand experience from retail roots to skincare studios Why successful founders pivot fast–and don't dwell on missteps Strategic nationwide expansion and scaling with intention We hope you enjoy this episode and gain valuable insights into Michele's journey and the growth of Face Foundrie. Don't forget to subscribe to the Glam & Grow podcast for more in-depth conversations with the most incredible brands, founders, and more. Be sure to check out Face Foundrie at www.facefoundrie.com and on Instagram at @facefoundrie Rated #1 Best Beauty Business Podcast on FeedPost This episode is brought to you by Wavebreak Leading direct-to-consumer brands hire Wavebreak to turn email marketing into a top revenue driver. Most eCommerce brands don't email right... and it costs them. At Wavebreak, our eCommerce email marketing agency helps qualified brands recapture 7+ figures of lost revenue each year. From abandoned cart emails to Black Friday campaigns, our best-in-class team manage the entire process: strategy, design, copywriting, coding, and testing. All aimed at driving growth, profit, brand recognition, and most importantly, ROI. Curious if Wavebreak is right for you? Reach out at Wavebreak.co

North Carolina's hot start on the season includes two series sweeps, midweek success and a tie in the rubber match of the annual East Carolina series. Last weekend's demolition of Le Moyne College provided an opportunity for head coach Scott Forbes to see all of his available position players in action and at the plate and his pitching rotation a chance to hone their craft ahead of the start to the ACC slate. Forbes spoke to Inside Carolina's Tommy Ashley on their weekly show about the progress of his team, how he grades his team's performances regardless of the level of competition and how pitching prospects develop in his program. Forbes and Ashley also discuss things off the field from physical health of players and the individual player responsibilities to that end at the collegiate level as well as the mental health side of being a college athlete. Finally, Forbes details the preparation his players get ahead of a game and the level of knowledge technology and metrics bring to the scouting process. **Call to Action:**   **Subscribe:** Follow 'Inside Carolina' wherever you get your podcasts to never miss an episode!   **Review:** Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify to help us reach more Tar Heel fans!   **Visit:** Explore http://www.InsideCarolina.com for breaking news, recruiting updates, and expert commentary on all things UNC sports.     This show is brought to you by Inside Carolina, the No. 1 site for UNC sports coverage and community. Visit http://www.InsideCarolina.com Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Keith breaks down where the U.S. housing market appears to be headed and which regions and states are quietly winning or losing in the population shuffle since 2020—and what that could mean for real estate investors.  You'll also hear about an intriguing cash-flow play in single-family rentals in select Southern markets. Then, Keith is joined by financial strategist and comedian Garrett Gunderson, who challenges the usual "scrimp and save" advice. Together, they explore how to build real wealth without sacrificing your life today, how high-net-worth individuals often get money wrong, and a different way to think about financial independence, freedom, and investing in yourself. Resources: Get Garrett Gunderson's Killing Sacred Cows audiobook free: DM @GarrettBGunderson on Instagram with the words "Keith Cows." Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/595 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text  1-937-795-8989 to speak with a freedom coach Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review"  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com  Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Keith Weinhold  0:01   Keith, welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, is the future direction of the housing market trending up or trending down? Which states have seen the most population growth? Then powerful wealth mindset tactics with a financial comedian today on get rich education   Speaker 1  0:20   since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors, and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads and 188 world nations. He has a list show guests and keep top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki, get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast or visit get rich education.com   Keith Weinhold  1:04   the same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequel and even chat with President chailey Ridge personally. While it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com that's Ridge lending group.com   Speaker 2  1:38   You're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education.   Keith Weinhold  1:54   Welcome to GRE from Mount Rainier to Mount Rushmore and across 188 nations worldwide. I'm Keith Weinhold, and this is get rich education. I am not a Lambo driving influencer that will take any brand deal just to shill a gambling platform instead. Our core strategy at GRE is aging. Well, I've spoken with a lot of LP investors with capital calls and deals that lost all their money. Well, we approach wealth building with discipline and consistency. It doesn't sound dazzling, but it really shines when things go wrong elsewhere, because at least for the core of our portfolios, we get long term fixed rate debt for income property get paid five ways and win the inflation triple crown, and we do it all with a high degree of passivity. Right before I took the mic today, I got a two sentence email from a property manager that said an air conditioning unit's air handler board had to be replaced for $420 I don't even know what an air handler board really is. Now, the manager sent some photos in a written estimate. I quickly checked chat GPT, and I saw that the price was about right, and replied to my manager to go ahead and have that done. That's it an example of relative passivity. US residential real estate has nominally appreciated over every single 10 year period in modern history, despite some occasional short term downturns, even those are not common. Well, we recently had a guest mention that it's 20 years at the longest like 20 years or less is the period of time between which real estate never goes down. He was right. But you actually can't find any 10 year period where home values fell. What about the 2008 global financial crisis, I think that's the first place that the mind goes. Well back then, home values bottomed out at 208k in 2009 before they started growing again. And 10 years before that, the median price it was 157k in 1999 so even when home values hit their GFC low at that point, they were still up 32% from the previous 10 years. So you can confidently say then that over any 10 year period, home prices are up nationally. Now, how about the future? Well, for the future, there is more evidence of rising home prices. Building permits for new homes have fallen to their lowest level since 2019 that's according to the census bureau. So fewer single family homes are being built. Now we plan to discuss that more on. Next week show when we dive deep on does America really have a housing shortage? But this week, more reasons for future home price bullishness is that the labor market now, it's not doing that great. It sure isn't white hot, but unemployment, which was already low, that recently dropped a touch lower to just 4.3% inflation has fallen to 2.4% and wages are rising faster than that. In fact, our own Fed Chair recently remarked at how he's surprised at the strength of the economy. The property market analytics firm kotality, they now expect home prices to appreciate another four and a half percent this year. They and other firms continue to believe that the Midwest will be the hottest area of home price growth even more than that four and a half percent in that region. That is because not only is the Midwest underbuilt, it's that the prices are so affordable that it's attracting young people. The other factor is that mortgage rates recently dipped just below six into the high fives again, and that can release this pent up housing demand, and think about where we've come from. In late 2023 mortgage rates were about 8% and now lower mortgage rates also reduce the lock in effect, so it can create both more sellers and more buyers. The thing to remember is that 70% to 80% of home sellers are also home buyers because they've got to live somewhere. And first time homebuyers, of course, they buy only, they don't sell anything. In fact, former GRE guest in housing wire lead analyst Logan modeshami and Barry Habib were just positing on this at housing wire's latest summit on how the volume of home sales has been depressed for so long that lower rates could very well trigger a rush of buyers, these kind of people that have been delaying purchasing for years, this pent up housing demand being released if indeed rates go lower. People think they know the future, but we don't really know that that's going to happen for sure. But a lot of optimism about this phase of the housing market supported by not great, but decent economic conditions. Of course, that new housing demand is going to manifest unevenly across the nation. So let's talk about the places that have seen the most population growth from 2020 to today, basically the states that support that housing demand. Well, between 2020 and today, the US has grown by about 10 million people. That's over 3% nearly every state grew. But the bigger story is where that growth is happening. And really, here's the jaw dropper as a region, the South, gained more people than all of the other regions combined, about 7.6 million new residents in the south since 2020 the South's population is up 6% the West's almost 2% the Midwest population is up more than 1% and The Northeast up seven tenths of 1% again, this is not per year. This is total population growth from 2020 to today, Florida and Texas, they led the nation among the big states, both up almost 9% sprinting like they just found out that income tax is optional. The Carolinas in Tennessee are big southern growers too. People clearly keep moving toward warmer weather, a lower cost of living, lower taxes and job markets. Nothing new there. California in New York are the biggest losers in absolute numbers, California losing half of 1% of population in New York, a full 1% people keep moving away from these traditionally expensive, high tax coastal states like a buffet when the crab legs run out, people just getting up and leaving. That's not any sort of news story there, either. These trends help cash flow residential real estate investors like us, because the south aligns with that favorable landlord tenant law and those high ratios of rent income to purchase price. Luckily for us, that's where people are moving too. The Midwest has those phenomena as well, although their growth has been slower.    Keith Weinhold  9:39   Now a few Midwest highlights for you. Since 2020 the population of Indiana is up 2.8% quietly benefiting from Illinois. Escape Velocity, Missouri up almost 2% and that's growing mostly in Kansas City and St Louis suburbs. Ohio at almost 1% that's pretty modest growth overall, but Columbus up 5% that is flexing like it just landed a semiconductor plant there in Columbus, the intermountain west has bicep bulging growth, but it rarely works for us, because rents are only a little higher, but property prices are way higher. Yes, those pretty Rocky Mountain states, great Instagram, tough cash flow now Louisiana, it is a state that confounds people. It's a warm place, and it has a low cost of living, you would think Louisiana would be attracting people in droves for those reasons. Well, then why is its population following Louisiana down nine tenths of 1% since 2020 Well, you've got bleak job prospects that make Louisianans leave its tax competitiveness ranks 31st property insurance costs are high thanks to environmental risk. Louisiana has more swamps than beaches. Even the NFL saints were six and 11, and if they had made the playoffs, that wouldn't have made people move back. And hey, no personal shade here, I enjoy going to the New Orleans investment conference in Cajun culture, in Airboat Tours through the alligator filled Bayou, fun stuff, but for income producing property, you got to seek out different characteristics than just vacation Glee or how Good the gumbo tastes keep emotion separate from investing, Hawaii is America's biggest percentage loser. Its population is down one and a half percent since 2020 its cost of living is stratospherically high, with a median home value of just a little over a million dollars. That results in net outmigration to the mainland parts of the Aloha state now experience natural decrease. That means that deaths exceed births. Natural decrease. That's mostly a phenomenon on the Big Island. That's not where Honolulu is. That's where you have Kona and Hilo when young people can't afford to stay demographic gravity kicks in population loss. Hawaii is also highly dependent on tourism, meaning more volatility in recessions. It has contractor availability issues and higher repair costs, partly due to shipping materials to the remote islands. What about the upsides of Hawaiian real estate? Well, you're just going to have this inherent, strong, long term land scarcity and lifestyle desirability overall. Hawaii isn't bad. It's just hard. And I like Hawaii as a place to vacation, so the best times in my life were in Hawaii. Now, with all this said, These are broad generalities about states which are big places themselves right now. There are certainly Missouri real estate investors listening to me that are actually losing, and Hawaii real estate investors that are winning, and even cash flow positive. I'm talking general trends here, and this is with respect to long term rentals, not short term rentals. If your rent to price ratio is as low as point three or point four, like it often is near the coasts, well then you are speculating on appreciation. That's what that means. All 50 states have opportunity. All 50 states have no go zones. People keep moving south. That's a trend that the pandemic accelerated six years ago. More opportunity is concentrated there. That's got nothing to do with vacation excitement. That is population math, and I'm talking about swimming with the tide here in our Don't quit your Daydream newsletter I recently sent you that colorful population change map that I was describing some of there. More recently, I also emailed you that great and rare map of landlord friendly versus tenant friendly states mapped out and a lot of other great stuff.    Keith Weinhold  14:17   Before we bring in our firebrand guest, Garrett Gunderson, I just learned about a really strong opportunity for a provider of single family rentals and duplexes in Memphis and Little Rock. They're providing a locked in 5% interest rate and 5% property management for five years. Yeah, that's not a throwback to 2020 it's what mid south homebuyers calls their triple five program. They are the oldest and most trusted, maybe turnkey investment provider in the country, operating since 2002 and what they do is they offer these fully renovated, occupied rental properties in Memphis and Little Rock, two of the strongest cash flow markets in the South. With financing and management and rates that make the math work like it hasn't in years. So again, 5% interest, 5% property management fees for a full five years. You know those markets, they already had these investor advantage numbers with rent to price ratios mere point eight in Memphis and Little Rock. But yeah, that low 5% mortgage rate, even for renovated properties, not just new build. That's the kind of spread that turns a good deal into a great one. So to give you an idea, if you get a 30 year fixed rate mortgage loan amount of 125k with a 7% mortgage rate, your principal and interest payment is 832, at a 5% rate, it's just 671, so that's $160 more cash flow right there, and it's made a tad sweetener than that with just a 5% Property Management rate. And I don't know how long that offer is going to last, but it is available now and for the next little while, you can ask about it. When you visit mid southhomebuyers.com that's mid southhomebuyers.com and you can ask them about their triple five program. More next. I'm Keith Weinhold. You're listening to Episode 595, of get rich education.    Keith Weinhold  16:19   Flock homes helps you retire from real estate and landlording, whether it's one problem property or your whole portfolio, through a 721 exchange, deferring your capital gains tax and depreciation recapture, it's a strategy long used by the ultra wealthy. Now Mom and Pop landlords can 721, the residential real estate request your initial valuation, see if your properties qualify@flockhomes.com slash GRE, that's F, l, O, C, K, homes.com/gre. You know, most people think they're playing it safe with their liquid money, but they're actually losing savings accounts and bonds don't keep up when true inflation eats six or 7% of your wealth. Every single year, I invest my liquidity with FFI freedom family investments in their flagship program. Why fixed 10 to 12% returns have been predictable and paid quarterly. There's real world security backed by needs based real estate like affordable housing, Senior Living and health care. Ask about the freedom flagship program when you speak to a freedom coach there, and that's just one part of their family of products, they've got workshops, webinars and seminars designed to educate you before you invest start with as little as 25k and finally, get your money working as hard as you do. Get started at Freedom family investments.com/gre, or send a text. Now it's 1-937-795-8989 Yep. Text their freedom coach directly. Again, 1-937-795-8989,   Dani-Lynn Robison  18:08   this is freedom family investments. Co founder, Danny Lynn Robinson, listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream. You Brenda.   Keith Weinhold  18:24   Today's guest is someone that America knows as the long haired, bearded money guy in the past, he's drawn physical appearance comparisons to Jesus Christ. He's a prominent financial strategist. Founded an eight figure company, hit the Inc 500 he's both a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. He is just an electric speaker, including appearances in front of dozens of billionaires. And he's just got this great way of speaking to financial freedom that hits you differently. He even has a comedy special that's great to welcome back to the show. Garrett Gunderson,   Garrett Gunderson  19:02   that's good to be back. Man. Is really good. Love your energy. Has a nice intro.   Keith Weinhold  19:07   Well, you give a lot of like, nice guidance to people that's somewhat different than they're used to hearing. You know, Garrett, I think a lot of the conventional guidance is, you know, it's not very far above Elementary School advice like, put your credit card in the freezer so you don't use it too often, but a lot of times you speak to either business owners or people that have already had some success, and I think a lot of your underlying mantra is, hey, you better live your best life now   Garrett Gunderson  19:35   I kind of feel like you are your greatest asset, and if you starve out that asset because you don't feed it with knowledge, or you don't invest in yourself, or you don't gain the skills that really matter because you're so addicted to scrimping and sacrificing and building your balance sheet right, trying to build savings accounts and retirement plans and doing all you can to pay off that mortgage. Yeah, you could become a millionaire on paper. But will you live like one? Will you enjoy your. Life. What about all the memories that you miss along the way? What about having quality of life today and creating a life you don't want to retire from? The wealthy people, they didn't get that way because they shrunk their way there. They didn't get that way because they were amazing budgeters. They built businesses. They created value. They learned how to, you know, sell or speak or market or have business acumen that grow business or to hire people, and having those systems that actually impact more people or more deeply impact the people that they serve, because it's about value creation and their value creators. And I think this notion of just thinking, Oh, I could just trade time for money and set money aside. Man, that's a really painful way to get to a million dollars, but Northwestern Mutual, they just put out an article that said, 32 or 34% of millionaires don't feel wealthy, because if you have money tied up in an account that isn't kicking off cash flow, it doesn't feel like wealth. You can't spend that net worth. It's just a statement if you don't learn how to create cash flow. And I love financial independence, where people have cash flow from assets to cover their expenses now their lifestyle is covered from that cash flow. Now they can reinvest every active dollar into themselves and their quality of life, into more cash flowing assets, into taking trips along the way, not just waiting until they're too old to enjoy it.   Keith Weinhold  21:13   You work with business owners all the time, and you've even worked with some ultra high net worth people that still seemed to scrimp and save. Do you think really, what is that the function of? Is it more of the wrong mindset or the wrong tactics when someone acts that way?   Garrett Gunderson  21:32   It's a mindset that's really kind of handed down to them? Yeah, maybe from their parents or grandparents or from a different era, like there's people that were, you know, in the Great Depression, that then tells stories to their family about how tough it was, and you never know when that money could go away. So you got to hold tight, and it's a scarcity mindset. So one of the wealthiest clients I ever had, I mean, this was a guy who he was worth a lot of money, but you would never know it. I saw him on TV one day. I was like, Dude, he needs new clothes, and we found a strategy to save him a bunch of money. He was just buying his inventory with cash or like, let's buy it on a plum card, and you'll get cash back. I just said, Just take 10% of that cash back, which was over $100,000 a month, and spend it on yourself. He's like, Well, I wouldn't know to spend it on I'm like, Well, how about some new clothes to start with? He's like, Okay. And then the next month, he bought a nest system for his house. The next month he bought a sound system. Eventually, saved up enough money to buy a Tesla, which he really wanted, like it was money that was there for him, but it changed his entire paradigm, because now he had a quality of life. He was very philanthropic and donated money. He built massive businesses, but he never treated himself well. He'd never felt like it was okay to spend that money because of his upbringing, because the way that his parents viewed money and the way that their parents viewed money, and it was always something that felt scarce. So it felt like, okay, will this go away? And the reality was, we just found money in your couch cushions, essentially. So why not enjoy it along the way? He eventually bought a home that he loved on the water, that he loves the garden. I mean, it was like a total transformation with that one simple thing to help him heal his relationship with money, overcome scarcity, because he was already highly productive. He just had to break free from this budgetary mindset.   Keith Weinhold  23:09   That's great. It was almost like, Dude, I can see it in you. Before we even talk. You got that code off the rack at Burlington. I swear you can do better than this. Come on, now   Garrett Gunderson  23:17    30 years ago, 30 years ago too. You know, it doesn't even fit anymore.   Keith Weinhold  23:23   Well, you know, I recently dedicated a complete episode Garrett to the way I put it is that the risk of delayed gratification is denied gratification. Now, there are some good things to be said for delayed gratification, I think, especially when you're younger, or you're just starting out in the working world, and you just tried to cover rent for your apartment and you don't have much else. Delaying some gratification is good. You need to form capital. You need to get liquid. I try to avoid saying stacking savings, because that gets people in the mindset of becoming super savers sometimes, and they miss out on returns. But what I mean about the risk of delayed gratification, being denied gratification, if it's taken too great of an extent, is, you know, I'm talking about the guy where, when he was 24 he used to say, Oh, I'm going to visit the Galapagos Islands someday. That's what I want to do. But you can just tell by the time you talk to the dude, when he's 48 he begins to use the past tense for things he wanted to do, for example, then he might start saying, Oh, well, I guess I never did visit the Galapagos Islands. You know, you can tell with people when they use the past tense, and that's when you know that their future is not bigger than their past, and a lot of that is the reflection of their financial status.   Garrett Gunderson  24:40   I got married at age 23 and the first two years, well, it was really like the first year and a half, maybe I was just such a miser. I gave my wife a $400 a month budget for an apartment, and we found out that there's places you don't want to live in Utah. I didn't know it, but she's like, is this what you want? And I was like, This doesn't feel like a safe neighborhood. And then you. Know, I was like, All right, maybe $600 I was still kind of really scarce. And my parents were like, Why don't you just live in our basement, rent free, and my wife's like, sex free. If you think that's where we're living, I'm gonna live in my parents basement, you know? Because I just thought money was something to save. So I saved me over 50% of my income. And a lot of people were like, that's amazing. Congratulations. Great job. And so I felt really good about it, and then I realized that my business wasn't growing as fast as this other person my age. I met him at an event, and a year later, he was doing better. And I was like, Dude, what's going on? I could hear it in your voice. I could hear like, you're just a different person. He goes, Oh, I'm doing two things. One, I just hired this guy, Steve D'Annunzio, and he changed my entire life. And I was like, I need to meet him. He's like, he happens to be here in Vegas. He's from Rochester. Introduced me. I hired him as my coach right away. I'm hearing all these people talk about strategic coach at the same event, and they had a booth. So I signed up for Strategic Coach, which meant I had to part with some of my money. Think it was $7,500 I hired Steve as a one on one mentor, and all of a sudden I was investing in myself, yeah. And I broke free from those chains of like, reduction and restriction into the game of production. And then I even had a situation where a woman called me out at the same event. This was a life changing event where she's like, I wonder what it's like living in a financial prison you built for your wife. It's like, Oh, see, that's what happened. I thought I was responsible, and building that responsibility that's actually building walls. And when I came home for that event, my wife and I started looking for our home. Within a few months, we found one. I bought a home. It was very easily within my means. I basically made as much as I paid for this house that we loved. We lived there for nine years. We built so many memories. You know, we had our two kids while we were there, I started host study groups, and that year, I grew my income by $170,000 with the coaching of strategic coach, Steve dnunzio And this woman, Nancy, calling me out. The next year, it grew by even more because the skills started to compound. I decided from that moment forward, I would spend at least $40,000 a year, which I might be able to reach for some people, but at least $40,000 a year on mentors. Is a guy named Alan. He writes my meal plans and my workouts, and I'm at 10% body fat because he knows exactly what they do. I do what he says. It was worth this $10,000 investment, because now I pay attention what I pay for, and I look at like if I'm my greatest asset, how can I create more energy? How can I create more value? How can I feel better about myself? How can I show up the very best version of I am, so I can deliver the most to the other people. And so I've always just been in amazing groups. I just got back from two different events in Beverly Hills around amazing people, learning incredible things that allow me to grow. I haven't spent a huge amount of money on a mentor last year to figure out something that I hadn't been able to figure out to this point. It's the same thing I did to become a speaker, to become a writer or even learn how to sell or market, you've got to invest in the skill, not just in the savings account. You grow yourself first, and then you grow your money. If you starve yourself out because you're in that miserly mindset, you're going to stunt your growth and never be fully fulfilled.   Keith Weinhold  27:56   You're your own best investment. And yes, this stuff is the varying definition of investing in yourself. Don't live below your means. Grow your means and all of that.   Garrett Gunderson  28:05   Grow your means and be more efficient within your means. I mean, the best way I know how to save is not overpay on tax, which 98% of business owners are doing that today. You know, don't overpay on interest, because you either restructure your loans, renegotiate your interest rates, reallocate underpouring funds to pay it off, or you remove investment drag. A lot of people have unnecessary fees and hidden commissions that drag on their investments. Or just design your insurance properly so it's more efficient. Those four i's, IRS, interest, investments and insurance show you how to keep more of what you make, take some of that money, build up your foundation so you have a peace of mind fund, so you have staying power, at least six months of liquidity and then invest more into yourself or learn how to create cash flow. This is the game the wealthy play. But the poor middle class, they think it's about paying off a mortgage and funding the retirement plan, and they will argue about it until it's too late, when they get there and now their homes paid off, but the property taxes are higher than their mortgage was 20 years ago, you know. Or they have home maintenance they have to take care of, or inflation has destroyed the value. Like if someone were to put away 100 grand and they wait for 30 years if they got 10% which the market did the last 30 years, if you reinvest dividends, they're going to have right around $1.7 million but if they have to pay 2% in fees, fiduciary fees, 12 b1 fees, which are marketing fees for the fund expense ratio, you know, the fees of maybe a retirement plan, and they now have 2% fees. It only goes to 1.1 million. Huge difference. And that 1.1 million if we account for inflation, even if we said inflation was low, like 2.7% over that 30 years. Well, by the time we pay for inflation and tax, guess what? The purchasing power value is like, 300 grand $300,000 that's a problem, and it's because they didn't learn to create cash flow. It's because they didn't learn to invest in themselves. It's because they relied completely on a market they don't control. I'm not saying the market is completely something to avoid. I'm saying we go in sequence. How do you grow your income for. First, then how do you keep more of the income you make with? You know, financial savvy and plugging leaks. Then learn to grow your money, but maybe growing your money. For some I like to think of like three dimensional assets, like real estate's three dimensional. It can grow in equity, it can create cash flow, and it has tax advantages. But my business is three dimensional, the more my business creates cash flow, without me, the more equity it has, and that business has major tax advantages. So most people are one dimensional, pay off a loan, put a money in retirement account. That's the poor, middle class. Wealthy people build a system where they've got three dimensional assets, equity, cash flow and tax savings. And that is a complete game changer, because then they can employ the buy borrowed I strategy, if you have assets like, you know, an individual stock, or if you have assets, like a piece of real estate or a business, you could borrow against it. There's no tax on that five for life, right? You keep refinancing. Or you can even do charitable trust to avoid the taxes upon the sell of those paying no tax when there's gains. Or you can pass it on to the next generation with a step up in basis, which means they get it at the full value and not have to pay the difference. And if you have life insurance, the life insurance will pay back the loan that tax free as well. So buy, borrow, die. I mean, it's a completely different thought process of defer taxes. If you defer taxes, I get it. You could do a Roth IRA or Roth 401. K Sure, that'll let you put after tax money in and grow it. But where's the cash flow? What's the underlying investment? How does it help you create financial independence? How does it help you does it help you grow your skills to become a better investor? We've been taught to be lazy, not that people are lazy. We've just been taught to be lazy with our money. We've been fed a narrative. I don't have the time, I don't have the skill, I don't have the interest, but I want to have it, so I just hand it over. And who do we hand it over to Keith Wall Street. Wall would you trust Wall Street? Like you flew to Frankfurt not long ago. Would you get on Wall Street airlines where they're like, hey, sometimes our planes go up, sometimes they go down. That would brand, and he'd feel inspired, right? Would you go to Wall Street, you know, hospital? Or like, hey, he lost one of your kidneys, and by loss, we stole it and resold it. You know, like, Wall Street doesn't have a brand. That's good. It's boiler room. It's Wolf of Wall Street. It's the movie Wall Street with Michael Douglas. You know, greed is good like yet that's what people put their money into. And you can go to any downtown and any major city, and guess who has the biggest buildings, insurance companies, banks and Wall Street investment companies. So you're taking the size of your home and shrinking it to build up their building and put money in their pocket. And their story is, it's because they're Ivy League, they're smart. They try to make it complicated, but you don't have to know most of the things you think you need to know about finance. The foundational things are important, how to protect your assets, how to design insurance, to transfer risk, how to have some liquidity, how to automate your savings. And then you focus like Warren Buffett would teach. He said, You know how people would become a better investor if they only had 20 investments they could make over their lifetime? He says, I don't diversify because I'm in the know. He's like, I'm a good businessman, therefore I'm a good investor and I'm a good investor because I'm a good businessman. I don't separate the two. Yeah, most people think he's a stock market investor. No, he buys out the companies in the stock market. Rarely does he have minority stakes in it. He does have some of that, maybe with Coca Cola and apple, but he bought a lot of companies outright, whether it was Geico, whether it was See's Candies, whether it was like he buys these companies, he's so far outperformed the stock market by billions of dollars from an index fund like what he has, versus someone that put the same money in an index fund, Warren has billions more from his investments than the person that put all their money in the index fund, even if it was the same amount. It's completely about strategy, not about luck.   Keith Weinhold  33:30   Yeah, it's the Andrew Carnegie, put all your eggs in one basket and then watch your basket. Yeah? Watch that basket like a hawk. Totally. Yeah. I mean, stacks mutual funds, they have what I call those five simultaneous drags. If you think you're getting a 10% long term return over time, subtract out inflation, emotion, taxes, fees and volatility. What do you have left? Not much. But there's no friction there. It is just the easiest thing to do ever since decades ago, 401 K contributions begin to become automated throughout your paycheck, sometimes even automatically, automated   Garrett Gunderson  34:04   values your permission opt out. It's easy. You have to opt out, right? It's Big Brother. You don't know what's best for you. And by the way, how crazy are four one K's. Part of the reason the market has gone up in value is because people consistently fund for one case, whether the market's going up or down, they're told $8 cost average. So that's artificially fueling the market. When we see the numbers, there's a buffet index, and it's like 2.9 times higher than what he's comfortable with, with the stock market, because of how overinflated the market is, partially due to inflation, partially because people put money in. But let's remember, why did 401, K's even come about? Because pensions failed. And by the way, these pensions failed and they had world class money managers managing these multi billion dollar pensions, but they didn't know about something called disinvesting, or didn't know enough about it. When the market goes down and pension money is owed, they still have to pull money out of the pension to pay the employee which disinvests, which pulls more money out of the account. So now instead of just being 10% down, they might be 17% down. And so even if the market comes back 10% it's 10% of only 83% of the money. So not even back to square one. And if it goes down a second year in a row, they're in real trouble. It starts to chip away at the principal, and they can't recover. And that happened to pensions, and they said, Oh, here, we can't handle these. We're going bankrupt. We're going to get rid of pensions. You take care of it. Well, guess what? Vanguard says, the average balance in a 401, k right now is $148,000 how someone's supposed to live on $148,000 even if you could get 10% that's $14,800 a year taxable, that's not going to do it. Even if you have a million dollars, where are you going to put the million dollars to get the return without risking it going down? Maybe you're going to be in treasuries at 5% that's $50,000 taxable per year. You're a millionaire on paper, but living poorly. That's why I'm here to call these things out. I think that my book Killing Sacred Cows, which was my original New York Times bestseller, which is probably how we met. Yeah, I rewrote it. I rewrote it, rereleased it in 2024 and I'll give people the audiobook. They just have to DM me on Instagram. Garrett B Gunderson and DM the word cows with Keith's name, cows and Keith or Keith and cows. I'll hook you up with the book for free, so you can learn about the nine financial myths. We're talking about some of them here, but there's also some comedy in there, so they can laugh after each chapter. I threw some comedy in there. You know, if you like my comedy, I'm not the funniest comedian. I'm just the funniest money comedian. That's the reality.   Keith Weinhold  36:33   When we had the very inventor of the 401 k plan, Ted benna, come onto the show, he revealed to us that when 401 K plans rolled out, they were first called salary reduction plans. They had to scrap that name in order to foster participation. But reducing your salary is still principally what it does to you. You got to think about it that way and blow up some of these myths. But Garrett, you've already given a lot of great technical information about what someone can do, how someone can think differently. Bigger pictures, we're sort of winding down here. You know, when I'm thinking about this whole delayed versus denied gratification thing, how do you meter it out right throughout your life? I mean, what's your earmark your family legacy? How do you meter it out, right so you don't have too much or too little at the end of your life?   Garrett Gunderson  37:15   I like to see this strategy of, like, what would the rockfellers do that I wrote about is, you know, the beginning before that strategy is you pay yourself first, which has always been around Richest Man in Babylon. Tons of books talk about it. My argument is you want to pay yourself at least 15% of your personal income, off the top, to a separate account. Once you get six months in that account, now you start to invest that money, but you build your stability with that peace of mind. And we want 15% because the luxury once enjoyed becomes a necessity. So you want more money in the future, not the future, not less propensity to you know, there's also, just like planned obsolescence, things break down. You have to repair them. Technological change, we're buying new technology that doesn't even exist. I have now subscriptions to a bunch of AI things that help me out, right? But I'm spending more money. There's also taxes, those could go up in the future, or 38 trillion in debt as we film this, which is a crazy number. And there's also inflation. If we give 3% to each of those five factors, that's 15% now again, use the four i's, IRS, interest, investments and insurance to find that money, not just budgeting. But then here's the magic. At least 3% of your income should go to a separate account called the Living wealthy account. That's your guilt free spending, value based spending account, so you enjoy some money along the way. These are the things that are the finer things in life that people might say are wasteful. You know, there's a book called unreasonable hospitality that talks about this, 11 Madison Avenue was the number one rated restaurant in the world. And, you know, will who wrote the book talked about they had 3% of their budget to just go wild on their customers dream making money, right? So to create the special experience in the restaurant, and even the bear, I think was season three, showed some of that process of how they do that. So I highly recommend taking a certain percentage. You get to enjoy along the way. It could be higher than 3% but start there, and you're going to feel better, you're going to have different energy, you're going to show up in a different way. And then from there, I just believe in having trust, so that your money's outside of your estate, and protecting financial predators so you own nothing but control everything. And I personally use life insurance. I use just standard over, you know, like basically properly structured, optimally funded whole life, so that death benefit will come in after I die. It allows me to spend more of my money and then have it replenished so I can enjoy more of my money along the way, because I know that death benefit will be there for my wife or even for my family trust after I'm gone, so I don't disinherit the people that I love.   Keith Weinhold  39:31   Garrett Gunderson, he can take you through these steps, which he calls financially fit, to financially independent, and then finally to financially free. Tell us a little more about that going through those steps.   Garrett Gunderson  39:44   So financial fitness means your financial house is in order. You've got everything handled properly, car insurance, homeowners, liability, disability, medical life insurance, your corporate structures as a business owner, how you pay yourself, your taxes the last three years and move. Moving forward your investments. It's like, you know what it's going on. You've improved your cash flow, and you're dialed in. You're as safe as you could possibly be. Then financial independence is, how can we create income, especially from a business that comes in when you don't, that's people, that's processes, that's technology, so that you can be involved, but you don't have to be involved. This is the part most people miss, yeah, and I think it's crazy. A lot of people have this notion they're just going to work so hard so they can sell their business one day, I'm like, What about just creating a business that you love so much you don't want to sell it? What about giving up the things that are burning you out and have the employees that can take care of that so you do the things that you love and then just enjoy life along the way, take some little trips, take some time off and come back in. The business grows up when you're away, they learn how to do things without you, and then you can still create value into that business. I sold the business in 2021 and really regretted it, because I kind of was so removed from the business. I kind of felt like it lost its soul and I didn't feel connected to it. So this time around, I started a business in July of 2024 I'm like, I'm only going to work with the P with the people I love, building things that I love, and I'm not going to let myself get burned out by doing too much. We're going to take two weeks in Hawaii coming up here in April, just enjoy some time together as a family. We do quarterly family retreats with my wife and kids. We do traditions with my family up at my cabin, like I want to have this great life where it's blurs the lines between work and play. I have a little quote from someone else that talks about that art of life is blurring the lines between work and play, but also just having complete play sometimes that there is no work. So I come back refreshed, relaxed, rejuvenated and ready to create. And so really, that financial independence gives you permission to swing for the fences and what you do, knowing your foundation is handled, knowing that your lifestyle is covered, from assets to create cash flow gives you work optional freedom. But instead of retiring, think, what could your biggest impact be like? Create the life you don't want to retire from. Create a vision so compelling you can dedicate your life to it and find that the win is actually in the work, not just the outcome. I think that is the elegance of we win when we play, and when we have more play in our life. We don't try to escape from something. And when you start something, you might have to do things you hate, but you can eventually delegate it, and then life becomes great. I mean, one of my early coaches, Dan Sullivan, who I mentioned, a strategic coach. He's in his 80s, still behemoth of creating value in the in the market. To listen to him, you know, he's phenomenal. He's made such a huge difference in my life, and he has no intent of retiring. He just gets smarter every year, adds more value, builds more infrastructure, and he's the one that taught me the merit of free days, just taking time off, taking time away. So, yeah, that's financial independence. Is cash flow, and then financial freedom is a state of mind. It's when money is no longer the primary reason or excuse you would do or not do something. It's a consideration, but it's no longer the consideration means that you have a healthy relationship with money. Money is an asset and an ally, not an enemy. You don't come from a place of scarcity. You come from a place of abundance. You can be more present with your family and doing what you do without feeling distracted. I think wealth is our ability to be present, not necessarily how much money we have in a bank account. I think we have a good amount of money in a bank account, and we can be present. That is like true wealth.   Keith Weinhold  43:12   It harkens back to the John D Rockefeller, he who works all day has no time to make money. Rockefeller would have said, you can architect a wealth plan if your head is down on the assembly line, that means gradually move your offer. It's from trading your time for dollars over to owning assets that pay you to own them. Garrett's comedy special is called the American Ream. There's no D in that word, R, E, A, M. You can look that up, Garrett. It's been enlightening as always. Thanks so much for coming back onto the show.   Garrett Gunderson  43:43   Hey man, good to be back.   Keith Weinhold  43:51   Always. A lively conversation with Garrett, besides some great mindset perspective, he's really good at saving you tax and setting you up with asset protection. Though he's not as real estateish as me, he's pretty savvy. For example, He's aligned on the fact that, for example, say you have an 80k debt. Well, it doesn't necessarily mean that it makes sense for you to pay that off sometimes it does, but what happens to your net worth anytime you pay off an 80k debt, well, let's see. You've reduced your asset side by 80k and you've reduced your debt side by 80k so your net worth is the same, and retiring the debt means that you might have lost leverage, lost cash flow and lost tax advantages, all at the same time on Instagram, send a DM with the two words, Keith Cows to Garrett B Gunderson, and he'll hook you up with his book for free next week on the show, we go deep on does America really have a housing shortage with an expert analyst. Until then, I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your Daydream.    Speaker 4  45:01   Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively   Keith Weinhold  45:29   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth. Building, get richeducation.com  

