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Michael Begg began as an Amazon seller and quickly saw an opportunity in e-commerce marketing. He figured how to successfully sell products online. That led to the idea of creating their own agency, AMZ Advisers, full-service, e-commerce, and digital marketing consultancy partnering with brands to evaluate and develop their e-commerce strategy. Today he joins us to talk about how he started scaling his agency, how he used third-party platforms to get his first clients, and how he stays on top of his niche. He also shares tips on how has had great success near shoring his team. 3 Golden Nuggets Play to your strengths. After establishing an agency and getting your first clients, you are probably thinking about scaling. Agency owners should always play to their strengths by figuring out the high-value and low-value tasks. Hire people that can start taking care of the low-value tasks. The importance of the first 100 days.  You got a new client, great! Celebrate, but also make sure to have a plan for the first 100 days to ensure retention. Joey Coleman speaks about the importance of the first 100 days when onboarding a client. In Michael's case, his agency has set up an internal structure where the first 90 days are dedicated to the basics. That will give them enough information about the next steps and will give the client the first results to decide if they would like to continue the relationship.  Staying on top of your game. Platforms like Google, Facebook, and Amazon are constantly changing and if you take a step back from the implementation, you'll fall behind, which will negatively affect your ability to train other people. Michael's agency avoids this by selling products on Amazon themselves. This allows them to use their company as a guinea pig to learn things that they can apply to clients. Sponsors and Resources SweetProcess: Today's episode is sponsored by SweetProcess. If you're looking for a way to speed up processes in your agency, SweetProcess will provide the systemization you need to scale and grow your business. Check out sweetprocess.com/smartagency and get your productivity up. Subscribe Apple | Spotify | iHeart Radio | Stitcher | Radio FM How Near Shoring Your Agency Team Helps Scale Jason: [00:00:00] I have a great guest today and we talk about how he's grown his Amazon agency. And really he moved down to Mexico, created a team down there, and is really scaling it very fast. Really interesting episode. I hope you enjoy it. Are you frustrated with how long it takes you to get stuff done in your agency or tired of your team missing steps or falling through the cracks? You know, you may be looking for an easy way to capture SOPs to scale your agency faster and easier. Now, our partners at Sweet Process have created an amazing tool to help you overcome all these frustrations. Sweet Process really lets you create step-by-step instructions for every task in your agency. From writing proposals to executing client work and responding to client requests. So everything gets done more easily, no more mistakes or missed steps. Plus you'll have a central place where everyone employees, contractors, or even VAs can access your procedures anytime from anywhere, the best way to learn about how Sweet Process really can streamline your agency is to start using it. So exclusively for the Smart Agency masterclass listeners, you can try it out for 28 days free of charge. No strings attached. Just go to sweetprocess.com/smartagency to start your free 28-day free trial today. That's sweetprocess.com/smartagency to get your SOPs down and your productivity up. All right, welcome to the show. How are you doing? Michael: [00:01:42] I'm good, Jason. Thank you for having me here. Jason: [00:01:44] Yeah, I'm excited to have you on, so tell us who you are and what do you do? Michael: [00:01:48] Sure. My name is Mike Begg. I'm one of the co-founders of AMZ Advisers and we're an agency that specializes in the Amazon marketplaces. We help brands increase their sales, manage their advertising, and just maximize their visibility on the Amazon platform. Jason: [00:02:04] That's awesome. So how did you get started? And then tell me kind of the origin story about how did you transition to Amazon. Michael: [00:02:11] Yeah, so we actually started as, uh, myself and my two partners, we actually all started as Amazon sellers ourselves. Before that, I was actually working in retail. I was working at Sears in retail real estate development. And this was in like 2014, 2015. So it was a very interesting time for the business because a lot of things were, you know, the stores were really struggling, trying to figure out ways to make money. And at the same time, we kind of saw what was happening in e-commerce and saw an opportunity there. So originally we just started selling products for ourselves to make some money on the side. And we found out we were really good at doing that. And we realized that a lot of other companies, a lot of big brands, were really bad at it. So that kind of led to the idea of creating the agency, AMZ Advisers, and yeah, from there, we just went out and got our first clients. And it's been six years now and we just keep going forward. Jason: [00:03:03] So that's great. And so walk us through kind