Are you afraid of “bulking up”? Do you think lifting heavy will make you look masculine? Or maybe you're exhausted… and can't imagine adding one more thing to your plate?In this week's Brave Table conversation, I sit down with strength expert Holly Perkins to unpack a truth most women have never been taught:With every passing birthday… you are losing muscle.If you've ever said:“I'm already tired.”“I don't want to get bulky.”“I just want to feel strong again.”This episode is your wake-up call. Because muscle isn't about aesthetics; it's medicine.What you'll get out of this episode… Why strength training is NOT about bulkingThe hidden reason you're feeling fatiguedHow muscle optimizes testosterone and estradiol naturallyThe truth about inflammation and nervous system healthWhy cardio and Pilates alone won't get you thereThe specific protocol women 30+ should followHow strength training may even delay menopauseThe surprising connection between muscle and visceral belly fatConnect with HollyFREE 3-day Workshop “Muscle for Life” / https://www.hollyperkins.com/bravetable IG / https://www.instagram.com/hollyperkins The Holly Perkins Health Podcast / https://www.hollyperkins.com/podcast BOOK / https://www.amazon.com/Womens-Health-Lift-Get-Lean/dp/1623364787 This Episode is Sponsored by Chai Tonics

Subscribe to our Newsletter:https://theultimatepartner.com/ebook-subscribe/Check Out UPX:https://theultimatepartner.com/experience/ The Shift from Attention to Trust In this compelling episode, Ashleigh Vogstad, CEO of Transcends, joins Vince Menzione to discuss the tectonic shifts occurring in the global partner ecosystem. Ashleigh shares her firsthand experiences studying AI at Oxford, the rise of the “Trust Economy,” and the controversial Amazon vs. Perplexity lawsuit. They dive deep into the practicalities of becoming a “Frontier Firm,” the importance of building proprietary AI agents, and the ways Gen Z and AI-driven marketplaces are revolutionizing the buyer journey. Whether you are looking to win Microsoft Partner of the Year or navigate the demise of traditional SaaS, this conversation provides a strategic roadmap for leading through the AI revolution. Key Takeaways The economy is shifting from a focus on human attention to a foundation of verified trust. Future commerce will involve “selling to machines” as AI agents begin making purchasing decisions on behalf of humans. Microsoft is prioritizing “Frontier Firms” that integrate AI into every customer interaction and internal process. Gen Z buyers are prioritizing product value and “dupes” over traditional brand names, with 75% of buyers expected to be Gen Z by 2030. To win Partner of the Year, organizations must publicly celebrate “better together” stories with validated customer wins. Modern leaders should transition from a “growth mindset” to a “frontier mindset” to keep pace with rapid technological change. https://youtu.be/xJmd43NvfnI If you're ready to lead through change, elevate your business, and achieve extraordinary outcomes through the power of partnership—this is your community. At Ultimate Partner® we want leaders like you to join us in the Ultimate Partner Experience – where transformation begins. Key Tags Trust Economy, Selling to Machines, Amazon vs Perplexity Lawsuit, Frontier Firm, AI Agents, Copilot Studio, Anthropic Claude, Microsoft Partner of the Year, B2B Marketplaces, Gen Z Buyer Behavior, Digital Freedom, AI Therapy, Ray Kurzweil Singularity, Substack Growth, Co-selling Partnerships, MCI Funding, Azure Accelerate, Agentic AI, Transcending Tech, Ashleigh Vogstad. Transcript Asleigh Vogstad Audio Podcast [00:00:00] Ashleigh Vogstad: The attention economy is about selling to human beings. Now, if you look at something like the Amazon versus Perplexity lawsuit, the whole underlying premise is around the shift of no longer selling to humans directly, but of selling to machines. [00:00:19] Vince Menzione: We just finished Ultimate Partners Winter Retreat here in beautiful Boca to a sold out crowd. Today I’m joined by Ashley Waad. The CEO of transcends for this compelling discussion. Ash, welcome back to the podcasts. [00:00:34] Ashleigh Vogstad: It’s so good to be here, Vince. Thank you. Uh, [00:00:37] Vince Menzione: so well, we’re back in Boca again and we were just here yesterday for the Ultimate Partner Executive Winter Retreat in person. [00:00:44] Vince Menzione: What a great event we had together. [00:00:46] Ashleigh Vogstad: It was phenomenal. Thank you so much for having us there and on stage and, and genuinely the community is like a family, so seeing so many familiar faces and spending some quality time was just great. [00:00:57] Vince Menzione: It has really, truly become like family. It really, I’m, I’m, I’m having so much fun with this and getting to watch. [00:01:04] Vince Menzione: Not just our business grow and our community grow, but to see all of our friends and, uh, organizations like Transcends that have been with us since the beginning, since the very first ultimate partner acting even before the first ultimate partner. And, uh. We were just talking about. I’d love to catch up with what you’ve been doing. [00:01:22] Vince Menzione: Like you just came, you’ve been on a whirlwind. I mean, you’re always, every time like it’s, where’s Ash? She’s, uh, she’s on a plane again, or she’s on, she’s on the slopes. But tell us where you were just this week. [00:01:34] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. The week started in a snowstorm, actually transporting myself from Whistler. I didn’t know if I would make it to the airport, but then down to Silicon Valley and [00:01:45] Vince Menzione: Nice. [00:01:46] Ashleigh Vogstad: Wow, that place is just inspiring and eyeopening. I mean, seeing the Nvidia campus, a MD, it’s really just other worldly and it had me reflecting on, it’s [00:02:00] Vince Menzione: not Whistler. Yeah, it’s [00:02:02] Ashleigh Vogstad: definitely not Whistler. Definitely not Whistler [00:02:05] Vince Menzione: about, [00:02:06] Ashleigh Vogstad: um, yeah, it just had me reflecting on being down there. I used to spend a lot of time in the Valley around 2017 and. [00:02:13] Ashleigh Vogstad: In this theme of AI and kind of what’s really coming, I was, I was thinking about, I had met this woman, Julia Moss Bridge, who’s a neuroscientist studying ai. She had a project called Loving Ai, and I was down there when they had borrowed Sophia, this humanoid robot from S and Robotics. [00:02:32] Vince Menzione: Oh yes. Yes. [00:02:33] Ashleigh Vogstad: Really interesting. [00:02:34] Ashleigh Vogstad: Sophia’s actually a citizen of Saudi. Mm-hmm. First, first robot to actually be made citizen of a country. So they had Sophia set up and the part that was just mind boggling at the time was that Sophia was hosting in real life therapy sessions with actual human beings sitting across the table. And what really struck me as. [00:02:59] Ashleigh Vogstad: Kind of just, you know, that was only eight, nine years ago. And that was esoteric. Wacky and [00:03:05] Vince Menzione: eerie. [00:03:05] Ashleigh Vogstad: Weird. [00:03:05] Vince Menzione: Eerie at the time. [00:03:06] Ashleigh Vogstad: Incredibly eerie. Yeah. I mean, a, a human getting, uh, you know, therapy sessions from a robot sitting across the table. Yeah. And it just had me thinking how far we’ve come today. In 2025, Harvard Business Review said that therapy is actually the number one use case for ai. [00:03:26] Vince Menzione: I’ve heard that. That is striking. I go back to COVID. We were having this conversation last night at at the dinner for the Ultimate Partner event, and I think that COVID allowed us to transcend, [00:03:42] Ashleigh Vogstad: mm-hmm. [00:03:42] Vince Menzione: No pun intended there, but actually accelerate where we are today, that the acceptance of AI and the acceleration, or the ability to accept change so quickly. [00:03:56] Vince Menzione: Started with COVID because we were so, so we were forced on whatever it was, March 10th I think, here in the United States to shut down everything and move to this remote life. [00:04:08] Ashleigh Vogstad: Mm-hmm. [00:04:09] Vince Menzione: And I think we’ve been shocked by that. I think our systems have all been shocked by that. And then here comes chat GBT in November of 2022 and we’re like. [00:04:20] Vince Menzione: Shocked in some respects, but like really everyone has embraced it in such a strong way, and now we’re getting. It’s almost daily update. You know, we’re gonna talk, I know we’re gonna talk about Anthropic and some of the things that’s been happening just in this last month that are striking and changing that have a lot of organizations trying to navigate, which is what, you know, you, you help organizations do. [00:04:43] Vince Menzione: But it feels like this is happening so fast and will continue to happen so fast. And as I said yesterday, I don’t know what this world’s gonna look like by 2030. [00:04:53] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, and I think the thing is, is that nobody knows what the world is gonna look like in 2030. I’ve been reading Ray Kurz Well’s, the Singularity is nearer, so the original book, the Singularity is near and he’s known to be a very accurate predictionist on the future. [00:05:11] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. But even with someone like that, you know, there, there nobody really knows what the world is gonna look like. And when you talk about COVID. At transcends, we have a value of digital freedom. So I founded the business in 2018, which was pre COVID. I as a fully remote organization, and at the time that was, you know, more groundbreaking, but then very quickly with CI that, that became the so-called new normal. [00:05:37] Ashleigh Vogstad: But we’re always thinking about. You know, remote first doesn’t mean remote only, and I think in this tide of what you’ve talked about, technological change being more acceptable and the pace of change. One of the interesting things that we see as a go-to-market agency is that in-person events are increasing. [00:05:56] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:05:57] Ashleigh Vogstad: People want and crave the face-to-face. Just like with the ultimate partner series. [00:06:02] Vince Menzione: I felt it. So it was striking yesterday. It, it seems like it’s, again, this was event number nine for us, but to see the, um, uh, receptiveness isn’t the right term, but it was this, uh, people, the, the embracing. Of seeing each other and hugging each other and being in the same room with each other. [00:06:22] Vince Menzione: And even people that didn’t know each other, like by the, the, as the day evolved, this, uh, connection that they all seemed to have with one another during the sessions and participating, everyone actively participated in the sessions. And, um, I said this in the beginning, we’re not a Slack channel and we’re not like some post on LinkedIn. [00:06:43] Vince Menzione: Uh, we’re there, there’s no playbook that’s set today around partnerships or even go to markets and marketing that we could espouse and say, this is the playbook for the next year. Right. It’s, it’s changing so rapidly. [00:06:55] Ashleigh Vogstad: So rapidly, [00:06:57] Vince Menzione: and you’ve embraced it. And I, and what we’re gonna talk about right now, I mean, I, I, you know, you’ve embraced AI in such a strong way. [00:07:04] Vince Menzione: Um, personally and with your business, I want to, I wanna dive in here a little bit. First of all, a couple things For those of those who are listening who don’t know you, I think maybe just a moment about transcends and your role, and then I wanna dive in on how you’re thinking about ai because I know you’re doing some things personally. [00:07:22] Vince Menzione: I want you to share that with, with our listeners and viewers today. [00:07:25] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, great. And I just wanna comment that it was a cool moment yesterday being up on stage with yourself and Mark Monday from ServiceNow and having the audience so engaged and active and Nina Harding from Microsoft stepping up and entering the conversation. [00:07:40] Vince Menzione: So cool. [00:07:41] Ashleigh Vogstad: It just made for such a collaborative experience, which was a cool moment, but yeah. Um, so. I founded this business, transcends a go-to-market agency after being at Microsoft myself. And really our differentiation is deep strategic partnerships with hyperscalers, whether that’s AWS, Google, Microsoft, and you know, that. [00:08:03] Ashleigh Vogstad: It comes with a challenge to be on the leading edge of technology. [00:08:08] Vince Menzione: Yes, [00:08:09] Ashleigh Vogstad: it, it’s really an imperative for our business and we are an AI first firm. Microsoft talks a lot about Frontier Firm, and I’ll take a, a different kind of angle on it. You know, when I think about Frontier. I now think about it as instead of the growth mindset, I now think about a frontier mindset. [00:08:28] Vince Menzione: Frontier mindset. You have to change my principles. [00:08:32] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, maybe, like you said, the world is changing so rapidly. Yeah, it’s [00:08:36] Vince Menzione: changing rapidly. [00:08:36] Ashleigh Vogstad: And what a frontier mindset means is that as we’re approaching work for our clients, we are thinking about AI innovation in every single customer. Interaction, customer innovation. [00:08:49] Ashleigh Vogstad: So today we’re building AI agents into much of the work that we’re delivering for clients. And as a business owner and leader, I’ve been challenged to also think critically around how I’m choosing to run the company. And right now we’re going through a huge overhaul of where we have data sitting in silos and different applications. [00:09:09] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yep. And getting that into one place with one view so we can start layering on more insight. AI innovation. [00:09:17] Vince Menzione: Yeah. And data’s such an critical part, part of this, as we, we talked about yesterday. But you know, even the, what you said, which is, would, would’ve been striking a year ago to say, we’re an AI first, uh, agency isn’t as striking anymore. [00:09:32] Vince Menzione: Uh, we heard Nina when we were having this conversation on stage yesterday, say that it’s an imperative at Microsoft that the agencies that they choose to work with, the third party vendors that they work with have to be an AI first organization. I have to be a frontier firm, and so I’m a, I am sensitive to the word frontier firm. [00:09:53] Vince Menzione: I understand why Microsoft uses it and I understand the value of what we used to call, you know, customer zero or back in the day we used to say eating your own dog food, but essentially being an organization that has leaned in, in a way, and with ai. Even more so, so important to do it. So tell us, I know you’ve done some things personally as well, but tell, tell us what you’ve done with the organization. [00:10:18] Vince Menzione: Uh, you talked about data and making data available and having, having a true data state as opposed to silos of data, but then you also made some personal investments and sacrifices. I would say. [00:10:30] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. [00:10:30] Vince Menzione: Yeah. In terms of what you’re doing around ai, [00:10:32] Ashleigh Vogstad: so I mean, let’s start on the personal side. I’m the CEO of my organization, and you can read in books or news articles that it is critical for AI transformation to start at the C-suite and specifically in the CEO seat. [00:10:46] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:10:46] Ashleigh Vogstad: And that really. Landed for me and so I’m personally leading in About two weeks ago, I built an agent, just end-to-end on my own, got into copilot studio. Wow. Got comfortable with the interface. You know, I was clunky moving around in there at first, chose my model. You know, I went with one of the anthropic Claude models for this particular project and built up an agent that can deliver executive communications like. [00:11:14] Ashleigh Vogstad: Thought leadership blogs, uh, LinkedIn posts, but in a particular human being’s voice by ingesting things like their social profiles, their SharePoint sites, where they live and work. And it has been so surprising doing an ab test between just what a chat GBT or a copilot could produce. [00:11:32] Yeah. [00:11:33] Ashleigh Vogstad: In comparison with the authenticity of the voice coming from the agent. [00:11:37] Ashleigh Vogstad: Uh, it was just a really cool experience to roll up the sleeves and get in there. But also I think the, the investment that you’re referring to is, I made a big decision to return to school and uh, got accepted to go to Oxford. [00:11:52] Vince Menzione: Wow. [00:11:52] Ashleigh Vogstad: And I’m studying artificial intelligence there. [00:11:54] Vince Menzione: That is incredible. That is incredible. [00:11:57] Vince Menzione: Oxford, uh, we’ve heard of that school before here in the United States. [00:12:03] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, it’s been a really great experience. It’s in person, so I’m traveling there about every 60 to 90 days and living on campus. I mean, really, Oxford isn’t. Formally a campus, it’s sort of a, a city and a university all, all ruled into one and the experience has been really powerful. [00:12:21] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yes. One of the things I wanted to get outta the program was a more global perspective, and it’s been fascinating to me that about half the faculty so far, or or professors, guest lecturers that have been coming into the program have been from China or very direct experience working in the Chinese market. [00:12:38] Vince Menzione: That is fascinating. [00:12:39] Ashleigh Vogstad: It’s been a completely different view. Or for example, you know, really digging into some of the legal cases that are driving precedence for how AI is interacting with corporations. [00:12:51] Vince Menzione: Mm. [00:12:51] Ashleigh Vogstad: One of the big ones for me has been looking at Amazon versus p perplexity. This is still a live case that’s happening right now. [00:12:58] Ashleigh Vogstad: And you know, I think it was Forbes magazine that the headline was the End of Commerce for this case because it’s really about. How human beings are being replaced with machines and hearing some of the world’s leading thinkers, leading AI researchers on these topics has just been really expansive. [00:13:19] Vince Menzione: It’s fascinating. [00:13:20] Vince Menzione: I mean, it’s, this started a couple years ago with, uh, Hollywood, in fact. Suing the industry or suing the technology companies with regards to, uh, employment, right? Mm-hmm. About the, the, uh, copyright infringement and what’s gonna happen in the entertainment industry. And I think that was just a one very small example. [00:13:40] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, voice people think about DeepFakes. Yeah. And they think about video, but actually voice is a big issue. And you look at the, um, you know, the what happened between Scarlett Johansson and her voice in her, and then open AI rolling out a voice that sounded identical. Sounds like her. [00:13:59] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:13:59] Ashleigh Vogstad: To Scarlett Johansen and, and where that went. [00:14:01] Ashleigh Vogstad: It’s, it, this is a new ground for, for everybody that we’re going through right now. [00:14:07] Vince Menzione: It is. We can dive and go in so many different directions, but let’s talk about marketing and advertising since that’s kind of. Transcends core, and a lot of the people that watch and listen to us are in the partnership world. [00:14:22] Vince Menzione: They’re leading organizations, they own organizations, the the chief executives or CVPs of organizations. Let’s talk about advertising and where that’s going. [00:14:32] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, great. [00:14:33] Vince Menzione: Yeah, [00:14:33] Ashleigh Vogstad: I mean, uh, I love Marshall McCluen. He’s a Canadian theor, uh, media theorist, and in 1964, he very famously said, the medium is the message. [00:14:43] Ashleigh Vogstad: And what that really means when you peel back the layers is that every type of communication medium has these inherent biases. And I think what we’re experiencing right now is this new medium of artificial intelligence, and I’m really interested in exploring what that means for the media world. So. If I gonna take you back to 1997, there’s this really famous, the Innovator’s Dilemma. [00:15:10] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yes. Kind of a classic business 1 0 1 type book by Clayton Christensen. Yes. And he talks about this theory of disruption where new technologies, emerging technologies start at the low end of the market. They gain this momentum and they eventually displace incumbents. And you know, sometimes seemingly out of nowhere. [00:15:28] Vince Menzione: Yeah. And Microsoft was a good example of this at that time. [00:15:32] Ashleigh Vogstad: Def, [00:15:32] Vince Menzione: yeah. [00:15:33] Ashleigh Vogstad: All the big players. All the big players. I mean, Google go for search as well, right? So that’s one of the classic examples. And so. If we look at storytelling technology, you have things like chat, GBT and Sora entering the scene. And in the beginning, you know, they’re producing a shitty first draft. [00:15:51] Ashleigh Vogstad: Uh, you know, it’s things like post-apocalyptic dogs with five finger human beings. Yeah. Things like this. But, you know, and they really lacked emotional resonance. But as we all know. That’s not the case anymore. No, it’s [00:16:05] Vince Menzione: not. [00:16:06] Ashleigh Vogstad: AI is increasingly producing content that is very powerful and is starting to resonate with people. [00:16:13] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, I’m definitely not a neuroscientist, but if we, we look into the neuroscience, it’s your cortical sal circuit that. Kind of is responsible for pattern recognition and it compares what you’re seeing in the real world with what you expect to see. So when you take this into a space of advertising, you know, if there’s an ad that is AI generated, that is just weird and kind of. [00:16:38] Ashleigh Vogstad: Tweaking for you. [00:16:39] Vince Menzione: Like that robot we were talking about earlier, [00:16:41] Ashleigh Vogstad: like the robot we were Exactly, yeah. Like Sophia, you enter what psychologists call the uncanny valley, so it’s like what you’re looking at isn’t exactly what you’re expecting to see and the Spidey sense is, is tweaking. You know, that’s a low place of emotional resonance. [00:16:58] Ashleigh Vogstad: This world is changing really, really quickly and we’re seeing AI generated media make huge impacts in the market Now, tools like Luma Dream Machine, I mean, it’s incredible what they can achieve today. [00:17:11] Vince Menzione: It’s fascinating. We see it in, you know, I spend a lot of time on LinkedIn. That’s sort of the world of our business community, and you can very easily detect when someone is doing a post. [00:17:22] Vince Menzione: Or they’re writing an art, whatever they’re doing. Right. Some type of draft of something. Uh, and you can tell when it’s ai, I mean, it’s so easy to tell, and even people are generating reports and claiming that their research papers or studies or whatever they call them, uh, and it’s AI generated and it’s just the authenticity isn’t there. [00:17:39] Vince Menzione: The, the sense that this is real. That it can be trusted is not there. And I think trust is what we’re talking about here too, as well. [00:17:47] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. I mean, let’s go to authenticity ’cause that’s super important. Yeah. And I know a lot of your listeners, you come from the hyperscaler world of partnerships. You need to have that differentiated, better together story. [00:17:59] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. It’s really important to have an authentic voice in market. And I think about that also in terms of platforms and channels. We’re seeing a decrease in certain major social media platforms, and yet Substack spiked 48% in monthly active users last month. [00:18:15] Vince Menzione: That’s [00:18:16] fascinating. [00:18:16] Ashleigh Vogstad: Um, you know, and I think that one of the reasons is it’s viewed as a more authentic channel where you’re getting thought leadership from people that you’re, you know, genuinely interested in hearing their, their points of view. [00:18:28] Ashleigh Vogstad: And I think that’s really an important piece in here. [00:18:31] Vince Menzione: Yeah, you mentioned this yesterday and you had me thinking about it as well because we have used LinkedIn for everything internally, our newsletter, which has been around for six or seven years now. But that Substack is really, and I go to Substack too, to, if I really wanna dig in on a topic. [00:18:47] Ashleigh Vogstad: Mm. [00:18:47] Vince Menzione: And there’s a particular author that I like their point of view, I’ll follow, I’ll follow them on Substack. [00:18:53] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. I mean, and this comes, maybe brings us around to who is the buyer and who is the audience, and who do we need to be thinking about when we’re designing sales and marketing programs. And really we’re, we’re shifting into the place of the Gen Z buyer by 20 30, 70 5% of buyers are gonna be Gen Z. [00:19:12] Ashleigh Vogstad: They’re gonna control 12 trillion in. Spend [00:19:16] Vince Menzione: by 2030. ’cause we, we’ve been, we’ve been saying that the millennial is the new buyer the last three years. I think Jay said it right here at this stage. [00:19:23] Ashleigh Vogstad: Mm. [00:19:24] Vince Menzione: Um, so now it’s Gen Z. [00:19:27] Ashleigh Vogstad: And they’re buying online. Yeah, they’re buying in marketplaces. Yeah. So a stat recently was that roughly half of them made purchases on the social platforms of YouTube, Instagram, or TikTok in the last month. [00:19:39] Ashleigh Vogstad: I mean, that buyer behavior of being inside. Social type application and directly making a purchase. And I think in the B2B world, we need to take lessons from here and start thinking more front and center than we even have been around marketplaces. I mean, part of my reason for being in Silicon Valley this week was to celebrate a $12 million transaction that happened via Marketplace and two years ago that would’ve been a huge deal. [00:20:06] Ashleigh Vogstad: Huge, [00:20:07] Vince Menzione: huge. [00:20:07] Ashleigh Vogstad: And, and it still is a really big deal, but these things are becoming. More and more common experiences. Very much so. We need to be there and in that conversation. [00:20:16] Vince Menzione: So how are you thinking about it? How are you directing your clients to behave or act around it? What are you, what are you doing exactly that we could take to this community perhaps and share with them. [00:20:28] Ashleigh Vogstad: I’ll bring it back to the authenticity piece because you need to have a product that delivers value first and foremost. There is, there is no substitution for that. Yeah, and what I would say is. One of my professors at Oxford, Eric Zow, he has this theory that I’m really digging into and finding very fascinating, which is that for the last several decades we’ve been in the attention economy, and that’s shifting to the trust economy. [00:20:55] Ashleigh Vogstad: Now the attention economy is about selling to human beings. Yeah. It’s about the, the business model is essentially that you need human being eyeballs on lists of recommendation links. Yeah. Whether that’s from Google or from, you know, searching, shopping on Amazon, you get this list of recommendation links and the economic engine that drives that business model is advertising. [00:21:19] Ashleigh Vogstad: Now, if you look at something like the Amazon versus Perplexity lawsuit, the whole underlying premise is around the shift of no longer selling to humans directly, but of selling to machines, or in other words, agents who are making purchases, s on behalf on your behalf. And an agent isn’t going to be razzle dazzled by some inauthentic story. [00:21:44] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:21:44] Ashleigh Vogstad: They’re gonna be looking for third party validation on Exactly. You know, they need to be sure that they’re making the right decision. [00:21:51] Vince Menzione: They’re gonna look at surveys, they’re gonna look at customer comments. Like if I went through my Amazon site and I was looking to see what people said about the purchase or the product and specifically Exactly. [00:22:01] Vince Menzione: The agent’s gonna do this on my behalf, is what you’re saying. [00:22:04] Ashleigh Vogstad: This is what I’m saying. Yeah. And, and. I believe that to layer on top of, you know, Eric Z’s philosophy, I’ve been thinking about this in terms of the hyperscaler world, and I think that this is the time to lean into co-selling partnerships. [00:22:18] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, because being third party validated by somebody like AWS Microsoft and having all that co-sell data, what are your recent wins? Yes, that’s really high integrity, trusted data source for an agent to make a purchasing decision, and marketplaces are a key part of that. [00:22:35] Vince Menzione: So we’ll move from AI will take a, a more active role in the marketplace. [00:22:40] Ashleigh Vogstad: I definitely believe so. [00:22:42] Vince Menzione: Which makes total sense. I, you know, we’ve been doing this for nine or 10 years now, and when I was at Microsoft, we started co-selling. In fact, it was, uh, Aaron Feiger was up on stage yesterday talking about it. Right? January of 2016, co-selling began. [00:22:55] Ashleigh Vogstad: Mm. [00:22:56] Vince Menzione: And there were only a few companies doing it. [00:22:59] Vince Menzione: Right. So she worked with one of the very first ones that were doing it. Uh, the challenge we have today is there are tens of thousands of partner organizations in the marketplace that are all trying to get the attention of the Microsoft sellers. Hmm. As, or the Google sellers or the AWS sellers and tell their story. [00:23:19] Vince Menzione: And a seller only has so many minutes in a day, they have a quota that they have to hit. These quotas are tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars of annual quota of cloud consumption. And I wanna sell my $50,000 widget, whatever it is. Yeah. Right. And I, I don’t understand why I’m not getting a callback. [00:23:38] Vince Menzione: And this, this is the dilemma we’ve faced because of, because of this, uh, scarcity of time and this over overwhelming of tech, you know. Tech, tech buyers trying to make this all happen, so now the AI can come in and help me solve for it as a seller, right? [00:23:55] Ashleigh Vogstad: The AI is definitely acting as an interface to make recommendations to field sellers in different organizations and. [00:24:04] Ashleigh Vogstad: To, to kind of take this on a, a tangent. Dupes. So a dupe. I know people of my generation, we’d think about this like a knockoff Right. You know, a knockoff handbag. [00:24:15] Vince Menzione: Yep. [00:24:15] Ashleigh Vogstad: Dupes have exploded. [00:24:16] Vince Menzione: Fake. Fake Rolexes. [00:24:18] Ashleigh Vogstad: Exactly. The fake Rolex for sure. And I think it was in December, P WC rolled out a survey. 81% of Gen Z were planning to purchase a dupe this holiday season. [00:24:29] Vince Menzione: That’s wild. [00:24:30] Ashleigh Vogstad: Dupes can be, you know, we gave luxury, good examples, but Louis [00:24:34] Vince Menzione: Vuitton and yeah. So, [00:24:35] Ashleigh Vogstad: but furniture, these sorts of things. And the important takeaway here for tech is the same principle will land, is that people are looking for value out of a product, not necessarily a name brand. AI is accelerating this whole process, and agents are gonna be looking at the same thing. [00:24:56] Ashleigh Vogstad: They’re looking for that authenticity in terms of the actual product value. So, you know, beware there’s lots of disruption happening in the market right now with this dupe mentality, which is actually a cultural shift talking about I appreciate value over a superficial. Brand name. In some cases, there’s also a, a small contrary trend where certain luxury goods are rising because yes, things are never that simple. [00:25:22] Vince Menzione: So you work with a lot of these tech companies, a lot of SaaS companies, is we, we call them ISVs, we also call them, uh, software development companies. Now we keep changing these acronyms around. Uh, there’s been a lot of, uh, consternation in that segment, I would say, around ai. Right, because a lot of them are getting told that they’ll be outta business in a few years. [00:25:43] Vince Menzione: Mm-hmm. I think Satya Nadella famously said this last year that SAS will go away. Right? He’s predicting the demise. How do you help some of these organizations to differentiate? And there’s some of these are huge value organizations. We have have them in the room with us, ServiceNow and Veeam and Adobe. [00:26:01] Vince Menzione: Um, how do you help them achieve their results? ’cause that’s what you, you know, your organization is really helping these organizations to achieve their pinnacle as a partner. What do you, what do you say to them now and how do you help them through this time? [00:26:16] Ashleigh Vogstad: I’m on the side of the fence that I really can’t see an organization ripping out something like Salesforce, Adobe, ServiceNow. [00:26:24] Vince Menzione: Agreed. [00:26:24] Ashleigh Vogstad: I mean that the amount of change management and. The extent to which these, these platforms are embedded, actually running and operating organizations. I personally, if, if we’re calling those companies, SaaS companies, I don’t agree that that layer is gonna go away. I mean, we’re seeing these organizations lean into AI in a huge way to borrow Microsofts. [00:26:50] Ashleigh Vogstad: Term, you know, they’re all becoming frontier firms. [00:26:54] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:26:54] Ashleigh Vogstad: So where I would go to, to answer that question, we do work with many, you know, organizations on that caliber, on things like their marketplace strategy on how to light up the fields of different hyperscalers. It really does come down to things like having a strong drumbeat with the Microsoft field, celebrating your win stories. [00:27:15] Ashleigh Vogstad: Maybe that’s where I’ll land as Please do the marketer, because it sounds so simple, and I don’t know why we kind of continue to come back to this, but we’re talking about that third party validation and really, um, in order to have that, like what the hyperscalers want is you jointly celebrating success. [00:27:36] Ashleigh Vogstad: Here’s the kicker. Publicly. [00:27:38] Vince Menzione: Publicly, [00:27:39] Ashleigh Vogstad: you know, you need a customer story on your website, a press release that contains a quote from your customer. Ideally, also a quote from an executive at one of the hyperscalers. Like, actually lean in to live the value of your better together story. And when you do that, when you, when it comes around to partner of the year time, and we talk to you about, okay, what client stories are we gonna feature? [00:28:03] Ashleigh Vogstad: We’re even gonna know because when we Google you, we can see the public press of the joint wins that you’ve been celebrating. And I can tell you that that is a huge indicator on whether or not you’re well-placed to be in the 4% of partners who actually win Partner of the Year award’s. [00:28:20] Vince Menzione: Fascinating to me. [00:28:21] Vince Menzione: ’cause to me it would feel like table stakes maybe ’cause where we sit is ultimate partner and where this room sits with all the top partners that I just assume that everybody follows that. That, that guidance. [00:28:34] Ashleigh Vogstad: Mm. [00:28:34] Vince Menzione: And so this is really impactful and I want to get here because I know you spent a lot of time here and we’ve talked about it before, but I think the partner of the year awards, when we first met many years ago, that was a you, you’ve expanded the business, but that’s still a core mission and and value that you bring to the community and to the partner ecosystem is helping them through this process. [00:28:55] Vince Menzione: So I know that that’s gonna be coming up soon, so I thought maybe we’d spend a couple moments on that. [00:29:00] Ashleigh Vogstad: Partner of the Year awards, regardless of which partner, I mean, Salesforce has their own awards there. There’s more and more award programs coming out, and they’re a great way to celebrate the incredible work that your organization has done. [00:29:13] Ashleigh Vogstad: Jay McBain is brilliant on this. He’ll talk a lot about the increase in valuation. Yeah. The, the increase in stock valuation or the likelihood that if you’re looking to be acquired, that you’re acquired within 12 months of a partner of the year win it. It’s really impressive. There is strong business value there. [00:29:33] Vince Menzione: He like, he likes, he likes to tell the story of that when the award is handed to them and they go back into the audience, that the private equity people are all over them right then and there and making offers. I mean, that’s the visual that you get [00:29:47] Ashleigh Vogstad: and it’s very powerful. Yeah. Very powerful. It’s very powerful and it, it can make it worthwhile to invest in the process, but don’t invest in the process if you haven’t been investing in the process for the 12 months. [00:29:57] Ashleigh Vogstad: Prior, [00:29:58] Vince Menzione: exactly. [00:29:58] Ashleigh Vogstad: The Microsoft field or you we’re talking about Microsoft Partner of the Year Awards. They need to know about your win that that needs to be top of mind for them. Yeah. How much Azure revenue is it driving? Was it a huge marketplace? Build sales and. You know, one of the questions I get asked a ton, everybody wants to know how do we get money out of the hyperscalers? [00:30:20] Ashleigh Vogstad: How do I get access to marketing development funds or all these different programs? Yeah. You know, at Microsoft, some of these programs are like EI and customer investment funds or Azure Accelerate, you know, and there’s millions and millions and millions of dollars in these, these buckets of funds, but. [00:30:36] Ashleigh Vogstad: An interesting point of view is that it’s actually a scorecard metric for many people at Microsoft who have partnership roles for you to be drawing down those funds. [00:30:45] Vince Menzione: Yes. [00:30:45] Ashleigh Vogstad: You know, your interests are actually aligned here, and so again, when it comes to Partner of the Year awards, how much money have you pulled down? [00:30:54] Ashleigh Vogstad: How much have you been an activating partner of key Microsoft programs that they’re pushing? What are you doing with marketplace rewards? How are you resing? Those into your business. These are the types of things that you really wanna be thinking about. Sitting it. You know, this time of year we probably will get the awards were likely be due in July. [00:31:13] Ashleigh Vogstad: They haven’t officially announced timelines, but you’ve got a few months to start moving these pieces into place. [00:31:18] Vince Menzione: And there are quite a few of them. And to your point, Nina, when she was up on stage here yesterday, there were at least 10 or 12 award. Uh. Funding categories that were on her, that were on her slide. [00:31:31] Vince Menzione: Her partner, her partner slide. So, [00:31:33] Ashleigh Vogstad: and what great looks like for a partner is that you understand your end-to-end funnel as it is mapped to Microsoft’s SEM model, the Microsoft customer Engagement model. Mm-hmm. The first stage there, inspire and design. That’s really the marketing space of lead generation. [00:31:50] Ashleigh Vogstad: So how are you generating leads with webinars, in-person, event activations, digital campaigns, and then at the very end, in the fifth column, you have the Microsoft outcomes that you’re driving. Yes. Whether that’s Azure consumed revenue, marketplace build sales, co-pilot, monthly active usage, these sorts of things. [00:32:10] Ashleigh Vogstad: And in each of those SEM swim lanes. There’s Microsoft funding associated to it. And that’s one of the things that Nina Harding was showing yesterday. When and where does it make sense to make requests for EA funds versus Azure accelerate the MCI funding? There’s different workshop proof of concept funding, and those all fall at specific stages in that EM model. [00:32:33] Vince Menzione: And what you’re also pointing out in this conversation is that the co the partners need to understand that mm, they need to understand MM. We talked about it years ago. I’ve had, haven’t had anybody on stage recently talk about m You could probably take us through that if we wanted to devote some time here, uh, and then understand all of those categories and how to access those funds. [00:32:52] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, it’s critical and. The number one place we point partners, if you want a quick overview of what that looks like is to Microsoft’s FY 26 solution playbooks. Nice. They’re available on the web for download. There’s, well, there used to be three, but they’ve added a few agen being, being one. So, so there’s a handful of, they had [00:33:11] Vince Menzione: simplified it, now they’re, now they’re expanding it back again. [00:33:14] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, exactly. I think there’s now a breakout for security as well. Yes. So take a look at those playbooks. It will map programs and incentives very specifically to each solution area and to each sales play that are gonna be available to you. And then we’re always happy to guide people through the details [00:33:32] Vince Menzione: as well. [00:33:32] Vince Menzione: I love that. I love that. And reach out to the. Ashley is just amazing at this process. I’ve, I’ve watched her for years now, work with some of the top, what have become the pinnacle partners of Microsoft and with the award season coming up. So we wanna make sure we have a plug there. But I also wanna talk about like, podcasts with you. [00:33:50] Vince Menzione: Um, you’ve been on this podcast multiple times, been in the studio before doing this, and I understand you have your own podcast now. So tell us about that. [00:33:58] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, Vince, I just wanna say. As a friend and a mentor. You’ve been so inspiring. Thank you. And I think from years ago when we met, there was this seed in my brain of, you know, I, I should really get out there. [00:34:13] Ashleigh Vogstad: And you talk a lot about growth mindset and fear setting is, is one of Tim Ferriss’s terms? Yes. And models. [00:34:21] Vince Menzione: I love Tim Ferris. I’ve been, been a fan of his for 10 years now. So that’s settled. We all got started with this. Sorry. Sorry, I [00:34:26] Ashleigh Vogstad: interrupt. No, no, not at all. [00:34:27] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:34:28] Ashleigh Vogstad: And. I think it’s just been, it’s been back there. [00:34:31] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. That I’m really passionate around having voice is how I think about it. And as a marketing agency, we’re really amplifying the voice, um, or helping companies to find their voice, particularly in hyperscaler partnerships. And what better way to assist, you know, authentically the amazing people in our network, in our community and our clients than with our own channel where we can celebrate their stories and success? [00:35:00] Vince Menzione: Very cool. [00:35:01] Ashleigh Vogstad: So the podcast is called Transcending Tech. It’s about [00:35:06] Vince Menzione: very cool transcending tech. Just so you don’t [00:35:08] Ashleigh Vogstad: transcending tech. [00:35:08] Vince Menzione: It’s out there now. [00:35:10] Ashleigh Vogstad: It, we just released our first episode. Okay. I think two days ago. [00:35:13] Vince Menzione: So by the time we’re live, yes. We’ll, we’ll be able to access it. Good. [00:35:17] Ashleigh Vogstad: You will be able to access it. [00:35:18] Ashleigh Vogstad: The first episode is with Alyssa Fit. Patrick from Elastic. [00:35:21] Vince Menzione: Oh my goodness. [00:35:22] Ashleigh Vogstad: And the concept of the podcast, it’s long form and it’s really about getting to the people behind the platforms. [00:35:29] Vince Menzione: Very cool. [00:35:29] Ashleigh Vogstad: And to the stories that transcend technology. So we’re here to get to know the human beings behind. Agents. [00:35:38] Vince Menzione: Yeah. [00:35:38] Ashleigh Vogstad: And taking the time to, to go in deep and really explore that. [00:35:43] Vince Menzione: So I am excited to see all the developments here with the, with the podcast. And you’re gonna be joining us again. You were just here, you in Boca. But you’ll be joining us again in Bellevue. Not too far a little bit. Closer ride or travel, uh, for you to come to Bellevue. [00:35:57] Vince Menzione: We’re gonna be hosting the first ultimate partner live, which is our larger events in this beautiful facility, this new Intercontinental hotel, which is fabulous. And, uh, you’re gonna be taking a more active role. Your leadership around AI is. Palpable and we’re gonna love to have you on stage and talking through some of the changes. [00:36:17] Vince Menzione: I, I suspect by the time we get to Bellevue we’ll have a lot more to talk about. That hasn’t even happened yet. [00:36:23] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah, I’m really excited. I’ll have been through my next cohort at at Oxford, kind of coming out hot from there back to the Pacific Northwest, and really excited to just share the learnings and Awesome. [00:36:35] Ashleigh Vogstad: Genuinely. It’s also helping me in my own research, really formulate particularly around the role of ag agentic AI in hyperscaler partnerships. [00:36:43] Vince Menzione: That’s so cool. And then what I’ll say is this, and I don’t know, we on the space perspective, and I’ll, the team will probably hang me for this because we haven’t done it yet, but if you wanna bring the podcast along with you, there might be, we’ll see if we can find an extra room for you to set up. [00:36:58] Vince Menzione: If you wanna do some interviews while you’re. In, at the event. So [00:37:02] Ashleigh Vogstad: you’re so generous, Vince. [00:37:03] Vince Menzione: That’s [00:37:04] Ashleigh Vogstad: amazing. [00:37:04] Vince Menzione: Thank you. Again, I can’t say for certainty yet, but, uh, let’s see, let’s see what happens with that. So, uh, let, let’s, uh, you know, I always, we, we have known each other for years and I just assume everybody knows this amazing Ashley sda. [00:37:19] Vince Menzione: But, um, we always, I like to ask this question because it helps us kind of dig in a little bit about you personally. And it’s my favorite question. I ask all my guests this question now, and it’s, um, you’re hosting a dinner party, Ashley, you are, pick a pace, place, you wanna have this dinner. We could talk about parts of the world. [00:37:36] Vince Menzione: You’ve traveled all extensively. Uh, and you can invite any three people, guests from the present. Or the past to this amazing dinner party you’re throwing. Whom would you invite and why? [00:37:52] Ashleigh Vogstad: It’s a beautiful question, Vince and. Instantly I go to a place in terms of the location, since you asked that part, which was surprising. [00:38:01] Ashleigh Vogstad: I, I like that is my home. I, I love where I live up in Whistler, Canada and [00:38:08] Vince Menzione: I hear it’s beautiful. I haven’t been yet, [00:38:10] Ashleigh Vogstad: it’s so gorgeous and it’s, it’s my own sanctuary. You know, I live on a plane 75% of the time and coming back to that place is really grounding for me. Yes. So, so I would love to have it at, at my home and to invite. [00:38:24] Ashleigh Vogstad: Pippa Malrin would be one. She, Pippa [00:38:26] Vince Menzione: Malrin. [00:38:27] Ashleigh Vogstad: Yeah. She’s sure. I get an advisor to the White House for many administrations. Okay. She’s an economist and she just has really interesting perspective on geopolitics. Uh, I follow her on Substack ’cause she’s a big substack. Okay, now [00:38:41] Vince Menzione: I need to look. This is awesome. [00:38:42] Vince Menzione: The [00:38:43] Ashleigh Vogstad: mal, she’s fantastic. I would say Dr. Lisa Sue, the CEO, Dr. Lisa of a md. [00:38:49] Vince Menzione: Okay. Yes, yes. I know a little bit about her. [00:38:51] Ashleigh Vogstad: So she was one of Time Mag, I think she was the only woman in Time Magazine’s, group of people of the year, which was basically this AI cohort in including, you know, the Elon Musks of the world. [00:39:03] Ashleigh Vogstad: Uh, it’s just so impressive what she’s doing with leadership in a MD. I don’t think it’s as public as. Anybody else who is on the cover of that magazine, but it’s incredibly powerful. [00:39:14] Vince Menzione: Yeah, they’ve made a com uh, turnaround’s probably not the right word, but it seems like they’ve made a tremendous, uh, gains turnaround probably in the last few years. [00:39:23] Ashleigh Vogstad: I would say that many would say turnaround. And then lastly is Dr. Fefe Lee, who. For those in the AI space, particularly AI research space. I mean, she’s arguably number one. Um, she’s leading at Stanford currently. [00:39:37] Vince Menzione: Wow. This is gonna be a heady conversation, but you know, I love conversations. So if you don’t mind, maybe I’ll bring dessert and come, come in for a few moments, maybe do some podcast interviews there. [00:39:48] Vince Menzione: How’s that? [00:39:49] Ashleigh Vogstad: That sounds absolutely perfect, Vince, [00:39:50] Vince Menzione: so, so good. So good to have you here today. So great. Good to have you in the studio again, and, uh, excited for transcends and all the great work you’re doing. Um. This time with ai. I think you, uh, we talked about this a little bit last night. I think you’ve made some really wise, personal and professional decisions about how to lead and how to take this forward and not kind of rest on your laurels, which you see so many organizations do People fear change [00:40:17] Ashleigh Vogstad: Hmm. [00:40:18] Vince Menzione: And you embrace it, which is just, it’s astounding to me that you do that and, um. I look forward to working with you in the future and for years and years to come. So I will ask you one more question though, because we are still at the precipice of these tectonic shifts and we’re still early in 2026. And so for our listeners and our viewers today, what would be the one thing you would tell them that they need to go do now that possibly they haven’t done yet as they prepare for 2026 and beyond? [00:40:52] Ashleigh Vogstad: The generic phrase would be, be curious, but if we want an action, it would be go build an agent. [00:40:59] Vince Menzione: Go build an agent [00:41:00] Ashleigh Vogstad: if, if you haven’t already. Yeah. And, and I’m, yeah. Speaking hopefully to like a business audience, you know, to, to anyone. Yeah. Really, um, find something that is interesting that you’re passionate about. [00:41:12] Ashleigh Vogstad: A, a use case that it doesn’t have to be some big thing. It could be quite mundane, but just something that’s gonna help you in your role. It’s, you know, what is creativity is an interesting question, and I can tell you that sitting down and hands-on keys and actually creating something is, is a beautiful, powerful experience. [00:41:32] Vince Menzione: Yeah. Awesome. All right. We’re all gonna go create agents this weekend, so thank you for listening. Thank you for viewing the Ultimate Guide to partnering on our YouTube channel, ultimate Partner, and on each end of your platforms at the Ultimate Guide to partnering. Thank you for being with us and supporting us all these years. [00:41:50] Vince Menzione: Thank you. Don’t forget, ultimate Partner Live is coming soon, May 11th through the 13th in beautiful Bellevue, Washington. I hope to see you there.