of, how did you start getting your first clients? Did you just go, hey, I see your position in Amazon. It sucks. Like, do you want our help or what? Michael: [00:03:15] Yeah. So the original way we started getting clients was, well, two different things. The first, I guess, sales meeting that we went on, uh, was with a distributor in Long Island. I'm originally from Connecticut. And I think we saw his, uh, job post on like Indeed for like an Amazon expert. And we just like reached out to him and we were like, look, you're not going to be able to hire anyone for this position. Uh, and then we kinda got the first meeting that way. But beyond that, platforms like Upwork, FreeUp, ODesk used to be, I think was part of, it was a part of Upwork, now freelancer.com. All of those, uh, we just started putting our profiles and our company on there and started taking jobs, even if they were low costs. Just to, to start moving up the ranks. And yeah, that's really how we started building and getting those initial clients. Jason: [00:04:04] You know, we had a mastermind member talk about how he generated like over a hundred thousand in monthly recurring revenue from Upwork. And I was like, there's no way, because I just always looked at it as like a platform like Fiverr, like find cheap labor. He's like, no, no, no. And he walked us through a strategy. I'm like, wow, that is really pretty clever. I was like, if that existed, I was like, I would have done that. Like, that was great. Michael: [00:04:29] Yeah, no, it was awesome. I mean, for growing a business, it was perfect to get started because we didn't really understand exactly what companies we were going after or what companies really needed this service. So it was kind of a way for us to learn and figure things out. And yeah, I mean that, it just kind of developed into building out a real sales and marketing strategy from there. Jason: [00:04:49] Yeah. Let's talk about a little bit about how have you been able to start scaling, you know, the agency, you know, I look at, you know, the first part. It's just really getting started, you know, going after the clients, knowing where you're going, getting that, you know, that direction. So as you're in that building phase, and then you get to that systems phase. So talk about a little bit about how have you guys been able to scale. Michael: [00:05:13] Yeah, I think you bring up a really good point there. And in that initial phase where you're kind of just getting those clients, it's really important to play to your strengths and what you're good at, what you're not good at. So the great thing about having partners in the agency business is that, you know, we each compliment each other. So like, I'm very good at marketing and advertising. I have a partner who was very good at sales. I have another partner that's very good at project management. So between all of that, that really helped us execute initially to get to the point where we could start figuring out the processes to go forward. So that's always important, I think when you're in that initial phase, and then when we're looking at that next level of building the processes, it's okay. Which way do we approach it. What are our high-value tasks? What are our low-value tasks? And can we start by getting rid of some of these low-value tasks to other people? So the way we started with that, at least from my perspective on the marketing side was, you know, blog writing. I started outsourcing blog writing instead of doing it myself, content marketing, coordination. So doing the outreach to other people, you know, I started outsourcing that to a VA. SEO link-building like started outsourcing that to a VA. So it started with those low-value tasks that really allowed me to focus on the higher value items. And then from there it's more of right now, how do I train someone to take over some of this higher value stuff? Because I mean, I think a VA is great for that low-value stuff, but getting them to execute on the high value is definitely harder. Jason: [00:06:43] Yeah. It's really challenging. So, you know, I like kind of the process that you went through of going like, hey, how do I get rid of a lot of the stuff? So what were some of, outside of just VA is like, let's talk about kind of the management level. What was kind of that first person like you guys are around 30 people now, so you got some structure in place. And a lot of times people look at it going, man, I would never want 30 people. Because there are kind of that process of like five employees and they're already maxed out and then they think all 30 are going to report to you. Which is, obviously that's a mistake. Like that's a bad, that's a bad structure to have with 30 people. So talk a little bit about the structure that you guys put in place and then how has it evolved? Michael: [00:07:26] Yeah, so I think originally the first people that we brought in that, you know, weren't ourselves to help where, I guess I call them Amazon experts, the people that understood the platform and how to sell on it. And you know, that allowed us to start taking on more clients because now we can leverage their bandwidth to help with. Then we got to a certain point where we realized, well, we need someone to kind of oversee a lot of what they're doing to make sure it's consistent