Who are you when you're no longer your title? For many high-performing professionals, that question can feel destabilizing — even frightening. Michael Kay is a CFP, a financial life planner, the author of the new book How To Craft Your Chapter X: A Guide For High-Performing Men to Discover Meaning (and Joy) In Retirement. He's been through it himself—the excitement of the new chapter, and then, six months in, the wall he didn't see coming. Today he shares what he's learned about reopening the aperture, grieving what you've left behind, and finding out who you were before you were your job. This is a conversation every high-achieving man—and the people who love them—needs to hear. _________________________ Bio Michael F. Kay is a coach, teacher, author and retired CFP(R). Through his books, workshops, speeches, and the Chapter X community, he's helped thousands of women, men, and families master their financial lives—and navigate the transition from full-time work to what comes next. He's written three books: How to Craft Your Chapter X, The Feel Rich Project, and The Business of Life. His insights have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business, Forbes, and Psychology Today. Today, he publishes weekly essays for the Chapter X newsletter, hosts the Chapter X podcast, and shares his thoughts on LinkedIn. He is the former president of Financial Life Focus, a fee-only multi-advisor financial life planning firm. ___________________________ For More on Michael Kay How To Craft Your Chapter X: A Guide For High-Performing Men to Discover Meaning (and Joy) In Retirement _________________________ Podcast Conversations You May Like The Inspired Retirement – Nathalie Martin How to Prepare Mentally for Life After Work – Joseph Maugeri Art Cure: The Science of How the Arts Save Lives – Daisy Fancourt ____________________________ About The Retirement Wisdom Podcast There are many podcasts on retirement, often hosted by financial advisors with their own financial motives, that cover the money side of the street. This podcast is different. You'll get smarter about the investment decisions you'll make about the most important asset you'll have in retirement: your time. About Retirement Wisdom I help people who are retiring, but aren't quite done yet, discover what's next and build their custom version of their next life. A meaningful retirement doesn't just happen by accident. Schedule a call today to discuss how the Designing Your Life process created by Bill Burnett & Dave Evans can help you make your life in retirement a great one — on your own terms. About Your Podcast Host Joe Casey is an executive coach who helps people design their next life after their primary career and create their version of The Multipurpose Retirement.™ He created his own next chapter after a 26-year career at Merrill Lynch, where he was Senior Vice President and Head of HR for Global Markets & Investment Banking. Joe has earned Master's degrees from the University of Southern California in Gerontology (at age 60), the University of Pennsylvania, and Middlesex University (UK), a BA in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and his coaching certification from Columbia University. In addition to his work with clients, Joe hosts The Retirement Wisdom Podcast, ranked in the top 1% globally in popularity by Listen Notes, with over 1.6 million downloads. Business Insider recognized Joe as one of 23 innovative coaches who are making a difference. He's the author of Win the Retirement Game: How to Outsmart the 9 Forces Trying to Steal Your Joy. ___________________________ Wise Quotes On Saying No in Retirement “If it's not joyful, I'm not going to do it.” On Perspective “As we get older and we start focusing towards career, that aperture narrows. And so when we get ready to step into this next chapter, whether it's our choice or not, we are at our narrowest. So we need to, mindfully and intentionally—I think that's the right word—look to reopen that aperture.” On Returning to Music – For Fun “I got the trumpet out and had it cleaned, and I found a teacher, and I started playing again, and I put up on my music stand, ‘fun'—the word fun—to remind me. Because if you miss a note, I was like, ‘You suck.' All these things that come back. And so I had to keep reminding myself: this is for fun. I am never going to be a touring professional musician. I'm never going to play with Blood, Sweat and Tears or Chicago. This is for fun. And it just takes the discipline to keep reminding yourself—have joy in the music, have joy in the doing. The joy is in the journey, not in the destination. Because the destination is the journey.”

I've sold over $1 million of digital products online and the platform you choose to sell on can either make your business growth super easy or super complicated. I use and recommend ThriveCart and here are all the reasons you'll love it as well! Get ThriveCart: https://thewanderlover--checkout.thrivecart.com/thrivecart-standard-account/ ---------------- Danielle is a content creator and business coach who has been featured in Forbes, Thrive, Entrepreneur, and more. She has traveled to over 65+ countries running her online business and surfing in remote tropical destinations. ⟡ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thewanderlover/ ⟡ Podcast: https://thewanderlover.com/podcast ---------------- RESOURCES FOR YOU: ⟡ Travel Influencer Handbook: https://thewanderlover.com/travel-influencer-handbook/ ⟡ Wanderlover Coaching Group: https://thewanderlover.com/the-wanderlover-coaching-group/ ⟡ Digital Nomad Society: https://thewanderlover.com/digital-nomad-society/ ⟡ Wanderlover Business Academy: https://thewanderlover.com/business-academy/ ⟡ FREE 0 to $100K Game Plan: https://thewanderlover.com/100k-game-plan/

Derek Champagne chats with Michael Dweck. Michael, the co-founder of Basic Outfitters, was named to Forbes 30 under 30 list and has appeared on the ABC hit t.v. show Shark Tank. He talks with Derek about his entrepreneurial journey, defining success, and his experience in "the tank".In 2014, Basic Outfitters co-founders Laura and Michael Dweck married and moved into a cozy apartment in NYC. It was quickly obvious whose clothing collection would take precedence in their precious and limited closet space. Michael's eclectic and long-time accumulated sock and underwear assortment would have to go and be replaced by a fresh, new and curated collection of basics.When it came time to refill his drawers, Michael was faced with the choice of expensive designer products or cheap, generic and poorly made basics, both of which would entail a stressful shopping experience. Michael and Laura recognized the overwhelming need for superior and affordable men's essentials offered to customers in a convenient, easy-to-use way. And thus, Basic Outfitters was born.Learn more at www.basicoutfitters.comBusiness Leadership Series Intro and Outro music provided by Just Off Turner: https://music.apple.com/za/album/the-long-walk-back/268386576

Lindsey Roy opens up about navigating life-threatening health challenges, including a double lung transplant, and the lessons she learned along the way. She explores the intersection of traditional and alternative medicine, the power of listening to her body, and trusting her inner guidance. Through faith, community support, and a focus on gratitude, Lindsey shares how she became her own advocate and transformed her approach to wellbeing, offering inspiration for anyone facing challenges and seeking balance in life.  Key Takeaways:   Navigating life-altering health challenges requires trusting your own instincts and advocating for yourself.  Combining traditional medicine with alternative therapies can provide a more holistic approach to healing.  Listening closely to your body helps identify what supports your wellbeing and what does not.  Leaning on friends, family, and community creates a strong support system during difficult times.  Faith, gratitude, and moments of stillness can guide important decisions and foster resilience.  About Lindsey Roy:  Lindsey Roy has twice needed surgery to save her life. The first, a leg amputation after a traumatic boating accident and the second a double lung transplant after being diagnosed with a rare and progressive disease which constricted the blood vessels in her lungs. These experiences, coupled with her natural gifts for speaking and writing, have created a passion in Lindsey to tell her story in the hopes of helping others tackle whatever obstacles life throws at them. She did a TEDx talk in 2017 titled "What Trauma Taught Me About Happiness" which has been viewed by nearly 200,000 people. Her story has been featured in major publications, such as O Magazine, Fast Company, Forbes, and Working Mother.  Lindsey's perspective is also honed by her roles as a corporate executive, mother, and wife. She is Senior VP Strategy & Brand at Hallmark, where she is leading various initiatives and groups—many of which draw from the lessons shared in The Gift of Perspective. She has a degree in Journalism & Advertising with a minor in Speech from Kansas State University and serves on many charitable boards, including Ability KC, Steps of Faith, and the Ad Council. Her greatest joy in life is spending time with her family—her husband Aaron and children, Mitchell and Morgan.  Connect with Lindsey Roy at:  https://www.instagram.com/lindseyroy26/?hl=en  https://lindseyroy.com/   https://www.amazon.com/Gift-Perspective-Wisdom-Gained-Losing/dp/1773271865/ref   Connect with Dr. Michelle and Bayleigh at:  https://smallchangesbigshifts.com  hello@smallchangesbigshifts.com  https://www.linkedin.com/company/smallchangesbigshifts  https://www.facebook.com/SmallChangesBigShifts  https://www.instagram.com/smallchangesbigshiftsco  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. 

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for February 28, 2026 is: congruous • KAHNG-groo-us • adjective Something described as congruous is in agreement, harmony, or correspondence with something else. Congruous can also describe something that is appropriate for a particular circumstance or requirement, or a thing that is marked or enhanced by harmonious agreement among its constituent elements. // Their professional achievements were congruous with their academic abilities. // The low bookshelf forms a congruous barrier between the spaces. // It is a congruous, plausible story, consistent in all its details. See the entry > Examples: “Hannah is a sustainability consultant and climate impact manager, which is congruous with an outdoor ethos and the culture around bike guiding ...” — Wendy Altschuler, Forbes, 3 Sept. 2024 Did you know? Congruous had only been part of the English language for a few decades in 1615, when a book about the Church of Rome referred to “teaching most congruous to reason.” The word has remained more or less true to its Latin roots: it comes from Latin congruus, an adjective that comes from the verb congruere, meaning “to come together” or “to agree.” (Its more common antonym, incongruous is about the same age.) Another familiar congruere descendant in English is congruent, which first appeared at least a century earlier with the same meaning as congruous. English also acquired congrue, a verb meaning “to be in harmony” or “to agree,” from congruere, but it has since become obsolete.

We had so much fun honoring a few "Living Legends" from the Black American community as we close out Black History Month. Grab your coffee or tea, sit back, and enjoy this hilarious show! Oh yeah, share it with a friend or two.Thanks to all of our supporters on Stereo App!Stereo – Let's talk!Check ALL 19 Black American CEOs that have led Fortune 500 Companies by clicking the Forbes link below. The 19 Black CEOs that have lead Fortune 500 companies since 1955 | Fortune

Cavities aren't just from too much sugar - they're a sign that something else is going on in the body. Dr. Motley sat down with Nashville-based biological dentist Dr. McKinnon Forbes to learn more about this, and so many other practical nuggets for holistic dental health. TOPICS DISCUSSED: Toothcare for kids Jaw formation Ozone therapy How biological dentistry is making waves in healthcare What kind of toothpaste is best  Flossing: yay or nay? Plus other tools and tips for a healthy mouth ------  Want more of The Ancient Health Podcast? Subscribe to the YouTube channel. Follow Dr. Motley! Instagram Twitter Facebook Tik-Tok Website Follow Dr. Forbes! @center.for.advanced.dentistry ------  *Liposomal supplementation has been proven deeply effective and LivOn Labs got there first. Get 10% off LivOn Labs entire store of liposomal supplements with code MOTLEY at https://www.livonlabs.com/ *If you want to hear more on how Chinese Medicine connects the physical and emotional, check out Doctor Motley's membership, complete with courses, a whole library of video-based resources and the chance to pick his brain on weekly live Q+A's. You can try it free for 15 days here: https://www.doctormotley.com/15

Guest Bios Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar, BAMS, MD (Ayurveda) One of the most academically accomplished Ayurvedic physicians in the Western world. Former personal physician to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. Bestselling author of Change Your Schedule, Change Your Life and co-author of Awakened Sleep. Faculty at numerous integrative medicine programs. Trained in both classical Ayurvedic medicine and modern clinical research. His work bridges 5,000 years of Vedic wisdom with cutting-edge neuroscience and AI-driven health research. Renowned globally for his clinical expertise and his ability to make the ancient tradition accessible, scientific, and immediately practical. Dr. Sheila Patel, MD Board-certified family medicine physician and a leading voice in integrative health. Former Chief Medical Officer of the Chopra Center. Co-author of Awakened Sleep. Dr. Patel's clinical practice synthesizes conventional medicine with Ayurvedic principles, meditation, and mind-body approaches. She has spent decades helping patients understand the connection between emotional regulation, sensory awareness, and physical health — with sleep as the connective thread. Brought to you by MTE — More Than Energy, the performance formula designed for those who live life at full resonance. Trusted by top performers worldwide, MTE blends adaptogens, nootropics, and essential minerals to fuel focus, vitality, and flow — without the crash.  Code Michael Elevate your day, sharpen your mind, and feel More Than Energy. 15% OFF YOUR ORDER:: https://getmte.com/products/mte-daily-energy-wellness?ref=MICHAEL Key Themes & Timestamps  [00:00] Introduction — launching Resonance, the long tail of a book [02:28] What is Awakened Sleep? The Vedic perspective on sleep as a journey into consciousness [06:13] Modern science validates ancient wisdom — the convergence [08:13] The doshas explained — Vata, Pitta, Kapha and your sleep constitution [14:24] Universal sleep principles — temperature, light, timing, and the Stanford AI study [17:19] Personalized sleep — why one size doesn't fit all [20:00] The nervous system connection — parasympathetic tone and sensory overload [23:47] Your evening meal is your sleep prescription [25:50] The world has changed more since 1992 than in the previous thousand years [28:14] Orthosomnia — the new tech-induced sleep disease [29:09] Email apnea and text apnea — we literally stop breathing [30:15] Somniphobia — the fear of being alone in the dark (and why loneliness is the real insomnia) [37:47] Breath as medicine — the yogic prescription for sleep [40:11] Mantra, sound, and the neuro-associative conditioning of sleep [42:27] Creating your evening routine — the practice Michael is starting tonight [45:05] The dress rehearsal for dying — sleep as a journey into consciousness [51:17] Awakened Sleep as meditation's companion — the fourth state of consciousness [56:04] Geography, doshas, and the places that heal us [59:56] Vedic astrology, the eclipse, and the chapter we're entering [1:02:49] Closing — guiding us home in a noisy world Key Quotes Dr. Suhas: "We are doing a dress rehearsal of dying every night. We go to the same place where we were before we were born and long after we will be gone." "Sleep outweighs diet and exercise. If you rank lifestyle things, sleep is even higher ranked than diet and exercise and loneliness." "Orthosomnia — about 40% of Gen Z adults are experiencing sleep anxiety because of the gadgets they are wearing." "Where your attention goes, that's where the energy is flowing." "These techniques are not free. They are very expensive — because the most expensive commodity right now is me time." "An introspective sage is awake when the rest of the world is sleeping." — Bhagavad Gita Dr. Sheila: "Sleep is an active process. It's not just rest — it's an active rest." "So much of depression, anxiety is that disconnect from nature, disconnect from community. Everyone's all in their own individual bubbles." "Pick the weeds, plant some seeds, water them with gratitude." "We have so many tools within us — and with our breath, it's free." Michael: "I think a lot of us as humans have lost our way with all of the conflicting signals. And it's hard in a noisy world to find true signal that reminds us of who we are and how we can find our way home." Resources Mentioned Awakened Sleep by Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar & Dr. Sheila Patel Change Your Schedule, Change Your Life by Dr. Suhas Stanford Medicine AI Sleep Study (January 2025) — 65,000 participants, 600,000 hours of sleep data, predicting 130+ health conditions Oura Ring — wearable sleep tracking Vedic Meditation / Mantra practice Temescal (traditional sweat lodge) ceremony Bhagavad Gita — "Yānishā sarva-bhūtānāṁ tasyāṁ jāgarti saṅyamī" Rathri Sukta — Vedic hymn to the twin sisters Usha (dawn) and Nisha (dusk) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia (CBT-I) Connect Dr. Suhas Kshirsagar: [website] | [Instagram]  Dr. Sheila Patel: [website] | [Instagram]  Michael Trainer: michaeltrainer.net | @michaeltrainer | Resonance Podcast Pre-Order Resonance Resonance: The Art and Science of Human Connection arrives May 5, 2026 from BenBella Books. Foreword by Steven Pressfield, author of The War of Art. "Outstanding. I wouldn't change a word." — Steven Pressfield  Companion Substack Read Michael's full essay on this conversation: "The Dress Rehearsal for Dying: What Vedic Sleep Science Reveals About Why We Can't Connect" — exploring how orthosomnia, somniphobia, and the loneliness epidemic collide with the Resonance framework and the Seven Pillars of authentic connection. https://substack.com/@michaeltrainer Michael Trainer has spent 30 years learning from Nobel laureates, neuroscientists, and wisdom keepers worldwide. He's the author of RESONANCE: The Art and Science of Human Connection (March 31, 2026), co-creator of Global Citizen and the Global Citizen Festival, and host of the RESONANCE podcast.Featured in Forbes, Inc, Good Morning America. Follow on YouTube

In this episode of The Brave Enough Show, Dr. Sasha Shillcutt and Dr. Sunny Smith discuss:  Being lonely in a room full of people  How to tear down the walls we build  Not believing everything we think  "We are meant to live in community with others. When we are vulnerable, authentic, and truthful, we open ourselves up for real connection."  -Dr. Sunny Smith  Dr. Sunny Smith is the Founder and CEO of Empowering Women Physicians, the most effective physician coaching program documented to date. Dr Smith brings her background as an awarded Medical Educator, Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health, and long history of being an advocate for medical student and physician wellness into the coaching space. She leads a comprehensive and collaborative coaching program, podcast, retreats, and Facebook group that seek to change the culture of medicine. Dr. Smith is the recipient of multiple teaching awards, including Humanism in Medicine, Excellence in Teaching, and Outstanding Community Leader award. Her work has been published in many peer-reviewed journals, including JAMA.  She has been in the top 1-2% of female entrepreneurs in the US for the past 6 years and has been featured in Forbes, Inc 5000, and Entrepreneur Magazine.    Brave Balance is about transforming your professional and personal life in a safe, small group setting. You will grow deep in self-awareness, set clear boundaries, and develop strong time management skills to create the work-life balance you desperately need (and deserve). Change your mindset to let unhealthy behaviors go, and create long-lasting work-life control so you can live well on YOUR terms. Brave Enough 2026 CME Conference For ten years, women have gathered at the Brave Enough Conference to step away from the demands of medicine and into a space of renewal. This anniversary year, we celebrate a decade of empowerment and sisterhood—ten years of lifting each other up, reigniting purpose, and remembering that none of us has to do this alone. Join us September 24-27, 2026 at the Omni Scottsdale Resort and Spa. Follow Brave Enough:   WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | LINKEDIN Join The Table, Brave Enough's community. The ONLY professional membership group that meets both the professional and personal needs of high-achieving women.

Simon Severino is the founder of Strategy Sprints and a global business advisor who has generated over $2 billion in additional sales for his clients. A former strategy consultant working with S&P 500 boardrooms, Simon now helps high-ticket entrepreneurs reclaim 14+ hours per week using his Strategy Sprints method. He's a bestselling author, top-ranked podcast host, TEDx speaker, Forbes contributor, triathlete—and co-author of Time Freedom with legendary marketer Jay Abraham. Simon blends deep philosophical thinking with practical execution, helping founders build multiple money systems while designing a life they actually want to live. On this episode we talk about: Why working on the business—not just in it—is the key to real scalability What “agile” really means for entrepreneurs and how to pivot quickly in changing markets The difference between making money and keeping money—and why both require different skill sets The 12 money systems you can build to create diversified, resilient income Designing your ideal day and building wealth around the life you want Top 3 Takeaways Agility equals speed of decision-making. The faster you can adapt your offers, pricing, and positioning, the more resilient your business becomes. Income diversification builds freedom. Running 5–7 “money systems” at once (consulting, cohorts, licensing, royalties, newsletters, investing, etc.) creates stability and leverage. Start with lifestyle design. Define how you want your ideal day to look—then build systems and assets that fund that life automatically. Notable Quotes "Give me the biggest problem and a team of the smartest people we can find—I'm happy." "It's a very different skill to learn how to make money than it is to keep money." "I start with how I want to experience a day—then I build money systems around it." Connect with Simon Severino: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simonseverino/ Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/simonseverino Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/simonseverino/ Other: Website: https://www.strategysprints.com/ Book: Strategy Sprints New Book: Time Freedom (co-authored with Jay Abraham)  Travis Makes Money is made possible by High Level – the All-In-One Sales & Marketing Platform built for agencies, by an agency.  Capture leads, nurture them, and close more deals—all from one powerful platform.  Get an extended free trial at gohighlevel.com/travis Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Most of us know about the “fight, flight, freeze” responses to trauma. But there is another concept that has been steadily gaining awareness over the last several years, in large part due to pop psychology on social media: Fawning.You might have heard it described as akin to extreme people-pleasing, over-accommodating, over-functioning, and fundamentally a problem in the person doing the fawning. But as my guest today illuminates for us, it's not a personal failing, or even always a conscious choice. It is human nature to prioritize safety and connection, and fawning is a means of keeping ourselves safe. But when fawning runs the show, self-leadership diminishes and quietly drifts toward conflict-avoiding, blurred boundaries, and self-abandonment.Waking up to your fawning response takes courage. You will meet resistance from some as you shift the dynamics of your relationships. But it also unlocks deeper intimacy, more honest connection, and the joy that comes from trusting yourself and letting others meet the real you.This conversation invites you to consider where and with whom you fawn, and how you might want to respond in the future. Fawning has a real purpose when safety is on the line, but the more we are aware of it, the more we can be intentional about how we show up in our relationships.Ingrid Clayton is a licensed clinical psychologist with a master's degree in transpersonal psychology and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology. In her private practice in Los Angeles she supports individuals in healing trauma, reclaiming agency, and reconnecting to their authentic selves.She is a regular contributor to Psychology Today, and her work has been featured in Oprah Daily, The New York Times, Women's Health, Forbes, 10% Happier with Dan Harris, Girls Gotta Eat, and NPR's On Point with Meghna Chakrabarti. Ingrid's latest book, Fawning: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves and How to Find Our Way Back, explores the often-overlooked fawn response to trauma.Listen to the full episode to hear:Why fawning shows up as an unconscious response to ongoing relational traumaHow understanding fawning helped Ingrid understand and heal from her own complex traumaHow our culture demands and reinforces fawning for women and marginalized peopleThe often very real bind of choosing safety over self and the feedback loop it createsAccessible practices to build a sense of internal safety and self-trustHow chronic fawning and self-abandonment contribute to burnoutLearn more about Ingrid Clayton, PhD:WebsiteInstagram: @ingridclaytonphdFacebook: @ingridclaytonphdYouTube: @ingridclaytonphdUnfawning on SubstackFawning: Why the Need to Please Makes Us Lose Ourselves–and How to Find Our Way BackBelieving Me: Healing from Narcissistic Abuse and Complex TraumaLearn more about Rebecca:rebeccaching.comWork With RebeccaThe Unburdened Leader on SubstackSign up for the weekly Unburdened Leader EmailResources:What Is the Fawning Trauma Response? | Psychology TodayPeter LevineThe Greatest Showman Cast - This Is MeThe Traitors

Hold on to your hats!   My featured guest for this episode of Necronomicast is Dr. Rizwan Virk! A graduate of MIT and Stanford, Rizwan Virk is a successful entrepreneur, video game pioneer, film producer, venture capitalist, computer scientist and bestselling author. Virk recently finished his doctoral research at the Center for Science and the Imagination (CSI) and teaching classes on the Metaverse, Innovation and Simulation Theory at the College of Global Futures and the Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University. His books include The Simulation Hypothesis, Startup Myths & Models: What You Won't Learn in Business School, Wisdom of a Yogi, The Simulated Multiverse, Treasure Hunt and Zen Entrepreneurship.   Virk founded Play Labs @ MIT, a startup accelerator, and invested in many successful startups including Discord, Theta Labs, Upland and Tapjoy.  His startups created video games played by millions, including Tap Fish and games based on Game of Thrones, Star Trek, The Walking Dead, Grimm and Penny Dreadful. Virk and his books have been featured on The Joe Rogan Podcast, in Forbes, The Telegraph, NBC News, vox.com, Techcrunch, Inc., VentureBeat, Digital Trends, BBC Science Focus, and Scientific American, CBS, the CBC, Coast to Coast AM and The History Channel.  He has been a speaker and mentor ranging from MIT's $100k Business Plan Competition and Delta V accelerator to 500 Startups, Talks @ Google and GamesBeat in Silicon Valley. Follow him @rizcambridge, and at zenentrepreneur.com. "The Simulation Hypothesis" at Amazon. Support the Necronomicast and "Buy Me A Coffee"!

Kaleigh Moore is a 12-year freelance writer and editor. She has contributed to Shopify, Forbes, Vogue, Adweek, and various B2B providers, among others. She's now grappling with the promise and limits of AI.She calls AI a "fire hose of information" that greatly increases efficiency. She also cautions on what it cannot do, such as interview humans or learn from experience.She shares those views and more in this episode, including her preferred AI platform, use cases for entrepreneurs, and getting started with AI-driven composition.For an edited and condensed transcript with embedded audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/how-a-pro-writer-uses-aiFor all condensed transcripts with audio, see: https://www.practicalecommerce.com/tag/podcasts******The mission of Practical Ecommerce is to help online merchants improve their businesses. We do this with expert articles, podcasts, and webinars. We are an independent publishing company founded in 2005 and unaffiliated with any ecommerce platform or provider. https://www.practicalecommerce.com 

On Today's Episode –Mark and Matt are joined by Bonner Cohen again, and the fellas talk about this week's past State of the Union address by Pres. Trump.Tune in for all the Fun Bonner R. Cohen is a senior policy analyst with the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow, where he concentrates on energy, natural resources, and international relations. He also serves as a senior policy adviser with the Heartland Institute, senior fellow at the National Center for Public Policy Research, and as adjunct scholar at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Articles by Dr. Cohen have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Investor's Business Daily, New York Post, Washington Times, National Review, Philadelphia Inquirer, Detroit News, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Miami Herald, and dozens of other newspapers in the U.S. and Canada. He has been interviewed on Fox News, CNN, Fox Business Channel, BBC, BBC Worldwide Television, NBC, NPR, N 24 (German language news channel), Voice of Russia, and scores of radio stations in the U.S. Dr. Cohen has testified before the U.S. Senate committees on Energy & Natural Resources and Environment & Public Works as well as the U.S. House committees on Natural Resources and Judiciary. He has spoken at conferences in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Bangladesh. Dr. Cohen is the author of two books, The Green Wave: Environmentalism and its Consequences (Washington: Capital Research Center, 2006) and Marshall, Mao und Chiang: Die amerikanischen Vermittlungsbemuehungen im chinesischen Buergerkrieg (Marshall, Mao and Chiang: The American Mediations Effort in the Chinese Civil War) (Munich: Tuduv Verlag, 1984). Dr. Cohen received his B.A. from the University of Georgia and his Ph.D. – summa cum laude – from the University of Munich.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's Quibi Time (tm) with Jenessa! (Don't worry, I'll explain...) It's 2 debunks for the price of 1, or actually 5 debunks for the price of 2, because this is a two-parter! Here are the first two: AI girlfriend Caramela, S. (2025, January 31). Most Men Would Marry Their AI Girlfriend if it were Legal. Vice. Fiorillo, C. & Bartlett, S. (2025, January 28). AI girlfriends could be a thing of the future as men admit they would marry robot lovers. The Mirror. Koetsier, J. (2025, April 29). 80% Of Gen Zers Would Marry An AI: Study. Forbes. Mashable. (2025, May 22). Majority of Gen Z would marry an AI, survey says. Yahoo!Life. (2025, May 11). GenZ Believes They Could Marry AI, Replace Human Connections: Report. NDTV World. Ulanoff, L. (2025, May 22). Would you marry an AI? A recent survey says most Gen Z-ers would - here's why that's a ridiculous idea. Techradar. Texas voter registration (2025, August 7). Texas. Independent Voter Project. (Thomas saw this viral Reddit post about it) Texas by the Numbers. L2. January 2025 Voter Registration Figures. Texas Secretary of State. Turnout and Voter Registration Figures (1970 - current). Texas Secretary of State. Are you an expert in something and want to be on the show? Apply here!  

In this sales leadership masterclass, Marcus Chan breaks down a week-by-week ramp plan, real-play coaching system, and time management framework that turns new hires into consistent revenue producers fast.

This week, Emily sits down with advisory teacher Rebecca Duffus, and neurodiversity advocate Lyric Rivera, to discuss the critical shift from viewing autism as a purely medical diagnosis to embracing it as a core identity. Lyric shares their personal journey of late discovery and the complex emotions that accompany it, from grief to validation. Rebecca provides some insight into the importance of authentic, affirming language. They also discuss how to empower autistic youth to advocate for their needs, navigate a world that isn't always accommodating, and ultimately discover the power of being exactly who they are. Rebecca and Lyric are co-authors of Autism, Identity and Me. TAKEAWAYS Identity vs pathology is all about framing autism as a core identity, rather than strictly a medical diagnosis or a list of deficits. Late-diagnosis autism often results in a complex cocktail of emotions, including grief, anger, and eventually relief. There is a crucial difference between forcing an upbeat perspective, and using language that genuinely validates an autistic person's lived experience. Equipping, not just protecting, will help autistic kids understand neurodiversity, handle misunderstandings, and utilize an autism identity statement for self-advocacy. There is a shifting landscape of autism support, language, and systemic challenges in the US, especially compared to the UK. Mental health professionals, join us for our next live 90-minute CE training, Inherited Neurodivergence: Supporting Parents' Identity Journeys, featuring presenter, Dr. Amy Marschall. The event is Friday, March 6 at 2:00 pm Eastern/11:00 am Pacific. It's approved for continuing education through the American Psychological Association and the National Board of Certified Counselors. If you can't make it live, you can still register for the self-study version. Rebecca Duffus, BSc, PGCE, MA, is an experienced Advisory Teacher with a background in psychology and a master's in Autism and Education. Based in the UK, she has worked across mainstream and specialist education settings, as well as with local councils, charities, and educational services to support autistic students and the professionals who serve them. Rebecca is the author of Autism, Identity & Me, a workbook and guidebook set published by Routledge in both the U.S. and the UK. She regularly speaks at conferences, develops parent programmes, and provides training and coaching for educators and schools. Her work centers on supporting identity-affirming practices and building inclusive, informed environments for neurodivergent learners. Lyric Rivera is the founder of NeuroDivergent Consulting and the author of the best-selling business ethics book Workplace Neurodiversity Rising, praised by Forbes as "an excellent 'how-to manual' based on lived experience and professional competence," and named a "Trend for 2023." A prominent voice in the neurodiversity movement, Lyric is also the creator of the popular blog NeuroDivergent Rebel and the originator of the #AskingAutistics hashtag, which has sparked wide-reaching conversations about the Autistic experience. Through their writing, consulting, and online advocacy, Lyric helps organizations and individuals build more inclusive, neurodiversity-affirming environments. Their work fosters connection and understanding across communities and empowers neurodivergent people to be heard, supported, and celebrated. BACKGROUND READING Rebecca: Website, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn Lyric: Website, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, Blue Sky, Substack The Neurodiversity Podcast is on Facebook, Instagram, BlueSky, and you're invited to join our Facebook Group. For more information go to www.NeurodiversityPodcast.com. If you'd like members of your organization, school district, or company to know more about the subjects discussed on our podcast, Emily Kircher-Morris provides keynote addresses, workshops, and training sessions worldwide, in-person or virtually. You can choose from a list of established presentations, or work with Emily to develop a custom talk to fit your unique situation. To learn more, visit our website.

Linktree: ⁠https://linktr.ee/Analytic⁠Join The Normandy For Additional Bonus Audio And Visual Content For All Things Nme+! Join Here: ⁠https://ow.ly/msoH50WCu0K⁠The latest segment of Notorious Mass Effect hosted by Analytic Dreamz explores BTS's major 2026 comeback announcement: the BTS WORLD TOUR ‘ARIRANG' LIVE VIEWING in cinemas worldwide.Analytic Dreamz covers the official reveal from @bts_bighiton February 25, 2026, featuring the main trailer soundtracked by "Mic Drop." This initiative brings full-length concert broadcasts (~3 hours, NR rating) to theaters in 75–80+ territories through chains like AMC Theatres, Cinemark, Shaw Theatres, and Golden Village.The live viewings kick off with the tour's opening stops: April 11 from Goyang Stadium (South Korea, part of April 9–11 shows) and April 18 from Tokyo (Japan). Tickets went on sale February 25 at 10:00 AM KST via btsliveviewing.com and regional platforms like Fandango in the U.S., with more screenings from later dates TBA.This ties into BTS's broader return post-military service: their 5th studio album ARIRANG drops March 20, 2026, followed by the massive world tour spanning ~34 cities and 82 shows—setting K-pop records—with rapid sellouts in many locations, including upcoming North America stops like Tampa and Los Angeles.The strategy boosts global ARMY access via cinema screenings on a 360-degree in-the-round stage, mirroring past successful models while amplifying engagement across Instagram, Reddit's /r/bangtan, and major outlets like Billboard, Rolling Stone, and Forbes.Analytic Dreamz delivers an in-depth look at this high-scale cultural and commercial rollout, extending the tour's reach far beyond stadiums and marking BTS's triumphant full-group resurgence. Tune in for the complete breakdown and what it means for the future of K-pop dominance. Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/analytic-dreamz-notorious-mass-effect/exclusive-contentPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Jeff Fenster, award-winning serial entrepreneur, speaker, investor, bestselling author, and podcast host, joins me on this episode. Jeff's entrepreneurial success is vast, ranging from Everbowl, a healthy, superfood quick-serve restaurant chain, to a payroll and HR company, a digital marketing agency, and a construction company. He lives by the principle of putting people first. Jeff has been featured in numerous media outlets, including Forbes, Entrepreneur, Business Insider, Inc., and the New York Times.

In this episode, Candice sits down with Kira Shishkin, CEO of informed.now and a four-time serial entrepreneur whose journey began with a life-altering car accident that left him physically and cognitively disabled. After losing his memory and his ability to focus, Kira fought his way back through discipline, education, and relentless willpower. His recovery reshaped how he views attention, independence, and the responsibility we each have to think for ourselves.   In this episode, they discuss: How a traumatic brain injury and amnesia shaped Kira's understanding of attention The power of will and disciplined learning in cognitive recovery Why modern media incentives work against readers The dangers of echo chambers and information overload How informed.now delivers concise, fact-based news without bias The importance of safeguarding attention in a digital world Why independent thinking is essential for a healthy society   This inspiring conversation reminds us that when we protect our attention and reclaim our ability to think independently, we create the possibility for greater clarity, connection, and impact.   About Kira Shishkin: Kira Shishkin is the CEO of informed.now, the #1 news-by-text service in America. Kira is a 4-time serial entrepreneur & investor-advisor to leading technology companies. His experience spans investment banking, corporate strategy, and private equity investments in category-defining ventures. His education includes University of Chicago, Booth School of Business, and Stanford. Kira was in Forbes 30 Under 30. informed.now –a minimalist, SMS based news concierge helping people stay informed without overload www.informed.now www.KiraShishkin.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kirashishkin/https://www.instagram.com/kira.shishkinhttps://www.instagram.com/informed.nowhttps://www.facebook.com/Kira.Shishkin ----- Connect with Candice Snyder! Website: https://www.podpage.com/passion-purpose-and-possibilities-1/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/candicebsnyder?_rdr Passion, Purpose, and Possibilities Community Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/passionpurposeandpossibilitiescommunity/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/passionpurposepossibilities/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/candicesnyder/ Shop For A Cause With Gifts That Give Back to Nonprofits: https://thekindnesscause.com/ Fall In Love With Artists And Experience Joy And Calm: https://www.youtube.com/@movenartrelaxation

The 89th Academy Awards reached its grand finale on 26th February 2017, with a balls-up that instantly entered Hollywood lore. Presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway stepped onstage to announce Best Picture and declared La La Land the winner. Cast and crew flooded the stage, speeches began, and the orchestra swelled - but the true winner, of course, was Moonlight. Beatty's visible hesitation, replayed endlessly since, stemmed from a simple but catastrophic mistake: he had been handed the duplicate Best Actress envelope, reading “Emma Stone - La La Land”. Unsure how to proceed, he showed the card to Dunaway; believing he was prolonging the suspense, she read out the film's title. Only as producer Jordan Horowitz was thanking his family did the truth ripple across the stage: “This is not a joke. Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture.” The error was traced to PricewaterhouseCoopers partner Brian Cullinan, who had mistakenly handed over the duplicate envelope while distracted backstage, reportedly after tweeting a photograph of Emma Stone with her Oscar. The irony was sharp: PricewaterhouseCoopers had supervised the Academy's voting process since 1935, originally engaged after controversy surrounding Bette Davis's 1934 snub, and prided itself on meticulous safeguards, including identical sets of envelopes held on either side of the stage. In this episode, Arion, Rebecca and Olly force themselves to re-watch the excruciating moment repeatedly; consider how, following two years of #OscarsSoWhite criticism, the blunder landed at a particularly sensitive moment for the Academy; and admire the way the La La Land team somehow met this emotional rollercoaster with savviness and tact…  Further Reading: • ‘The Full Story Behind The 'La La Land' And 'Moonlight' Oscars Mix-Up' (Forbes, 2017): https://www.forbes.com/sites/natalierobehmed/2017/02/27/the-full-story-behind-the-la-la-land-and-moonlight-oscars-mix-up/ • ‘How Scandal Started PwC's Oscars Vote Count, Envelope System' (TIME, 2018): https://time.com/5182902/pwc-academy-awards-oscars-snub/ • ‘Oscars Mistake: Moonlight Wins Best Picture after La La Land Mistakenly Announced' (ABC, 2017): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvK-g1rehpU&t=1s #Mistakes #Film #2010s #Hollywood Join 

​​As people make more money, they tend to get sharper about almost everything. They think long term, manage risk better, hire experts, invest wisely and optimize their businesses and portfolios. But when it comes to health, a lot of people are still running the same basic playbook everyone else is. Standard labs, five-minute appointments, and just waiting until something breaks. When you want to level up in every area of your life, the conversation shouldn't be, "Am I sick right now?" It should be, "Where am I headed, and how early can I catch it?" The people who are strong, active, and dangerous well into their later decades aren't winging it. They're tracking smarter markers, finding issues years before they become diagnoses.  They understand a principle that lines up perfectly with money: The fundamentals compound. Biohacks may be exciting, peptides are trendy, and GLP-1s are everywhere. But if your cardiovascular system is weak, your metabolic health is sliding, and you're losing muscle, then you're not really upgrading your future. You're selling it off. In this episode, I'm joined by Ted Ryce, a performance coach who has worked with high-level entrepreneurs and starts like Richard Branson and Robert Downey Jnr.  He talks about how serious operators should think about their bodies, what advanced clients test for that most physicians never bring up, and why mastering the basics still wins in wealth and health. Things You'll Learn In This Episode  Looking fit isn't the same as being healthy You can lift, diet, and still be metabolically heading toward disaster, so what numbers actually predict trouble years before a diagnosis? The uncomfortable truth about weight-loss drugs If appetite goes down but muscle disappears with it, are you really improving your future, or borrowing against it? The health metric we shouldn't ignore What does your VO₂ max say about how long and how well you'll live, and why are so few people training it intentionally? Biohacks can't outrun broken fundamentals Before you experiment with peptides, hormones, and supplements, how do you actually master sleep, movement, and recovery?   Guest Bio Ted Ryce is a health expert and coach to entrepreneurs, executives, and high-performing professionals who want to reclaim their health, lose weight, upgrade their productivity and live an extraordinary life. Ted's been in the industry for 25+ years, coaching A-listers like Richard Branson, Robert Downey Jr., and hundreds of CEOs and entrepreneurs. He is also the creator of The Legendary Life Podcast, where he delivers, with humor, the best health and fitness information in the world, backed by cutting-edge science and common sense wisdom. To learn more, visit https://www.legendarylifepodcast.com/. If you want to work with Ted, visit https://www.legendarylifepodcast.com/here/   About Your Host From pro-snowboarder to money mogul, Chris Naugle has dedicated his life to being America's #1 Money Mentor. With a core belief that success is built not by the resources you have, but by how resourceful you can be. Chris has built and owned 19 companies, with his businesses being featured in Forbes, ABC, House Hunters, and his very own HGTV pilot in 2018. He is the founder of The Money School™ and Money Mentor for The Money Multiplier. His success also includes managing tens of millions of dollars in assets in the financial services and advisory industry and in real estate transactions. As an innovator and visionary in wealth-building and real estate, he empowers entrepreneurs, business owners, and real estate investors with the knowledge of how money works. Chris is also a nationally recognized speaker, author, and podcast host. He has spoken to and taught over ten thousand Americans, delivering the financial knowledge that fuels lasting freedom.   Resources Get Your FREE Copy Of 'The Private Money Guide'  and 'Mapping Out The Millionaire Mystery'.  Keep up with us every week on our FREE Live webinars for more conversations like this, and as a BONUS, get our newest mini-ebook instantly upon signing up! https://moneyschoolrei.com/wednesday-webinar (digital download). Dive into money, mindset, and motivation videos on my YouTube Channel, and be sure to subscribe so you can be notified of our weekly LIVE streams. Find out about our next weekend workshop, and see what others are saying: https://www.moneyschooltraining.com/registration.  