between what each of them are doing because everyone has different levels of knowledge within Amazon. And I mean, just with anything, you know, some people that are more experienced are going to have more knowledge than others. So we called them the Director of Account Management, uh, was the one that really helped oversee everything. That was our initial kind of manager position. And that handled the, the client-facing side of the business and it worked for a while. And then we figured out it didn't work. We had to kind of evolve a little bit more. And then on the back end of the business, you know, we obviously have a lot going on with, you know, coordinating marketing. I have a marketing manager that handles all of that for me. Content creation, that's a big part of our business is, you know, graphic design, SEO, copywriting. And we brought in a project manager to really help oversee that process. We promoted a designer to really lead the design and make sure designs were consistent across everything. And those are kind of the management positions we started, we started filling start helping us manage things better. Now that Director of Account Management role has kind of faded out to the point where now we have, you know, a real client success team and we have an advertising team. So now the account managers are responsible for managing the relationship. The client success manager is making sure that that's responsible for working. And then we have the advertising team making sure that they're actually getting the results. So, there's definitely an evolution there and I'm sure there's a lot more, that's going to come, but from failing a lot, that's kind of where we got to where we are now. Jason: [00:09:19] Awesome. And then, is there a framework that you've developed over the years for making sure that you deliver, you know, the value to your clients that are on Amazon? Because I always find with successful agencies, there's always kind of a methodology or a framework that they actually follow. Michael: [00:09:39] Yeah, I agree with that. I think there kind of needs to be, we call it a playbook or, you know, just something that you can implement. That's going to get consistent results across clients. I mean, you need to be organized in a way, especially if you're going have people working for you. So yeah, we have implemented like, something like that. I mean, we focus on, uh, an initial 90-day plan to get, make sure every client, we hit these things in the first 90 days from during that period, we're collecting a lot of data and that's going to help us formulate our strategy beyond there. But yeah, I think having an initial, uh, methodology to make sure that they're getting the right results in the beginning with all the setup and you know, all the fundamentals. And then from there seeing where the data is taking us and then implementing the strategy then. Jason: [00:10:21] So let's dive a little bit more into kind of the 90-day plan. So let's say someone goes, hey, um, I want to, you know, be a big dog on Amazon. This is what I want. Right. And, uh, like walk me through that process. Like, are you selling them a 90-day plan or are you selling them something different? Michael: [00:10:39] Yeah, we're selling them. I mean, we obviously want this to be a long-term partnership. We want it to last longer than 90 days, but in our opinion is that, and our view on it is that if you don't see the value within the first 90 days, then like what's the point of working with us. So, you know, initially, we just got to make sure that everything is set up in the account correctly. A lot of times within Amazon, people are doing things incorrectly there, you know, it's just costing them money or making them look not as good as it could. Uh, from there, you know, doing content, making sure everything is optimized. From there, starting advertising and like, yeah, moving down the line, but starting like really with the basics and the fundamentals. And then we think after, you know after we do those things within the first 90 days, you're already going to start seeing a pretty good return on the investment. And that's like what we call the window to show the value and beyond there it's just continuing to show value primarily through advertising and you know, other marketing strategies. But yeah, that's kind of the way that we approach it. We don't sell them on the idea of a 90-day plan. It's, you know, we just have that internally. Jason: [00:11:39] Yeah, I love that you do that the 90 days, you know, I had a guest on, uh, Joey Coleman who will link up in the, in the show notes. If you guys go there, as well as we had him speak at our Digital Agency Experience, and he talked about why the first one hundred days is so important when you're onboarding a client. Like we all think of, hey, we got a new client. Yeah. Celebrate, ring the gong, ring the bell. That's it, but it's all about like retention, you know, like when I'm chatting with agency owners and we talk about, you know, alright great you're good at attracting. You're good at converting, but are you really good at streamlining the operations where, which, you know, part of that is retention and upsells to other things. So it's yeah, you could be like, there's a lot of companies I know that will be