Measuring AI marketing ROI has become one of the most uncomfortable conversations in tech and marketing teams. Everyone knows AI is "important." Fewer teams can explain what success actually looks like. Even fewer can tie adoption to real outcomes rather than experimentation for its own sake. For developers and technical leaders, this isn't a tooling problem — it's a decision-making problem. The teams that win are the ones that slow down just enough to define value before they ship. About Meeky Hwang Meeky Hwang's journey resonates with entrepreneurs, technical leaders, and anyone navigating the intersection of technology and business. As CEO and Co-Founder of Ndevr, a digital solutions development agency, Meeky brings over 20 years of experience building resilient, scalable platforms for organizations including Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Forbes, PMC, and Bloomberg. Her work goes beyond website development—she focuses on long-term digital solutions that improve performance, streamline workflows, and align technology with business strategy. Equally important is Meeky's perspective as a woman leading in a male-dominated industry. She has navigated the challenges of technical leadership, entrepreneurship, and scaling a services business while building credibility and strong teams along the way. Her experience offers an honest look at what it takes to grow as a leader without losing sight of innovation, people, or purpose. Follow on LinkedIn and her Website. Measuring AI marketing ROI when the hype is louder than the data AI adoption today often starts with pressure instead of purpose. Tools arrive before goals. Budgets get approved before success criteria exist. That's the first red flag. If you can't articulate what improvement AI is supposed to create — conversion lift, content velocity, operational savings, personalization accuracy — you're not measuring ROI. You're chasing momentum. Measuring AI marketing ROI by defining outcomes before tools The most effective teams reverse the typical process. They define outcomes first, then ask which capabilities might support those outcomes. That discipline alone filters out most bad investments. Before selecting tools, answer three questions: What problem are we solving? How will we measure improvement? What happens if this fails? If those answers feel vague, that's your signal to pause. Measuring AI marketing ROI with clear baselines and success metrics ROI requires comparison. Without a baseline, every result looks impressive — or disappointing — depending on expectations. Establish: A pre-AI performance baseline A specific success threshold A review window short enough to stop bad bets early This turns AI from a belief system into an experiment with guardrails. Measuring AI marketing ROI without wasting budget on "maybe" features Not every feature deserves implementation just because it exists. Time and money are always the real constraints. Teams that succeed evaluate AI features the same way they evaluate architecture decisions: cost, risk, effort, and impact. When those tradeoffs are visible, priorities clarify quickly. Measuring AI marketing ROI while Google, SEO, and platforms keep shifting AI doesn't exist in isolation. SEO changes, platform updates, and algorithm shifts constantly reshape the playing field. That makes flexibility more valuable than novelty. Incremental improvements that survive change often outperform bold implementations that lock teams into fragile solutions. Measuring AI marketing ROI alongside compliance requirements and regional rules Global websites introduce real constraints — privacy, consent, accessibility, and regulatory differences. AI features that ignore compliance increase risk faster than they increase value. Measuring AI marketing ROI with a repeatable compliance checklist A checklist-driven approach ensures new features don't break trust or regulation: Regional consent and privacy rules Accessibility requirements Data handling expectations This protects ROI by preventing costly rework. Measuring AI marketing ROI through discovery, QA, UAT, and launch checklists Strong discovery reduces downstream chaos. Structured QA and UAT validate assumptions. Launch checklists prevent avoidable mistakes. AI doesn't replace these fundamentals — it amplifies their importance. Measuring AI marketing ROI as a founder: delegate, stay lean, and still scale Technical founders often delay hiring because they can do the work themselves. That works — until it doesn't. Sustainable ROI requires delegation. Growth depends on trusting others to execute while leaders focus on direction, not tickets. Callout: AI ROI Scorecard Define outcomes, baselines, and review windows before implementation Decide early whether to pilot, pause, or proceed Callout: Website Launch Checklist (Minimum Viable) QA, UAT, accessibility, and responsiveness checks Hosting, CDN, and integration validation Callout: Delegation Rules for Technical Founders Decide what you keep vs. hand off Train once, so execution scales later Conclusion Measuring AI marketing ROI isn't about skepticism — it's about clarity. When teams define value first, use disciplined checklists, and resist hype-driven decisions, AI becomes a multiplier instead of a distraction. If you want better outcomes, start with better questions — and build from there. Stay Connected: Join the Developreneur Community We invite you to join our community and share your coding journey with us. Whether you're a seasoned developer or just starting, there's always room to learn and grow together. Contact us at info@develpreneur.com with your questions, feedback, or suggestions for future episodes. Together, let's continue exploring the exciting world of software development. Additional Resources Online Communities and Marketing Creating your Marketing Site Branding and Marketing Fundamentals with Kevin Adelsberger Develpreneur - Forward Momentum Podcast Videos – With Bonus Content

It's right there in the name: ethical silk. But what does that mean? And can "cruelty-free sleepwear" be sustainable? Find out as we look into the Ethical Sleep Company and their eco claims, from peace silk production to Fair Trade Certification and beyond.SourcesEthical Silk Company website: https://theethicalsilkco.com/ World Fair Trade Organization: https://wfto.com/our-fair-trade-system/our-10-principles-of-fair-trade/ Mehera Shaw, their chosen fair trade workshop: https://meherashaw.com/pages/manufacture Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/councils/forbesbusinesscouncil/2023/08/01/when-fair-trade-isnt-fair-why-you-should-consider-direct-trade/Nature Sustainability: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0311-5.epdf Corporate Accountability Lab: https://corpaccountabilitylab.org/calblog/2021/5/20/fair-trade-usa-amp-the-failures-of-eco-social-certificationnbsp Treehugger: https://www.treehugger.com/silk-sustainable-impact-5094158 Patreon: patreon.com/greeningupmyactInstagram: @greeningupmyactFacebook: Greening Up My ActEmail us with questions: greeningupmyact@gmail.comYouTube: Greening Up My Act

People get paid to be in Forbes. Credential stacking won't make you a leader. You can't demand authority in a room. Your authority has to be learned, perceived, felt.When you have real authority, sales become easier. Clients stop comparison shopping. They trust your recommendations without pushback. You're not constantly defending your value. People come to you pre-sold.But most of what we've been taught doesn't work. Posting everywhere dilutes your message. People-pleasing marketing means you stand for nothing. Promises that don't match delivery destroy trust.I'm breaking down five psychology-backed ways to build real authority: consistent insights that diagnose problems, unwavering perspective even when polarizing, boundaries that signal high status, integrity between promise and delivery, and borrowed authority while you build your own.Timestamps: 02:46 Why Authority Matters06:08 Better Clients and Boundaries10:16 Marketing and Pricing Leverage28:57 Five Psychology Principles29:51 Pattern Recognition31:26 Insight Over Information32:57 Diagnose Root Causes34:43 Simplify Expert Language37:57 Consistent Perspective41:10 Trends Versus Beliefs54:03 Borrowed Authority ProofTo join the Ambitious Network for free, click HERE. To connect with Kate on Instagram, click ⁠HERE⁠. To apply for ITI, click ⁠HERE⁠.To submit a question to be answered on the podcast, click HERE.

In this episode of "The Free Lawyer," host Gary welcomes back legal industry expert Brooke Lively to discuss how overstressed lawyers can find fulfillment by running their firms like businesses. Brooke shares insights from her new book, "Scaling Law," explaining how the Entrepreneurial Operating System (EOS) helps law firms clarify vision, build strong teams, and foster healthy cultures. They explore common mistakes, the importance of data-driven decisions, and how embracing systems and external expertise can reduce stress, boost profitability, and allow lawyers to achieve both professional and personal success.Brooke Lively helps law firm leaders get more of what they want from their businesses: clarity, traction, and profitable growth. With more than 20 years in the legal industry and a lifelong connection to the profession, she understands attorneys on a level few can. Brooke's natural ability to challenge, guide, and inspire helps law firms cut through noise, simplify the complex, and build legal practices that run smoothly and profitably.As a serial entrepreneur and founder of two law-firm focused companies, Scaling Law and Cathcap, Brooke brings a rare blend of financial acumen and strategic insight to each engagement. She has worked with hundreds of law firms across the country, combining an MBA, the elite CFA designation, and hands-on leadership with a smart, direct, and refreshingly human approach to make scaling a legal practice easier and more fulfilling.An international bestselling author and industry thought leader, Brooke has published eight books – five written for law firms, including two bestsellers. Her ninth work, Scaling Law, focuses on helping firms implement EOS. Her From Panic to Profit series remains a go-to resource for attorneys and business owners ready to scale sustainably. Brooke's insights have been featured by CNBC, Forbes, and U.S. News & World Report, and she is a regular contributor to Attorney at Work. Lawyers' Lack of Business Training (00:02:46) Introduction to EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) (00:06:13) How EOS Impacts Law Firms (00:07:16) Importance of Vision and Culture (00:09:16) Balancing Directness and Empathy (00:14:16) Common Law Firm Mistakes: People Issues (00:15:25) How EOS Prevents Financial Missteps (00:17:57) Shifting Lawyers' Mindset to Business Owners (00:19:20) Delegation and Efficiency (00:20:34) Lawyer Stress and Responsibility (00:21:55) Creating Space for Personal Life (00:23:29) Scaling Without Burnout (00:24:56) Importance of Data in Decision-Making (00:28:14) Measuring Client Happiness (00:30:28) Value of Coaching and Accountability (00:31:52) Legal Industry's Slow Change and Need for Innovation (00:33:19) Future Trends: AI and Private Equity (00:34:44) Redefining Profit: Money, Time, Reputation (00:37:29) Closing Thoughts: Structure Brings Freedom (00:41:05) You can find The Free Lawyer Assessment here- https://www.garymiles.net/the-free-lawyer-assessmentWould you like to learn more about Breaking Free or order your copy? https://www.garymiles.net/break-freeWould you like to learn what it looks like to become a truly Free Lawyer? You can schedule a complimentary call here: https://calendly.com/garymiles-successcoach/one-one-discovery-call

In this powerful episode of What Are You Made Of?, Mike “C-Roc” sits down with Katelyn Rhoades—CEO of Enfluence Marketing Studio and host of the Call Her Creator podcast—for a raw and energizing conversation about resilience, reinvention, and building influence in the digital age. Katelyn opens up about growing up in chaos, learning early that no one was coming to save her, and making the decision to build a different life through grit, discipline, and self-education. From cleaning popcorn machines at 14 to selling her clothes to afford groceries in college, her story is rooted in the belief that ordinary people can create extraordinary outcomes if they're willing to do the work.Now a respected marketing strategist featured in Forbes and trusted by Meta, Katelyn shares how she transitioned from a stable corporate career into entrepreneurship, building a thriving social media agency with 30+ clients, multiple revenue streams, and a growing personal brand. She and Mike "C-Roc" dive into the mindset required to handle rejection, the importance of living by your calendar, creating an attraction model in business, and knowing when to move from operator to CEO. They also unpack the realities of parenting while building a business, the tension between hustle and presence, and why resilience—not luck—is the real differentiator.This episode is a masterclass in visibility, persistence, and sustainable growth for leaders who want to build both income and impact in today's attention economy.Website-https://enfluencestudio.com/Social Media Links/Handles- https://www.instagram.com/thekatelynrhoades/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/call-her-creator-with-katelyn-rhoades/id1726289174

Julia Carlson is an 8-figure entrepreneur, a top ranked financial advisor by Barron's and Forbes, author of Money Loves You and Let's Get You Fired, and speaker who's spent more than 25 years helping women build real wealth without burning themselves out in the process. She has built and scaled multiple companies, including a financial services firm, while raising a family. Today, Julia helps women entrepreneurs scale to 7 & 8 figures by firing themselves from the day-to-day and stepping into true CEO leadership to build businesses that create freedom, impact, and legacy. To give us insight into what that looks like in practice, this conversation will focus on the identity shift required to move from operator to visionary and why doing “more” stops working after 7 figures. Connect with Julia: www.thejuliacarlson.com www.instagram.com/thejuliacarlson www.linkedin.com/in/thejuliacarlson/ Loving our bonus content and want more Cubicle to CEO in your ears? Join us every Monday on our subscriber-only premium feed for case study–style interviews with successful entrepreneurs debriefing their real-time growth experiments and results. Subscribe to get insider access to what's actually been working for businesses in the last 3-18 months:  cubicletoceo.co/podcast If you enjoyed today's episode, please: Post a screenshot & key takeaway on your IG story and tag us ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@cubicletoceo⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ so we can repost you. ⁠⁠⁠Subscribe to our premium feed for case-study style interviews every Monday. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this conversation we hear about Kola's journey as self-taught coder, business school, learning by doing, and how he is self-funding one person AI company for doctors: Kola Tytler's parallel journey as an NHS Doctor while building pioneering and potentially world changing business is inspiring. Listen in on a remarkable conversation between host Richard Lucas and Kola Tytler, now a qualified doctor who taught himself to code. We explore the roots of his entrepreneurial activity, despite knowing he wanted to be a doctor from a young age. the influence and opportunities of being an immigrant from a different background as he went to medical school in London. his first venture selling event tickets via a Facebook platform, scaling a fashion blog with millions of followers, and launching and exiting the successful Dropout retail business in Milan Lessons of having investors who were not always aligned How he dealt with realising that he might have a bigger financial opportunity through dropping out of his studies. The benefits and limitations of bootstrapping when you have the resources to put together a great team The impact of both his formal business school education and self tuition via online resources like Y Combinator, and prominent SV figures like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. The ambition and vision for his self funded AI platform for doctors iatroX which provides clinical guidance to over 20,000 users. Kola's journey is a masterclass in calculated risk and relentless drive, Kola shares the critical lessons he has learned from his triumphs and challenges. Through insightful questions, Richard draws out the key takeaways on finding balance, the importance of a strong team, understanding domain expertise, and the necessity of continuous business education. This episode is packed with inspiration for anyone looking to bridge diverse passions and build a high-impact venture. About Kola Dr Kola Tytler – Doctor/MBA & full-stack developer MBBS @ King's College London Certificates in Law & Business (LSE & Imperial) MBA (with merit) @ University of Birmingham MSt Entrepreneurship @ University of Cambridge ‘26 Forbes 30 under 30 Europe, Forbes 100 under 30 Italy IBM-certified AI Engineer & MENSA member Founder of YEEZY Mafia, dropout, & HypeAnalyzer Links iatroX is a UKCA-marked, MHRA-registered medical device. It acts as an AI‑driven assistant that centralizes clinical guidelines offering: 1 quick Q&A, 2 structured brainstorming, and 3 an adaptive quiz engine for medical students. Kola Tytler's Linkedin Kola Tytler's personal websiteDrop Out MilanoHype Analyzer CAMentrepreneurs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Incident Recap: On February 18, 2026, around 9:30 p.m., Grand Rapids Police Department (GRPD) officers attempted to stop Da'Quain Johnson (32, Black man) on a bicycle near Eastern Avenue SE, suspecting he was armed (he was a convicted felon on parole with a prior gun charge). Johnson fled into an apartment complex parking lot. Officers deployed a K-9, leading to a struggle on the ground. An officer fired 3 shots into Johnson while he was face-down (K-9 biting his arm/neck area). Johnson died early February 19 at a hospital.Two Videos & Conflicting Narratives:GRPD Bodycam/Dashcam Footage (released February 19–20): Shows chase, K-9 deployment, struggle. Officers yell "He's got a f***ing gun!" and claim Johnson pointed a firearm at an officer's face ("I saw the barrel pointed right at my face"). A handgun was recovered beneath Johnson; police say he resisted and posed imminent threat.Bystander Video (viral on social media, shared by activists and Commissioner Robert Womack): Shows Johnson face-down on the ground, hands possibly behind his back, K-9 still biting, officer firing from above. Family and community dispute police narrative, calling it an "execution" or "lynching"—mother Angelica Johnson said after viewing his body: "They shot him in the back of the head... the photos will speak for themselves." No gun clearly visible in bystander clip.Current Status: Four agencies investigating (GRPD internal, Michigan State Police, Kent County Prosecutor, possibly federal). No charges against officer yet (on leave). Community outrage growing—vigils, marches, press conferences demanding full footage, independent autopsy, accountability. Amnesty International USA called for truth/systemic change. Still local/regional (WOOD-TV, FOX 17, MLive, Michigan Advance)—no national pickup (CNN/FOX/CBS/NBC/GMA) as of now.Panel Angle: Disputing narratives, police use of force, K-9 tactics, racial justice—how this hits MC communities facing similar scrutiny.Woman Pleads Guilty to Drive-By Shooting at Hells Angels Clubhouse in EvelethIncident: On September 4, 2024, Adrien Marie Gunderson (40, Forbes, MN) fired multiple shots at the front door of the Hells Angels clubhouse in Eveleth, Minnesota (St. Louis County, Iron Range area). She got out of her vehicle, approached the door, and shot—charged with drive-by shooting toward an occupied building and unlawful possession of a firearm (felon).Plea & Outcome: On February 23–24, 2026, Gunderson pleaded guilty to felony drive-by shooting. Plea agreement allows her to argue for departure from guidelines (presumptive 50+ months prison due to history). Sentencing set for May 2026—faces up to 4 years or more. No injuries reported; motive unclear (possible dispute/personal grudge).Context: Highlights ongoing tensions targeting Hells Angels properties—rare for a woman perpetrator.UNBELIEVABLE! 1%ers Outcast, Hells Lovers & Sin City Party Together St. LouisEvent: A recent "all Black" or unity party in St. Louis, Missouri, brought together chapters of Outcast MC, Hells Lovers MC, and Sin City (likely Sin City Disciples or similar)—three 1%er clubs known for rivalries or territorial history.Details: Outcast held the east wall, Sin City the south, Hells Lovers the stage. Reports describe it as peaceful—peace, fun, love, no drama. Shared widely on biker pages (e.g., Black Dragon Biker Facebook, Biker Liberty) as "UNBELIEVABLE" unity amid MC chaos elsewhere.Significance: Rare cross-club gathering—highlights shifting alliances or respect in the scene. Ties into broader MC unity themes.MC Protocol: Stopping Brothers from Sabotaging Your Marriage/RelationshipCore Discussion: In MC culture, "brothers" can unintentionally (or intentionally) interfere in members' personal lives—e.g., encouraging wild behavior, late nights, or drama that strains marriages/old lady relationships.Protocol Tips:Set boundaries early: Communicate with your old lady and club about expectations (e.g., no solo partying, respect for committed status).Club support: Lean on trusted brothers for accountability (e.g., "call me out if I'm slipping").Old lady role: Many view old ladies as partners—protect the relationship as club priority.Consequences: Sabotage can lead to internal drama or expulsion if it harms brotherhood.Panel Angle: Real-talk on loyalty vs. personal life—how to balance club life without letting it wreck marriages.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-dragon-s-lair-motorcycle-chaos--3267493/support.Sponsor the channel by signing up for our channel memberships. You can also support us by signing up for our podcast channel membership for $9.99 per month, where 100% of the membership price goes directly to us at https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-.... Follow us on:Instagram: BlackDragonBikerTV TikTok: BlackDragonBikertv Twitter: jbunchiiFacebook: BlackDragonBikerBuy Black Dragon Merchandise, Mugs, Hats, T-Shirts Books: https://blackdragonsgear.comDonate to our cause:Cashapp: $BikerPrezPayPal: jbunchii Zelle: jbunchii@aol.com Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/BlackDragonNPSubscribe to our new discord server https://discord.gg/dshaTSTSubscribe to our online news magazine www.bikerliberty.comGet 20% off Gothic biker rings by using my special discount code: blackdragon go to http://gthic.com?aff=147Join my News Letter to get the latest in MC protocol, biker club content, and my best picks for every day carry. https://johns-newsletter-43af29.beehi... Get my Audio Book Prospect's Bible an Audible: https://adbl.co/3OBsfl5Help us get to 30,000 subscribers on www.instagram.com/BlackDragonBikerTV on Instagram. Thank you!We at Black Dragon Biker TV are dedicated to bringing you the latest news, updates, and analysis from the world of bikers and motorcycle clubs. Our content is created for news reporting, commentary, and discussion purposes. Under Section 107 of the Copyright