nameless. I won't call out anybody that we're really good at sales and marketing, but they sucked at operations. And you have to kind of get all three of those together. This has all been great. Is there anything I didn't ask you that you think would benefit the audience? Michael: [00:12:37] Yeah, I mean, I think there's something interesting when we're talking about, you know, running a business and an agency in general, and I think this last year has made it more relevant than ever. It's just the ability for remote work and that's something that we really leveraged within our business. I mean, you know, virtual assistants are pretty common, but, uh, I actually moved, left the country. I live in Mexico now and, you know, what's helped us build our agency is by building a team down here. So, you know, now I'm leveraging not only the cost savings but the ability to scale faster by hiring more people. And, you know, I'm hiring. Like I talked, like I talked about the range of low value, high value, again, you know, the great opportunity is now that I'm here with them and I can train them on the high-value tasks. So, having the ability to hire a team like that, international, that's not virtual assistants that are on the other side of the world is definitely been very important for us. It's really allowed us to improve the product quality as well, because I think a lot of agencies generally go that independent contractor route where you definitely don't have as much control versus actually having an employee. Jason: [00:13:39] And let's talk about this a little bit, because we actually bought a company on our agency in Costa Rica that did the very easy development work. You know, it was only one time zone away. We were on the east coast at the time and in Atlanta and they were, you know, on central time. So it was really easy, but we always had a struggle with giving them more qualified or thinking tasks. And you just mentioned like you live in Mexico, which is great. I'm sure the weather's a lot better from Connecticut. I grew up in Long Island, so I know how bad the weather gets up there. So Mexico is like, yes. So if someone was hearing this and going, man, I'd love to get a lower-cost labor, but really good. Does it require them having to move there or what have you found is the musts? Michael: [00:14:31] I don't think it requires them having to move there. But I think a lot of times, and this is a big challenge where I think a lot of agencies struggle and I know we struggled with it, is transitioning from I'm hiring someone where I think I know what they're doing to transitioning to I'm hiring someone that I need to train to do what I want. And, you know, that can, all it can be done virtually. I mean, a lot of companies succeed like that one example, you know, we, I have another company down here that's a US-based company. And what they do is they have literally a live camera in the office. So it's like in a TV screen. So it's just like, two-way communication live. If someone has a question, they answer it there. It's almost like being in the physical office. So I think there's a lot of ways to tackle that problem. But if you don't, aren't in that position to really train them, if you don't have, I always say documentation, good SLPs build on how to do things, it's going to be that much harder for them. And I think that's really where a lot of people will probably fail with that. You know, for us being here in the office was great initially, because, you know, we were able to hire people. I mean, when it comes to thinking of people that can think critically. Yeah, we've hired some engineers. We've hired MBAs, uh, people that have really helped us scale in that sense because they have more business experience. But yeah, if we weren't there supporting them, we weren't training them. Like we were, we probably would've just set them up for failure. And then, you know, we wouldn't have seen the return on it. So, and now, again, being remote with COVID, I'm the only one in my office, out of all my employees. So it's definitely still possible to do it. You know, we, we've trained over the past year. We've trained another five people completely remotely up to the point where they're able to, you know, take clients. Uh, handle everything, you know, understand all the strategies. So it's doable, but obviously, that training piece is the key to it. Jason: [00:16:17] like what you said about the TV and the two-way. I just keep picturing the Wizard of Oz. Right? Like the guy, you know, the guy always watches me. Like, I'm watching you, like, you got a question? You're not working? That's pretty funny. That's when you mentioned that, I was like, oh my gosh. Michael: [00:16:35] It's definitely like strange in a sense that it's kind of like big brother watching you, but at the same time, it actually, I think it's really an interesting idea if you're collaborating between your team and a different country. So like for example, a good example of this is let's say you're the marketing head. You're the CMO. And you hire everyone down here. So you have your entire marketing team here, but you're based in the US so you hire a CMO to have a team down here. That's a great way to collaborate. I mean, yeah, I kind of, it still has that big brother vibe to it, but now you can