Former Kansas City Chiefs offensive lineman Joe Valerio and Forbes.com writer Jeff Fedotin preview the NFL Combine, including who the Chiefs might be looking to draft and how the 2026 draft class looks in general. Joe also shares some memories from his experience participating at the 1991 NFL Combine and what it was like to meet with the Carl Peterson-led Chiefs. Agree or disagree with our thoughts? Let us know on X: @joevalerio73 and @JFedotin. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Learn more about Michael Wenderoth, Executive Coach: www.changwenderoth.comMost women have lived as the side dish – supporting everyone else while putting themselves last. When I shared that line with my wife, she didn't hesitate: “That's me.” In this episode of 97% Effective, I speak with Deborah Grayson Riegel — executive coach, leadership communications expert, and co‑creator of TheMeMenu, a new personal growth platform designed for women over 50 who are ready to reclaim agency, imagination, and momentum in their lives. Deb shares how she teamed up with celebrity chef Carla Hall to build something that blends coaching, creativity, and AI — all through the metaphor of cooking and their Six Flavor framework. We discuss what's different for women 50+, how AI can democratize coaching (and where humans still matter most), and what partners can actually do — practically — to support the women they love. I also share what surprised me most in this conversation — including what I learned after asking my own wife what actually helps (hint: “How can I help?” isn't always it). By the end of this episode, you'll see cooking as a powerful lens for work and life. While The ME Menu is designed for women over 50, the key message — navigating obligation and agency — applies to anyone ready to write their next chapter.SHOW NOTESTheMeMenu storyWhy so many women spend decades as the “side dish,” what it means to reclaim main-dish energy – and why that mattersHow Deb connected with Carla Hall, celebrity chef, and why the collaboration clicked so wellWhat TheMeMenu actually is: A way of thinking and being + 6-week self-paced coaching program + An AI-powered “Sous Chef” for spot-coachingWhat makes TheMeMenu unique: Built by women over 50 for women over 50, Carla Hall's “secret sauce”, and a mission to democratize access to coachingWhy Deb sees AI as a complement to human coaching, not a replacementInside the CollaborationDeb, Carla, and Kirsten: three women, three strengthsTheir creative process: cooking vs bakingWhy “nothing works if the raw ingredients aren't good”The importance of creating their “mise en place”Over 100 iterations – and why “there's no such thing as done”Building a product while the technology was still emerging Practical TakeawaysWhat partners, spouses, kids, and friends can most do to support the women in their livesTwo powerful questions to ask – and 1 micro-behavior that mattersWhy “How can I help?' can be taxing – and why it's often better to just make offersThinking in terms of a lifelong conversation, not a one-time check-inLightning Round laser insights: Deb on the hard truth about personal change, the key to collaboration, the power of her summer in Spain, and the focus of her new book, Aim High and Bounce Back: A Successful Woman's Guide to Rethinking and Rising Up from Failure BIO AND LINKSDeborah Grayson Riegel, MSW, PCC is a keynote speaker, leadership communications expert, executive coach, and author. She is the co-creator of TheMeMenu.com, a self-paced coaching platform designed to help women reclaim purpose and momentum in midlife and beyond. Deb is a regular contributor for Harvard Business Review, Inc., Psychology Today, Forbes, and Fast Company – and author of multiple books include Go to Help, Overcoming Overthinking, and her newest book, Aim High and Bounce Back (2026), which explores how women experience failure differently — and how to rise after setbacks. She is a certified executive coach (ICF PCC) and holds a BA from University of Michigan and MSW from Columbia University. Connect with DebTheMeMenu: https://www.thememenu.com/aboutDeb's website: https://deborahgraysonriegel.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deborahgraysonriegel/Deb's new book, with Fiona Macaulay – Aim High and Bounce Back: A Successful Woman's Guide to Rethinking and Rising Up from Failure https://a.co/d/05NJJNcn People and Things referencedCarla Hall, celebrity chef: https://carlahall.comStanford Business School WIM groups: https://tinyurl.com/yc6zssc2Halle Barry at the DealBook Summit: https://tinyurl.com/ymmcuk54What exclaiming “poo-poo-poo” means (Jewish expression): https://tinyurl.com/yn6ny9t3Hybrid Intelligence: 2025 Columbia University Coaching Conference https://tinyurl.com/4ss3s2cr“Mise en place” (French culinary phrase for “putting in place”): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mise_en_place More from 97% EffectiveMichael's Award-winning Book: Get Promoted: What You're Really Missing at Work That's Holding You Back: https://tinyurl.com/453txk74Watch this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@97PercentEffectiveAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Zac Efron allegedly likes boating with men, Nick Reiner pleads not guilty, FBI head Kash Patel parties with US Hockey, BAFTAs N-word controversy, Tobey Maguire is MIA, and Murder in Glitterball City. It's snowing outside. The east coast is shut down. Mexican cartels are terrorizing the Puerto Vallarta. AOC had a rough week discussing foreign policy. She's gone on the offensive, but all we hear is snoring. Gretchen Whitmer didn't fare much better. Elon Musk stumbled recently while answering a question. Kash Patel is causing a stir after celebrating with the US Men's Hockey Team. Donald Trump called the boys after the victory. The Women's Team, however, have declined their invitation to the State of the Union. There is NOTHING new about Nancy Guthrie. Hoda Kotb is the big winner of the whole ordeal. Pinky rings are not becoming a thing. A missing woman was found alive and well after 24 years. The family of Eric Dane continue to fundraise. John Davidson has Tourette's and shouted the n-word at the BAFTAs. Nicole Curtis is the victim. Prince Andrew and Peter Mandelson go down following the release of the Epstein files. Nick Reiner has pled not guilty in the murder of his parents. We see the first pics of him since the incident. Documentaries: HBO's Murder In Glitterball City is quite the murder/mystery doc. Girl on the Run: The Hunt for America's Most Wanted Woman is another good watch out there. Tyra Banks doesn't come off very well in Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model. Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette breaks down the complicated relationship. Chicks (and Marc) dig it. Tobey Maguire has been MIA in Hollywood for some time. Justin Willman is the hot new magician. David Blaine, meanwhile, was #MeToo'd and is all over the Epstein Files. Markleverse: Meghan Markle is gloating over Prince Andrew's arrest. She's in meltdown mode over all her staff quitting. Prince Harry needs a job. Paris Hilton loved being on Meghan's terrible podcast. The Royal News Network on YouTube puts Meghan in her place. Her latest grift is booze. Thomas Markle is getting a prosthetic leg. Floyd Mayweather is going to fight Manny Pacquiao on Netflix in September. Floyd really needs some money right about now and is suing Showtime and Forbes. Zac Efron is a Yacht Boy? Programming Note: Marcie Hume (Corey Feldman vs. The World) and Lita Ford will join us on Wednesday. Merch is still available. Buy it before it's gone. If you'd like to help support the show… consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (Drew Lane, Marc Fellhauer, Trudi Daniels, Jim Bentley and BranDon)

Erin Claire Jones was introduced to Human Design by a stranger in New York City in 2015—a chance encounter that would change the course of her life. Today, she's one of the world's leading experts in Human Design. For the past decade, Erin has been teaching it as a practical tool for alignment in work, love, and everyday decision-making. Through her coaching, courses, digital products, and personalized guides, she's helped hundreds of thousands of people worldwide return to who they truly are and find their flow.  Do you know what career you're really meant to pursue? Can you identify the relationships you should really be investing in? Are you living your life to the fullest? Do you want to understand better your partner or work colleagues? Human Design is a mystical personality assessment that uses NASA data, astrology, and Eastern philosophy to generate mind-blowingly accurate insights into how you uniquely thrive at work, in love, and beyond. It is very practical and gives detailed info on what Human Design you are and you can find out what Human Design your children are, spouses are, and make dynamics make more sense. Erin's book: How Do You Choose?  A Human Design Guide to What's Best for You at Work, in Love, and in Life is a hands-on guide to using your Human Design to find more flow at work, deepen your relationships, and make aligned, confident decisions. Her work has been featured in Forbes, The Sunday Times, Vogue, Allure, Nylon and more. https://erinclairejones.com/book You can find out your human design by going here: BLUEPRINT GUIDE: A hyper-personalized, super accessible guide to your human design Here's the link to get your custom guide: https://humandesignblueprint.com/guide Link to study human design with Erin:  https://humandesigngenius.com/ Website: www.heatherthomson.com Social Media: IG: https://www.instagram.com/iamheathert/                     You Tube: https://youtube.com/@iamheathert?si=ZvI9l0bhLfTR-qdo SPONSOR: AirDoctorPro - Head to www.AirDoctorPro.com  and use promo code HEATHER to get UP TO $300 off today! AirDoctor comes with a 30-day money back guarantee, plus a 3-year warranty—an $84 value, free! Get this exclusive, podcast-only offer now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Get tickets to our live show here [Feb 25th London]:  https://luma.com/83fj2zkc————————————————————Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techishThis week on Techish, Abadesi and Michael break down OpenAI snapping up Peter Steinberger, the mind behind the viral OpenClaw AI assistant, to lead its push into next-gen personal agents, and youth unemployment in the UK hitting a five-year high. And for our Patreon listeners, we've got another wild entry in the ever-growing Forbes-to-Fraud pipeline.Chapters00:22 The Rise of OpenClaw: Is Agentic AI the Future?12:21 UK Youth Unemployment Hits 5-Year High23:28 Gökçe Güven Risks 52 Years in Prison Over Fraud Charge [Patreon-Only]This episode is sponsored by DeleteMe. Get 20% of DeleteMe at joindeleteme.com/techish with code TECHISH.Extra Reading & ResourcesWho is OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger? The millennial developer caught the attention of Sam Altman and Mark Zuckerberg [Fortune]UK unemployment hits highest rate for nearly five years [BBC]Forbes 30 Under 30 Founder Charged With Defrauding Investors of $7 Million [Inc, $] Techish Live: Get tickets to podcast live show here: https://luma.com/83fj2zkcSupport the show————————————————————Get tickets to our live show here [Feb 25th London]: https://luma.com/83fj2zkc ———————————————————— Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techishpod/Advertise on Techish: https://goo.gl/forms/MY0F79gkRG6Jp8dJ2———————————————————— Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techishhttps://www.instagram.com/techishpod/https://www.instagram.com/abadesi/https://www.instagram.com/michaelberhane_/ https://www.instagram.com/hustlecrewlive/https://www.instagram.com/pocintech/Email us at techishpod@gmail.com

Recorded live in the Narvar Podcast Studio at NRF Big Show, Steve Dennis and Michael LeBlanc sit down with Dan Frommer, the iconic tech journalist and Founder of The New Consumer, to explore the forces reshaping retail and consumer behavior. Frommer challenges the prevailing “vibecession” narrative, arguing that despite low consumer sentiment readings, spending remains resilient. Drawing on proprietary survey data from 3,000 U.S. consumers, he outlines a nuanced picture: younger consumers are increasingly digital-first, deeply connected to creator culture, and entering their peak earning and spending years. Millennials show the highest trust in AI, while Gen Z is more skeptical about automation's impact on work and identity. GLP-1 medications are seen as a game changer, driving shifts in spending. Health and longevity also take center stage, with more than 40% of Gen Z and Millennials in “health optimization mode.” Frommer highlights TikTok Shop's explosive rise as creator-led commerce flips marketing economics. In the news segment the hosts discussion how the Supreme Court's IEEPA tariff ruling triggers chaos for retail. With up to 70% of tariffs affected, pricing and supply chain uncertainty now dominate. Retailers face refund confusion, volatility, and political storms. Walmart posts strong earnings but signals a slowing trend. Half of its e-commerce orders ship from stores, three-hour delivery reaches most Americans, and retail media surges ahead. Wayfair gains share in a struggling home market, but staying unprofitable raises tough questions. In the “Remarkable Story of the Week” of the week, Aritzia acquires Fred Segal's intellectual property, as plans to resurrect the storied West Coast fashion retailer. On the radar: sneaker wars intensify as New Balance nears $10B in revenue and Nike navigates turnaround pressures at Converse. QVC also is reportedly mulling a Chapter 11 filing. Link to Dan's 2026 The New Consumer report here.  About UsSteve Dennis is a strategic advisor and keynote speaker focused on growth and innovation, who has also been named one of the world's top retail influencers. He is the bestselling author of two books: Leaders Leap: Transforming Your Company at the Speed of Disruption and Remarkable Retail: How To Win & Keep Customers in the Age of Disruption. Steve regularly shares his insights in his role as a Forbes senior retail contributor and on social media.Michael LeBlanc is a senior retail advisor, keynote speaker and media entrepreneur. Michael has delivered keynotes, hosted fire-side discussions hosted senior retail executive on-stage in 1:1 interviews worldwide. Michael produces and hosts a network of leading retail trade podcasts, including The Remarkable Retail Podcast, The Voice of Retail The Food Professor, The FEED powered by Loblaw and the Global eCommerce Leaders podcast. He has been recognized by the NRF as a global Top Retail Voice for 2025 and 2025 and continues to be a ReThink Retail Top Retail Expert for the fifth year in a row.

In this episode of One Sharp Sword, Dr. Wayne Pernell sits down with mission-driven tech founder Dekel Skoop, a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree who has built companies serving underserved markets—from web accessibility to cybersecurity. Dekel shares hard-earned leadership lessons on scaling organizations, hiring for adaptability and common sense, and why people always come before process and product. He also unpacks how real growth guarantees change—and why great leaders plan for it instead of resisting it. This is a grounded, practical conversation for founders, executives, and leaders navigating growth in fast-changing environments. Key Takeaways Why people—not products—are the foundation of scalable organizations How successful growth guarantees change (and why that's a good thing) The leadership discipline of hiring people who are better than you How to assess adaptability, culture fit, and common sense when hiring Why small and midsize businesses are the backbone of the global economy How Guardz is simplifying cybersecurity for MSPs and SMBs Connect with Dekel ● LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/dekel-skoop-469335118

"I believe in the power of people wishing to volunteer for initiatives rather than assignment of duties and responsibilities and having people feel as though it's a chore… (They) serve as champions in their areas to educate their fellow peers on what it means to be sustainable, what they can do that's in their power to contribute to the outcomes….And then as we started to become more mature…we formed structured committees, we leveraged those champions on the units to participate. We made it enjoyable in terms of participating. We actually have contests… (I)t just breeds excitement about sustainability and I think it just allows for a culture where people become engaged and part of the process." Carol Gomes on Electric Ladies Podcast Healthcare is a huge 18% of the economy and uniquely has to be caring well for patients and staff  24/7 every day while also vulnerable to extreme weather events itself. How do they do that, how do they cover those costs, and what can we all learn from them? Listen to Carol Gomes (pronounced like "homes"), CEO and COO of Stony Brook University Hospital in this fascinating conversation with Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson.   You'll hear about: ●        Their initiatives and systems to reduce energy and water consumption, CO2 emissions, waste and manage the significant hazardous waste a hospital generates. How "quality" is a mantra. ●        How they have engaged their people, building a unique culture, to embrace sustainability. ●        What Practice Green Health is and what other industries can learn from their data, analyses and sharing of best practices. ●        Plus, career advice, such as:   "I would say use your voice sooner than later. And if you see something, say something. If you wish to express yourself and you have an opinion and you're sitting at a table, express it and don't be shy… I think also leveraging networking opportunities is really important and volunteering for a committee or stretching yourself a little more than you normally would, and exploring areas where you may feel you're not as strong and don't be fearful of that… building relationships is not text messaging. It's not leaving voice messages. It's talking face-to-face, getting to know people, what's important to them." Carol Gomes on Electric Ladies Podcast Read Joan's Forbes articles here. You'll also like: ·       Using Software & AI to Reduce CO2 & Increase Resilience – with Lydia Walpole & Chris Bradshaw of Bentley Systems ·       Leveraging AI for Sustainability – with Mandi McReynolds, VP of External Affairs & Chief Sustainability Office at Workiva ·       Music, Public Health & Climate Action – with Emma O'Brien, Ph.D., Global Scrub Choir ·       Connecting With Curiosity – with Jennifer Hough, Author, TEDx Speaker, Advisor to Leaders ·       Artificial Intelligence and the Climate: Stephanie Hare, Ph.D, author of "Technology is Not Neutral" and BBC Broadcaster ·       Why Our Lives Depend on Women on Boards – with Corinne Post, Ph.D., Lee High University (now at Villanova)   Subscribe to our newsletter to receive our podcasts, blog, events and special coaching offers. Thanks for subscribing on Apple Podcasts or iHeartRadio and leaving us a review! Follow us on Twitter @joanmichelson

Keith digs into what's really going on with apartments now that values in many markets have dropped 20–40%. You'll hear why larger multifamily properties have been hit so much harder than one-to-four unit rentals, and what that means for both current owners and new buyers. "The Apartment King," Brad Sumrok, joins the conversation to share how recent economic shifts, financing structures, and market forces have reshaped the apartment landscape—and why he believes we may be near a key turning point in the cycle. You'll also learn how investors are approaching deals differently today, what makes certain markets and property types more attractive right now.  Resources: Learn more about Brad here. Episode Page: GetRichEducation.com/594 For access to properties or free help with a GRE Investment Coach, start here: GREmarketplace.com GRE Free Investment Coaching: GREinvestmentcoach.com Get mortgage loans for investment property: RidgeLendingGroup.com or call 855-74-RIDGE  or e-mail: info@RidgeLendingGroup.com Invest with Freedom Family Investments.  For predictable 10-12% quarterly returns, visit FreedomFamilyInvestments.com/GRE or text  1-937-795-8989 to speak with a freedom coach Will you please leave a review for the show? I'd be grateful. Search "how to leave an Apple Podcasts review"  For advertising inquiries, visit: GetRichEducation.com/ad Best Financial Education: GetRichEducation.com Get our wealth-building newsletter free— GREletter.com  Our YouTube Channel: www.youtube.com/c/GetRichEducation Follow us on Instagram: @getricheducation Complete episode transcript:   Keith Weinhold  0:01   welcome to GRE. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold us. Apartment Building values have fallen 2030, even, 40% over the past few years. Investors lost millions. What are all the reasons that it happened? And when will apartments turn around? I'm joined by the apartment king today on get rich education.   Corey Coates  0:26   Since 2014 the powerful get rich education podcast has created more passive income for people than nearly any other show in the world. This show teaches you how to earn strong returns from passive real estate investing in the best markets without losing your time being a flipper or landlord. Show Host Keith Weinhold, writes for both Forbes and Rich Dad advisors, and delivers a new show every week since 2014 there's been millions of listener downloads of 188 world nations. He has a list show guests include top selling personal finance author Robert Kiyosaki. Get rich education can be heard on every podcast platform, plus it has its own dedicated Apple and Android listener phone apps build wealth on the go with the get rich education podcast. Sign up now for the get rich education podcast or visit get rich education.com   Keith Weinhold  1:09   the same place where I get my own mortgage loans is where you can get yours. Ridge lending group and MLS, 42056, they provided our listeners with more loans than anyone because they specialize in income properties. They help you build a long term plan for growing your real estate empire with leverage. Start your prequel and even chat with President chailey Ridge personally while it's on your mind, start at Ridge lending group.com that's Ridge lending group.com you   Corey Coates  1:40   you're listening to the show that has created more financial freedom than nearly any show in the world. This is get rich education.   Keith Weinhold  1:59   Welcome to GRE from Monterrey, California to Monterrey, Mexico and across 188 nations worldwide. America's favorite shaved mammal on a microphone has got his slack. John, act back on track for another wealth building week with you. I'm Keith Weinhold. This is get rich education, and I'm still not wearing a pair of Dockers. We all know that the one to four unit space single family homes, up to four plexes have held under their values despite soured affordability, but five plus unit apartment buildings are a drastically different story. We're going to talk about just how much value they've lost recently, and the reasons why it's about more than just the interest rates doubling and tripling that began in 2022 Today's guest is an apartment educator. His students have had both losses and wins over time. I'll ask about both, because adversity is where you get the lessons now today, you might buy an apartment building at a steep discount compared to what it sold for five years ago. And who might you buy an apartment from today, it might not be the type of seller that you're thinking about because of owners defaulting you might now be buying it from a bank that had to basically repossess it. Yeah, you might try to buy it from a lender at 60% of the loan amount. Well, a lender doesn't want to do a 40% write down, so they're going to try to get more and see. That's how this could practically look today for an apartment owner that survived the crisis and is still standing today. They're asking themselves, now, why would I sell at a discount if I don't have to? So they're probably going to try to hold on. And then, of course, the tenants in these apartments don't know that any of this is going on now. I own a lot of single family rental homes myself, also apartment buildings in the one to one and a half million dollar range is where I've played, and often that ends up being eight to 12 units, because in that space, I don't need partners to invest in assets of that size. One to $2 million is also small enough so that you're not competing with institutional money and other players. Today, I'll tell you what I did with some of those buildings myself when interest rates reset about four years ago, and before you and I wrap up the show today, I've got something to tell you about what's coming in future. GRE episodes here stuff that's really unexpected as the apartment King waits in the wings. One last thing to tell you about, like I mentioned to you recently, investors say that they want an opportunity, but what they really want is certainty. Once certainty arrives, the opportunity. Is gone.    Keith Weinhold  5:01   Our GRE live event last Thursday was a success. It is about how central Florida is the most compelling housing market right now, with the builder offering rate buy downs as low as 3.75% and, you know, I just ran the numbers on something, and I can hardly believe this. All right, right. Now owner occupied mortgage rates are near 6% this means investment property rates are almost 7% with the rate by down to 4% here's how your cash flow looks with a 30 year fixed rate mortgage on a 300k loan with a 7% rate, your p and i payment is 1996 at a 4% rate. It's just 1432, this is a reduction of $564 per month, a whopping payment difference. That's really the difference between treading water and stacking cash flow on these brand new build properties that we're talking about here in Central Florida. So talking about opportunity and certainty, that is a big measure of both. Yeah, before I ran the numbers, I didn't realize that the spread was this wide. With high demand for these properties, the builder does have some more available, a long term fixed rate of around 4% it should be up for you now you can see the limited time replay of GRE, freshest live event at grewebinars.com, in case you want to look into This again, grewebinars.com let's discuss the apartment market. Foreign apartment building values have fallen at 20% 30% even 40% over the past few years, depending on the market that they're in today, we're going to learn how bad it is, why it happened, and if that actually creates an opportunity here in the late 2020s, decade, our guest is known as the apartment king. He is the number one nationally known educator and mentor for apartment investing. He started with a bang in 2002 by making his first ever real estate investment, not a four Plex like I did, but a 32 unit apartment building, and he's now owned and invested in over 11,000 units and over 1 billion in assets under management. He's received awards like the naa independent owner of the year, and he's the star of the massively popular in person events that he puts on, which you'll learn about soon. Hey, it's been several years. Welcome back to the show. Brad sumrock,   Brad Sumrok  7:46   hey, Keith. It's really good to be on again. Nice to be here.   Keith Weinhold  7:50   Brad and I were together in person last month, and we also talked physical fitness. Then Brad is one of the fittest guys you'll ever meet in person. He just looks fantastic. We want to hear about your apartment forecast shortly. Brad, let's talk about the hard stuff. First, you've endured adversity since we last had you here several years ago. Tell us about that.   Brad Sumrok  8:14    Well, look, I mean, I think anyone that's been serious about investing in apartments over the last five years. And I'll also say it this way, anyone who did a deal and say 21 the middle of 21 till probably the end of 2022 it's very likely that that property is worth less today than than it was when we bought it. So that, in itself, has created, you know, adversity, because I got into the business in 2002 and the market went up until 2008 and we went through a downturn in 2008 nine and 10, as is, I'm sure you're aware. And then the market went up again until around 2021, mid year. And then, due to so many reasons, and I could go into those reasons, but let me just just cut to the chase. That you alluded to is we had another downturn, and so the downturn, you know, impacts property values, it impacts confidence, it impacts investor appetite to do deals. It impacts just about everything related to the business, on the investment side, and the other business that I'm in, which is the seminars, the events and the mentoring. So it's been a big downturn, and we could go into those, you know, into the reasons why, and I'm sure you'd like to know my take on that. But now is a great time, because things are recovering, and one of the things Tony Robbins teaches Keith is pattern recognition. It's like I've been through two downturns, and I could see the patterns, and it occurs to me that we're at or near the bottom of a cycle. So like it's also a good time to be gearing up.   Keith Weinhold  9:50   Now, many realize but for those uninitiated on this, the one to four unit space really didn't feel much pain starting in 2022 so much of that is time. Two people get long term fixed interest rate debt on the one to four unit property, but it's shorter term debt on five plus unit apartment buildings. So when interest rates went up, people soon had to pay those higher rates. They were underwater. That's really the genesis of so much of the apartment building pain.   Brad Sumrok  10:19   Well, and I would say, look, it was, I'm going to throw a bunch of things at you here. So we had the pandemic, right? And during the pandemic, people got paid to stay home from work, right? The government printed, what, $5 trillion worth of money, right? And so that kicked off what became a period of, like, very high inflation. And you know, the published number was 9% but I think a lot of people experience certain items that were a lot more than 9% like, for example, for sure, in 2022 when we bought a 286 unit property, you know, we were able to replace all the appliances inside of a unit in The kitchen, you know, for $1,800 and even today it's like $3,200 so that's a little bit more than 9% and so we had that. So we had the printing of money, we had inflation, we had variable rate debt. Why did people do variable rate debt? The first thing I'll say is there is a place for variable rate debt. But what happened in 2021 and 2022 is the fixed rate lenders, which are typically the government sponsored agencies Fannie and Freddie. They were still lending money, but because of their criteria for lending, if you would go with one of those loans, you would get like 50% leverage the shorter term lenders that would give you the three year loans, you can still get like 75 to 80% leverage. So the vast amount of people that were buying anything in 2021 and 2022 I mean, I'm not just talking about myself. I'm talking about people with 2030, 4050, 70,000 doors all over the country, they were buying with short term debt. And historically, short term debt performs at or better than long term debt. I mean, think about it, when you get a long term, 10 year fixed rate loan and multifamily you have prepayment penalties. You know, when the market's constantly going up like it did, from 2012 to 2022 you could get that fixed term loan. You could pay it off early, you could pay the seven figure prepayment penalty, and you could still make lots and lots of money, and that's what people were doing. So when you bake in the prepayment penalties on long term debt, you know short term debt is oftentimes the better option. Well, nobody saw the Fed raising rate 16 times in 12 months. And look, I don't care what anybody says, Nobody predicted it. If they had predicted it, they would be probably the richest person in the world right now, right nobody saw a comment like, there may have been some people that said, hey, yeah, this is going to happen, or this is going to happen. But what actually happened with the Fed rates over a very short period of time was unprecedented. Unprecedented means it never happened before. So it's not something you could anticipate or something anyone can model. Okay? And so what that did is most of us had what's called an interest rate cap, which is an insurance policy that if the rates go up too much, that yours is capped. But the problem with those rate caps is they're only good for like, two years, right? So we're buying these deals in 2021 and we're getting short term debt, which is a three year debt. And in two years, in 2023 the rate cap expires, and now the rates are 9% instead of 3% and when we bought the deal, the rate cap insurance was $40,000 and now it's a million dollars. And so you're in a very awkward, unfriendly financial situation. And it wasn't just that. So it wasn't just inflation, it wasn't just interest rates. And many of us sung belt markets, specifically Texas and Florida, which historically have been some of the best markets to invest in, because of migration and no taxes, and then landlord and business friendly environments. Well, these states also suffered a lot of named storms, with, you know, hurricanes and wind storms and hail storms and so in these markets, at the same time, we had rising rates. At the same time, we had massive inflation. Now we also have insurance rates doubling or even tripling in some occasions. And then the final thing was, during the pandemic, a lot of the multifamily projects that were in the middle of being built, these development projects, they all slowed down. People couldn't work. And so back in 2020, or after we're fully recovered from the pandemic, some of these markets, like Nashville and Austin and Dallas and Houston and Phoenix, they got deluged Keith with new supply coming on, like a disproportionate amount of new supply. So there's like five. Five things that contributed to multifamily being really tough in the last few years. And so it wasn't just people with short term debt that had challenges. It was probably just about anybody that bought a deal within an 18 month timeframe that I outlined before that just really experienced challenges, and some of those people are still in deals, right? And so let's just take a deal that's, you know, a $10 million deal with a $7 million loan. Well, that deal right now might be only worth 7 million, yeah, and that's the opportunity. So the owner that has that deal may get punched in the face, so to speak, you know, by the market, and they may lose their equity in that deal, but the borrower coming in, or the buyer coming in, like one of my mentees right now, had a deal that was listed at 11 million, and he's picking it up for seven, which is, like, at or below the current loan value. So one buyer group's loss is the new buyer group's opportunity, if that makes sense   Keith Weinhold  16:03    right? 100% there's nothing unusual at all about the mortgage rate levels that began to go higher about four years ago. The unusual part, and Brad has touched on it, is the rate of increase, with mortgage rates doubling or tripling in a short period of time, within about a year or so, but yeah, it's a great point. It's about more than the mortgage rates. It's about increasing insurance costs and increasing expenses of all types, like you talked about with the appliances there, and then, even if you were able to weather all that as an apartment building owner, with all of the supply coming on to the market, when supply exceeds demand, we know what happens to price, and we also know that you can't raise rents very much with all of this supply coming on the market, but the supply of new apartment buildings, that inflow, that wave, is beginning to die down, because builders got the memo quite a while ago that they need to stop building at such a fast pace in places like Florida and Texas and you know, Brad, there are a lot of asset classes that have been beaten up lately. We can always point to a few. You can look at Bitcoin or nfts or even commercial office space. Now those assets might bounce back, but they don't have to, because no human needs those things. But I expect apartments to bounce back because having a place to live is a primordial Maslow and human need. It's almost inevitable. In fact, shelter is at the base of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. So a bounce back has almost got to happen. Yeah.   Brad Sumrok  17:46   Look, it's becoming the big word right now in politics. Right is affordability. And so when you look at affordability, if you take a median priced home in this country of say, $400,000 I don't know if that's the actual median, but maybe it's around 400 420,000 100, $420,000 yes, to buy that home. And who's going to buy a $420,000 home? It's going to be a working class family making 60 to 70,000 a year, right? They could rent a median priced apartment unit for $1,800 a month, or they could pay a 20% or a 10% down payment on a $400,000 homes, and they need 40 to 80,000 down right, or maybe less, but they still need a down payment and that p i, t i, the principal, interest, tax and insurance is going to be around $3,100 okay, so there's a $1,300 per month gap, and that's a big, big gap for that working class family. And so where are they going to live? Like we're becoming more and more of a renter nation? Keith, and the statistics that I read say that only 27% of American families can even qualify to get a mortgage, yeah, on a $400,000 home. So we're becoming more and more and more of a nation of renters by necessity. And so the demographics like look, all markets are not equal. You got to know what's going on in your market. But there are markets, ie locations, geographies that have even a higher affordability gap. You know, some markets have a 2000 a month or a $2,500 a month affordability gap. So you're going to find more and more people renting in these markets.   Keith Weinhold  19:37   Yes, there is a premium to ownership opening up that gap, and that's why we have this wave of renters that's really already begun. In about the last year, the American homeownership rate has fallen from 66% to 65% 1% doesn't sound like much, but that already means that we have 1.3 million new renters. We're going to talk to Brad some more, including about. His apartment market forecast you're listening to get rich education. Our guest is apartment King. Brad sumrock, more when we come back, I'm your host. Keith Weinhold,    Keith Weinhold  20:09   flock homes helps you retire from real estate and landlording, whether it's one problem property or your whole portfolio through a 721 exchange, deferring your capital gains tax and depreciation recapture. It's a strategy long used by the ultra wealthy. Now Mom and Pop landlords can 721, the residential real estate request your initial valuation, see if your properties qualify@flockhomes.com slash GRE. That's f, l, O, C, K, homes.com/gre,   Keith Weinhold  20:45   you know, most people think they're playing it safe with their liquid money, but they're actually losing savings accounts and bonds don't keep up when true inflation eats six or 7% of your wealth. Every single year, I invest my liquidity with FFI freedom family investments in their flagship program. Why? Fixed 10 to 12% returns have been predictable and paid quarterly. There's real world security backed by needs based real estate like affordable housing, Senior Living and health care. Ask about the freedom flagship program when you speak to a freedom coach there, and that's just one part of their family of products. They've got workshops, webinars and seminars designed to educate you before you invest. Start with as little as 25k and finally, get your money working as hard as you do. Get started at Freedom family investments.com/gre, or send a text. Now it's 1-937-795-8989, yep. Text their freedom. Coach, directly. Again. 1-937-795-8989,   Hal Elrod  21:58   this is Hal Elrod, author of The Miracle Morning, and listen to get rich education with Keith Weinhold, and don't quit your Daydream.   Keith Weinhold  22:13   Welcome back to get rich Education. I'm your host, Keith Weinhold. We're talking about a sector we have not talked about very much lately because it's been in rather moribund condition, but we are beginning to turn the corner where there are more opportunities in apartment building investing, because it's been beaten down an awful lot. And Brad, that plays right in to your apartment forecast. So tell us about some of the highlights of your apartment forecast.   Brad Sumrok  22:38   Yeah, sure. And one of the things that I want to share with you, Keith, is that, you know, back in the peak of the market, the market peaked, say, at the end of 21 early 22 there were so many investors that were in multifamily or that wanted to be in multifamily. And the other thing that caused this so called, you know, downturn that I didn't mention before is, let's take this $10 million deal. If a property was listed at $10 million you'd literally have 30 to 40 buyer groups pursuing that deal, bidding up the price. Yeah. And so a $10 million Listing would sell for 11 and a half million Okay, now what I'm seeing is that same $10 million deal might sell for a seven to 8 million and you might be the only buyer going after the deal. Wow. And how do I know? Because you said, like, I run a an investor community and and I have active multifamily buyers, and I coach them, and I look at their deals, and this is what's happening. And the other reason I know is I sold two of my deals personally in 2025 and both of the deals that I sold, I bought in 2015 where we had 10 year fixed rate debt. So we didn't sell because we had a three year loan. We needed to sell because we had a 10 year loan due. And look, first thing I'll say is I made money, because over that 10 year period, values did go up. They peaked in 2022 and they came back down that because I bought it so long ago. That's the one lesson that I think people also want to understand, is over the long term, the values always tend to go up, but there are short term ups and downs that one would need to be aware of. But when I sold these two deals like I didn't have many buyers one deal in particular. I mean, I had eight buyers going after the deal, but only one was anywhere close to what I wanted. So I was negotiating with myself, you know, telling the buyer and his broker, hey, you know the other guys are here, and you got to come up on price and you got to come up on terms. But truthfully, I was bluffing, because I didn't have anybody that was coming up on price or coming up on terms. And so part of why I'm answering this way is when you look at the forecast, one thing that that I want people to know is that those. Of us that are in the business now and that have our pencils up, and we're underwriting deals, and we're making offers, like I used to teach Keith, don't make lowball offers, because you'll develop a reputation of being that guy or that borrower or that buyer that submits lowball offers, right? And word will get around in that market? Well, right now, like low ball offers are expected, and I would encourage people, let's just say you make an offer that whatever the deal pencils out to. So if you know how to underwrite deals correctly, and they're offering 10 million as a listing price, and you're coming up at seven or 7.5 don't be bashful to make the offer, and you may be the only buyer in the game. So that's one thing is like the competition that I'm seeing right now on the buyer side is not a lot of competition, and that's definitely shifted to a buyer's market. So people need to know that. The other thing I would say, on the macro level, is there's still a lot of uncertainty out there, and the uncertainty is kind of becoming like what I would call a new normal. You know? I'll speak for myself. When Trump was elected and at the end of 2024 I thought it was going to be amazingly well for all of us real estate investors, right? And there are some things that have been like the big, beautiful bill that restores 100% bonus depreciation like this is a really good thing, but you know, the tariffs, the immigration policies, some of the things that he's doing, you know, they have mixed impact for us and our in the economy and in real estate and in multifamily. And the thing is, when he first started doing that again, like lenders, they didn't know how to price debt, like, what's going to happen with tariffs, what's going to happen with ice what's going to happen with immigration, you know? But now that we're a year in to his second term, I can tell you a couple things. Debt is back. Lenders are lending. They're confident. Lenders are issuing debt like you can get 70 to 75% of your acquisition funded by a commercial lender. The government agencies are lending. Freddie Mac is lending. Fannie Mae is lending, and they have a mandate to lend 20% more money in 2026 than they did in 2025 so that bodes well for people that want to get, you know, affordable workforce housing, which is my specialty, also known as Class B and Class C housing. So the lenders are lending like, there's a lot of debt out there. One of the challenges is the equity. There's a lot of institutional equity. But if you're going to the retail investor who got into the business three to five years ago. They don't want to hear about your next deal right now, they're wondering about, hey, what about the deals that I'm in? Right? So one of the things that I'm doing, Keith is, and I think, you know, this is like, you know, I build up a huge investor community from 2012 to 2022 and I did it by traveling the country, speaking at conferences, sponsoring trade shows, talking about the benefits of investing in apartment buildings, how it changed my life, how it enabled me to retire from a six figure income in just three years, and how I've helped many, many other people Do the same, and also just sharing experience today, every asset class, every 10 to 15 years is going to go through a correction. And so where we're at now. And I wasn't the only one on the forecast. I brought in John Chang who is the senior intelligence officer at Marcus and millichep, one of the biggest commercial real estate firms in the country, and he presented about 20 or 30 slides that by and large were very bullish on where we're at in the market cycle. Why now is a great time to be looking at apartment buildings, a lot of the same things that I've been talking about. Prices are down. It's a buyer's market. We have a huge affordability issue. More and more people are becoming renters, and so what I'm committed to do, Keith and I don't know if I shared with you my travel schedule, like when we met each other last month, but I'm on the road every single week going to another city, talking about where I see us right now in the market, and why people should be looking at deals and making offers right now. Because to me, you know, Warren Buffett said it best. He's like, you want to be fearful when everybody else is being greedy, and you want to be greedy when everybody's being fearful. And right now, people are on the sidelines. They're waiting for some green light, like for the Wall Street Journal to come out and say, Hey, now's a good time, you know? I mean, look, Trump, just the point of the new Fed chair, right? And so we know interest rates are going to go down like that's one of his goals, and the guy that he appointed is going to lower rates. So we're looking at a future, a very near future, where we have lower rates, and lower rates is going to create more demand, again, for people that want to buy. I invest in apartments now, look, if you wait another year, I still think it's going to be a good time, but I think we have a better time right now.   Keith Weinhold  30:10   I sold one apartment building in 2022 for about $1 million and I sold another one of my apartment buildings in 2023 for about $1 million I had bought those in 2013 with 10 year balloon loans, so I was enjoying that nice fixed rate as late and as long as I could, until 2022, nine years and 2023, 10 years before the rate went up on me. But of course, my new buyer had to pay that rate, so it limited the amount that they could offer for it. However, to your point about investing for a long time horizon, I still had profits on those nine and 10 year holds, but yeah, to your point, Brad about the looser lending, this is huge. I read a summary of the latest national Multifamily Housing Council meeting, and one of the biggest takeaways that came out of that meeting is that there is abundant debt available. It's in increasingly attractive terms. And a lot of people think about mortgages, and they just think about the rates, and you should that's certainly important, but they don't think as much about the propensity for others to lend. How loose, or how tight are those standards? They're loose, yeah.   Brad Sumrok  31:25   And, I mean, look, the first deal I did in 2002 the interest rate was 6.35% the rates right now are less than that, you know, as of the date of this recording. So, you know, I always talk about a base case of a $10 million deal. It may seem large to you or to people listening, but like in my world of syndication, where we're not just looking at the real estate piece, but learning how to raise money to buy real estate so we could have a bigger property that's professionally managed and become a true business owner like Robert Kiyosaki talks about, do you want to be self employed? I tell my students, buy a six Plex. Do you want to own an apartment business by 60 units and hire a management company? So when I'm talking about this $10 million deal, you know, you can get a $7 million loan right now for probably in the mid 5% and it would be non recourse, and you could probably get three years of interest only, meaning for the first three years, you're going to have a higher cash flow. So like, this is a really good loan compared to 2021 when we could get 3% debt. It's not but remember that 3% loan was a short term loan. You know, it wasn't a 10 year fixed rate loan, it was a short term loan, and we all saw what happened with that when they raised rates so many times in such a short period. So the fixed rate debt is very competitive based on, like, the long term, 20 year average, and it's lower than it was when I started.   Keith Weinhold  32:55   Well, we've been talking about elements of your apartment market forecast, and of course, that's going to inform your Buy Box. Brad, you mentor students constantly and oftentimes we think about a Buy Box. We think about then in terms of geographic market, but as we look for an opportunity, we also might think about some other things in your Buy Box, for example, new build versus vintage build. So with all of this traveling you do, and you're in the markets, and you're informing students, and you're looking at students prospective deals as well. But tell us more about what a good buy box is for the near term in apartment buildings.   Brad Sumrok  33:36   Yeah. So look like what is in the buy box, right? So one is going to be your location. And so, you know, how do I select a good location? Just some tips and strategies around that is, I look for landlord and business friendly environments. In other words, if the tenant doesn't pay, do they get to stay or not, you know, so I like to be in market so that they don't pay, that we could legally, you know, not have them consume our product for a long period of time. So I also look at things like job growth and population growth, affordability gap. New supply is a percentage of inventory, you know, the new supply coming online in a diversified economy. So, like, you want to get your geographies nailed down. Like, where you buy matters, like, there's no substitute to I would rather pay more for a property in a location that meets that criteria than less for a property that doesn't. Yeah. So geography is important. You want to pick your property size, like, how many units, or what's the price point. Okay? And this is huge, because if you're gonna buy your own deal with your own money, which is another reason I prefer syndication. Let's say you have pick a number, 100,000 to invest. Like you can only buy a $300,000 property, two units somewhere, three units somewhere, you know. Or zero units somewhere, right, right? So if you have expanded your you know, your mind and your skill set to do a syndication 100,000 doesn't limit you to your own money, you know. And then I would say, Well, what is a great size for a first time syndicator is I would target somewhere around 60 to 80 units, and at 100,000 a unit, which is a ballpark price for maybe a nice B class property or high C Class property, and a market that meets the criteria that I outlined earlier. You know, you're looking at, say, a six to $8 million property. And so what you could do from there, Keith is, you could say, Okay, well, you know, this is why, like in my educational course, I use a $10 million property, because the numbers are easy. But even just say, Well, I'm going to do an $8 million property, you'd say, Okay, I need two to 3 million down, depending on the debt, right? And then I'm going to get a the balance in a loan, you know, because you could get a 70 to 75% loan. So then you ask, Well, where am I going to get to 2 million, right? If I have 100 I need $1.9 million and so then you got to start thinking about like, do I have access to people or work or in the neighborhood or at the community or at the church, you know, or do I go to masterminds and conferences and meetup groups like, where I saw you Keith last month, like, there's a lot of investors there with a lot of money, right? And some of them are looking to be passive investors. And so, you know, there's a whole nother conversation around, you know, raising capital. And if you can't raise capital, then you may want to bring in some people on your GP team that could help you raise capital, as long as you're following, like the SEC compliance and again, that's another discussion. That's the importance of having the buy box so you have your geography, your property size, your property class. You know, again, if you just want the new construction stuff. There's some people out there, like big name, famous people, that are highlighting their 800 unit a class deals that they're buying. And of course, like you or I that are just getting started, can't go buy that deal. And so why? You know the institutions are going after the large A class properties in the best areas. And so where I've made my niche Keith, and what I would recommend most people start is start with the older vintage properties, start with the 1970s properties, and then maybe work your way up to the 1980s and 1990s properties. And why is this is because the institutions don't want those properties, and they're still able to be professionally managed. Like, if you go and buy 100 unit C Class property, as long as it's not in a bad neighborhood with, like, high crime or whatever like that. Like, these are very honest, hard working, working class people that need a clean, safe and functional place to live, and you'll be able to get better returns on a C or A B class, also known as like the cap rate. And again, that's another discussion, but you'll be able to get a better return on an older vintage property than you would on a vintage property. And you're not competing with the institutions, but you're also not competing with the mom and pops, because the mom and pops are going to take that 100,000 they have and go buy a duplex. You know, they're not going to want to syndicate a deal. They're not going to want to have partners. They're not going to want to deal with the so called complexities of buying a company. And that's what buying an apartment community is, Keith, it's buying a company. You're buying a business that has an income stream already being generated those customers, they're called residents. They're called tenants, you know, but if you just go upstream from buying real estate or buying an apartment building, we're buying a cash flow producing business that's existing, that's in place, and then our job is to figure out how to run it better and more efficiently. You the   Keith Weinhold  39:04   You the listener, you might have access to, say, 500k in equity that's sitting in your existing properties. And some of these numbers that Brad and I are throwing around are rather large, $10 billion but one of the biggest epiphanies that I think your students have is that doesn't need to be much of your own money. We're talking about what's called the capital stack to take down a $10 million apartment building. Maybe you borrow seven and a half million of that. Maybe you raise 2 million of that from your other investors in the syndication, and then you put your 500k into the deal, and there you have $10 million in order to make that purchase. But yes, that does involve a learning curve and the SEC rules and all that. But the big takeaway here is you don't need much of your own money. You can leverage other people's money, even for the down payment. And Brad, you're also an expert at showing people how to pay almost. Zero tax, which is another discussion unto itself, but some of your students start with zero experience, and within a few short years, I mean, you've had hundreds of people that have either retired early or increased their net worth by over a million dollars. A lot of success stories,   Brad Sumrok  40:17   yeah, look, I mean, I started with no previous real estate investing experience. My experience was going to college, studying hard, getting decent grades, becoming an engineer, you know, being fired once, being laid off once, and reading Robert Kiyosaki books that motivated me to to go out and seek specialized education. And I think it was Jim Rohn that said formal education, like degree could get you a job, and specialized education like you can get in a conference or a mastermind or a mentorship program. And that's also how I started. I went to a weekend workshop back in 2001 and I bought the mentorship program. And boy, I'm glad I did, because, you know, that's how I got into my first 62 units. So you don't need to have experience. What you need to have is a powerful reason, a powerful why? Why do I want to be financially free? Like apartments is just a vehicle. I didn't choose apartments because I love departments. I choose departments because they cash flow, they go up in value, and you have amazing depreciation benefits.   Keith Weinhold  41:23   Yeah, I'm the same. I don't love apartments in a way. I don't love real estate. I love what these things do for me    Brad Sumrok  41:30   exactly. Yeah? So, like, you don't have to have experience. In the other category, of people that have come into my community that don't have apartment experience, a lot of them have real estate experience, Keith, that are doing, like, single family homes, short term rentals, or maybe smaller, multi unit deals. And they listen to a show like this, and they're like, huh, I want to transition from doing these smaller types of assets with my own money and self managing to scaling into a syndication.   Keith Weinhold  42:03   Brad has taken countless people from get rich education to got rich education. His core values are faith, finance, fitness, family and fulfillment. He is committed to helping people experience not just financial success, but personal fulfillment, purpose, contribution, freedom and Brad and his investor community have contributed over $1 million to charity. Is really the person you want to learn from if you want to think about going bigger with multifamily apartment buildings. This has been great, Brad. Let our audience know how they can connect with you and learn more?   Brad Sumrok  42:42   Yeah, sure. So I would say this is where I should just be very clear here, okay, but I'm gonna give a couple options, because that's what I'm so of course, there's a website which is my first and last name.com, B, R, A, D, S, U, M, R, O, k, for those of you on social media, I respond to my own social so you'll find me again. B, R, A, D, S, U, M, R, O, K, on LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook.   Keith Weinhold  43:13   Brad, it's been so valuable. It seems like American apartment buildings are in for redemption story here. It's been great having you back on the show.   Keith Weinhold  43:29   Brad and I both emphasize physical fitness, and we chatted about that a good bit when we were together last month. I think he looks better than me. To summarize, the reasons for this historic collapse in apartment building values. It was the combination of soaring interest rates, massive inflation, spiking insurance costs, construction soared, and it created an oversupply, and that oversupply still is not absorbed. In fact, according to the outlet apartment list, the National multifamily vacancy rate recently hit 7.2% that's the highest in the history of the index, which dates back to 2017 and that's chiefly due to apartment oversupply. Have apartments really hit the bottom? Brad just said, we're at or near the bottom, and it's a good time to be gearing up as far as what's coming. To give you an idea of new apartment supply, what takes about two years from construction start to completion. And now you can't just have all US apartment construction come to a complete stop. You have to keep people working. And there are almost 400 MSAs in the United States, so you couldn't coordinate a complete ceasing of construction across every area. So how about the level of new construction starts in apartment units today, and the way that HUD counts it is the number of units started in buildings of five plus units the recent peak. Was about 600,000 annually in 2023 and today it's closer to 400,000 there it is that slowing pace of new apartment construction. If you jump into multifam, be careful of properties with deferred maintenance, because understand that you have a lot of underfunded owners Now Brad can tell you specifically what to look out for his rat race to retirement event is March 28 and 29th in Dallas. It's a two day hands on workshop. You'll learn how to find apartment deals, how to underwrite deals, how to raise capital management and your exit. Discover how you can retire in five years or less by owning apartments again. His website is Brad sumrock.com    Keith Weinhold  45:49   coming up on future episodes here on the get rich education podcast. We're about to go on a run. The next stretch of GRE is loaded. We've got fresh topics with some game changing monolog content that I'm going to share with you new guests, distinguished experts, we're going to break down an innovative way to sell properties that could completely change how you think about your exit strategy of the 50 US states. I'm going to discuss some awful states to invest in, including ones with population loss. On another episode, a distinguished subject matter expert and I are going to dive deep on does America really have a housing shortage, not in apartments which are oversupplied, but is there a shortage in the one to four unit space? That's our topic, because you probably heard contradictory information in the media about whether there's a shortage or not, and then some outlets say there's a housing shortage of 2 million units. Others, 10 million. They're all over the place. We're going to sort it out on an upcoming episode. Does America really have a housing shortage? Then the youngest guest to ever appear on the show will be with us. He's a 19 year old college student that has a real estate investing related major, and since last year, he and I have befriended each other. He was born in about 2006 so it'll be interesting to see how he views the investing world and what they teach him about real estate investing in college today, he is probably the most impressive teenager that I've ever met in my life. Then six weeks from now, we will have an epic get rich education podcast episode 600 on a subject as paradoxical and complete with a GRE contrarianism That builds real wealth, debt is the American dream will be episode 600 if you're serious about building wealth, be sure to follow or subscribe to the show. We are going on a run. If you know someone in your life who needs to think differently. If you know one investor who's still waiting for perfect conditions. This will help them tap the Share button and tell them about the show until next week. I'm your host. Keith Weinhold, don't quit your daydream.   Unknown Speaker  48:14   Nothing on this show should be considered specific, personal or professional advice. Please consult an appropriate tax, legal, real estate, financial or business professional for individualized advice. Opinions of guests are their own. Information is not guaranteed. All investment strategies have the potential for profit or loss. The host is operating on behalf of get rich Education LLC, exclusively.   Keith Weinhold  48:42   The preceding program was brought to you by your home for wealth, building, get richeducation.com  

Sometimes friends should discuss the uncomfortable. This week there was a lot of that. The US is stacked around the middle east and showing the most firepower in one place since 2003 when Iraq was the target. We get into that, CERN revelations that seek reality. Did you know the elites like the DuPont and Forbes family got together for seanaces where Aliens were allegedly summoned? Crazy stuff, but apaprently happened. Kids are being lead astray by negligent schools. They don't understand what they are protesting, yet the indoctrination network that is the public school system encourages them. Curt Cobain's death is back in the news. Zhoran Mamdani creates a brigade of snow shovelers with several id's yet he supports no ID's for voters. Canada is inviting foreign warriers into their country with citizenship. New Zealand is practing war against Christians and Macron of France hates freespeach. Busy week. Take a listen.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/razor-wire-news--5683729/support.www.razorwirenews.com