literally direct them in the office and be like, all right, just have this call. This is what I figured out. This is what we need to do. Whatever it is in real-time, instead of dealing with time zone differences, you know, outsourcing stuff to Asia. I mean, you already know from Costa Rica, but yeah. Central time zone for us is huge too. Jason: [00:17:24] And let's talk about the people and then we'll wrap it up. Are you bringing on people that already have the experience or are you training them from the ground up? Michael: [00:17:36] It's very tough to find people that have Amazon experience. Luckily we have a mix of some that do some that don't, we've found some employees that are Amazon sellers themselves down here that sell primarily on Amazon Mexico, that we've been training to, uh, you know, do better. I mean, they understand how the platform works, but they're not massively successful on it. And that's kind of what we've been able to. That's a, that's a much shorter training timeline than it is for other people. We've also hired engineers. Uh, engineers have been very good mainly because their, their problem solving, you know, if there's an issue, they can kind of figure it out when it comes to learning how the platform works. That's something that's very interesting to them. And we've also hired, uh, people with digital marketing experience, even though if it's not, even though it might not be related to Amazon specifically. So, uh, we've hired a couple of employees that had backgrounds in, uh, SEM, uh, other paid ad types, social media, uh, and they've been able to understand the advertising concepts very well and pick that up very quickly. So yeah, I mean, it's very hard to find exactly what we're looking for in our niche, because Amazon is fairly new and there's not a lot of talent out there. And the people that do know what they're doing usually are creating their own agencies or. Or doing consulting themselves. So yeah, that training piece is just massive. Jason: [00:18:51] And then I guess I lied. I have one more question, especially with, you know, something rather new or, or just staying on top of your game. Like, I feel a lot of agencies, you know, they knew how to do something cool. They got into this by accident, but they're not able to stay on the top of their game and, and, and get it to a point where they can actually train others. So, what are some things that you guys have done to stay on top of your game that enables you to train someone that has no knowledge in it? Because I feel that if all the agencies could really understand that and then do that, their work would be so much better. Michael: [00:19:29] Yeah. It's definitely a tough one because once you take a step back from the actual implementation and doing things yourselves, you know, things are constantly changing, whatever, whether you're using Google, whether you're using Amazon or Facebook, whatever platform you are on, if you're not constantly doing it, I think that's going to definitely have a negative effect on your ability to train other people, or you need someone that is doing it to have that knowledge to train other people. So. The way that we've kind of, I guess, avoided that problem is that, you know, and we're still selling products ourselves. So we have an entire separate business that, uh, is selling our own brands online on the Amazon platform and on other platforms. So we're constantly testing and trying new things within that account first to see how it works. And then, you know, we're, we're the Guinea pig and then we're implementing it to all of our clients. So. I think that's one really good way that we're kind of staying on top of what's happening on the platform. I mean, it's definitely getting more and more competitive, but by continuing to do it ourselves we're making sure that we're not falling behind. Jason: [00:20:29] I love it. I see that all the time. And I love using the agency as kind of an incubator or having other, or other companies as an incubator to test out and to really kind of, because a lot of times clients don't want you to test out stuff, but some do like if you go after the right ones, they do. But I like that. So awesome. This has all been great. What's a, what's an agency website that people can go and check you guys out. Michael: [00:20:53] Yeah, sure. So, uh, the best place to check us out is our website, amzadvisors.com. If you or any of your clients are looking for help where we're always going to help, or if you just want to email me directly, you can get me at my email mike@amzadvisors.com. Jason: [00:21:08] Awesome. Well, thanks so much for coming on. And if you guys enjoyed this episode and you want to be surrounded by other amazing agency owners that can see the things that you might not be able to see and really work on attracting the ideal clients, work on converting them at a high rate and also work on streamlining your operations, where. You're constantly building that talent where not everything has to flow through you, which is pretty frustrating. I would like to invite all of you to go check out the digital agency elite. This is only for experienced agency owners that want to grow and scale fast. I mean like double in the next year, go there, go to digitalagencyelite.com. And until next time have a Swenk day.

How a multi-faceted cultural art form and its dance expression can impact the mental health of communities. Michael ‘Piecez' Prosserman is a bestselling author, B-Boy (“breakdancer”), university instructor, and certified coach who specializes in scaling start-ups, team culture, fundraising, and succession. In Michael's new book Building Unity: Leading a Non-Profit From Spark to Succession, he shares practical tools and stories to launching, leading and leaving a sustainable organization. He scaled a grassroots organization from the ground up as the Founder of Unity Charity, an organization using Hip-Hop to improve youth mental health. Over 15 years Michael grew Unity from a volunteer group to employing 80 staff, raising $7 million, and having an impact on 250,000 youth.  Link: https://www.epicleadership.ca/about

Hello Warriors and Battle Buddies!Here we go with Episode 112, with today's guest Michael Talarico.Michael asked to come onto the program to share his story with the community, despite the fact that he is going through a rough patch currently in his own recovery and healing.He was hit by a car while walking on the shoulder of a highway to get help after his car broke down in upstate New York. As is the case getting hit at a significant speed, it leads to multiple bodily injuries. In Michael's case this also included what amounted too a shattered skull and a brain injury to go along with it.We get to listen in Michael tell his story at this point where he still has a way to go to get over the hump. Trying to heal during the height of Covid has certainly been a monkey wrench for him too.Full disclosure- Michael at times throughout the conversation gets emotional and it may be difficult to listen to. We even considered not publishing this episode because of it, but we wouldn't have been true to ourselves and this platform if we didn't. Especially since Michael felt it so important to share his story and that all the stories need to be told no matter how raw they may be.Notes and resources for this episodeConnect with us at abattlewithin.com and on Facebook and on Instagram at A Battle Within.Like to be featured on the podcast? Know of someone you think should be? Or have episode topic ideas? Reach out in those same places.If you like what your hearing and want to support the program, a great way to do it is to rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcast even if you don't use that listening platform.If you want to offer more support, "Buy Us A Cup of Coffee" is a great way too do so along with our swag shop at abattlewithin.com/swagUntil next time - For those healing, show yourself some grace. For those who know someone healing, show them the same, and give them a great deal of love. Keep Battling!Instacart Offer LinkPlease note that Terry and Drew are not medical professionals nor should their perspectives be taken as medical advice.Click Here to see disclaimer.Some of the links and resources provided are affiliate links, which means that if you choose to make a purchase via www.abattlewithin.com  we will earn a commission. This commission comes at no additional cost to you. Support the show (https://www.buymeacoffee.com/abattlewithin)Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour. Free delivery on your first order over $35.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

In Michael's embodied stress reduction course, 'Transforming Stress, Anxiety, and Overwhelm, An Embodied Course on Stress Reduction,' we learn how stress can support our ability to be with external circumstances in a way that allows us to expand and align our mental, physical and emotional capacities.We live in times of rapid change and complexity, which can leave us feeling overwhelmed and uncertain about our future. This often leads to self-doubt, confusion and anxiety.We all encounter stressful times in our life. The question is how will we meet these moments of stress. We can use it as a portal for self knowledge and awakening or we can resist it and shut down, which tends to create more tension and even disease.www.welloflight.com/transformstress.htmlMichael Stone is a spiritual author, mentor, shamanic practitioner, radio host, producer, and trauma integration facilitator who co-creates individual and group environments and experiences that support people in transcending the myth of separation, to experience deep interconnection with others and all of life. He has been teaching and leading experiential events, classes, teleseminars and workshops on Organizational Development, Embodied Shamanism, Moving Meditation, Personal Growth, and Spiritual Fulfillment for over 40 years. www.WellofLight.comFor more information on the Well of Light Global Community, Programs, Radio shows and Services go to www.welloflight.comTo access other great interviews and offerings: www.patreon.com/welloflight

In this exciting episode of Captain Caveman's Cruise Ship, Captain Michael invites a professional coach aboard for a virtual cruise into the deep waters of coaching. Coaching is an art, and a craft that gets developed overtime. Rich insights await the listeners of this special episode. Michael Grabow is a Human & Organizational Performance Expert and retired First Sergeant from the United States Air Force with nearly 40 years of experience training hundreds of thousands of people from more than 1000 different organizations. In Michael's military service, he led an organization of 320 security force members that were recognized as the “Best Cops in the Air Force” and led a 600-person communications unit to be recognized as “Best in Command.” Following his 20 years of military service Michael has dedicated his career to training leaders and organizations. As an organizational performance expert, Michael's primary focus is creating workplace development programs where people and organizations grow beyond expectations. His programs helped Sutter Physicians Services grow from 300 employees to over 2,000 employees and receive the Sacramento Workplace Excellence in Leadership (SWEL) Award. He has worked with organizations such as Superior Lubricants, Golden One Credit Union, CalTrans, CalPers, California Department of General Services, The Non-Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA), Sutter Health, Sacramento Housing Redevelopment Agency (SHRA), and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA). Michael's projects have taken him to Australia, Japan, South Africa, Turkey and Okinawa. His passion is seeing the human potential within organizations realized, released, and renewed. Michael is consistently booked 150+ times a year because of his dynamic teaching style and unique understanding of human and organizational development. 2021 is bringing the flavor aboard the virtual cruise ship. Have a listen and enjoy! Fair Winds and Following Seas! Captain Caveman --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/michael-cave/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/michael-cave/support

In this episode, the Seths and Drew talk with enneagram teacher and addiction expert Michael Naylor (4w5). Michael was kind enough to join us from his home in Portland, Maine and talk to us about the intersection of personality and addition. Michael is a wise soul with a wealth of insight. Enjoy!  A bit about Michael and his enneagram origin story [3:40] Michael’s enneagram elevator pitch [7:30] In Michael’s opinion, the greatest myth about the enneagram [8:15] Creek goes to therapy with Michael [9:40] One of Michael’s favorite transformation stories working with clients in addition and recovery [12:35] Michael’s definition of ‘addiction’ and the enneagram’s levels of health [18:40] Re: quality of presence and level of addition [25:00] Michael’s take on connecting certain additions with certain types [29:00] Re: enneagram type, genetics, and addiction [30:50] The psychic structure and personality type [33:40] How to help the types see more clearly [44:00] Creek goes back to therapy with Michael [47:00] The process of recovery [53:25] Lessons for the types about recovery (even if they aren’t in recovery) [55:45] Advice for those who may need help [1:01:45] Michael’s lessons from his own recovery journey [1:03:30]   **If you like Fathoms, please leave a review!**   Ways to find Michael and his work :  Micahel’s website: https://enneagrammaine.com/  Michael’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/enneagrammaine/  — Fathoms | An Enneagram Podcast: “Discovering our inner depths, one fathom at a time.” — Co-hosts: Seth Abram, Seth Creekmore, Drew Moser Production/Editing: Seth Creekmore   Follow us on Instagram: @fathoms.enneagram Follow Abram: @integratedenneagram Follow Creek: @creekmoremusic Follow Drew: @enneagrammers

Yes, there is a positive momentum today. Let’s listen to what Michael Grimm, Chief Executive Officer, of Carbon Negative Energy, has to say as he shares his passion for renewable energy and battery projects. In Michael’s world, our addiction has reached its tipping point and we have many reasons to be excited about the post covid world. We discuss green hydrogen, seasonal storage, and large-scale solar and wind projects —their specific challenges and the solutions. We bring a unique startup idea for today’s petrol stations and many more.  Please join in. Connect with Sohail Hasnie: Facebook @sohailhasnie Twitter @shasnie LinkedIn @shasnie ADB Blog Sohail Hasnie

How many times have you watched those insurance commercials and asked yourself about your own coverage? Do you know what happens in case of an emergency? Will your policy cover the loss of rent and the cost to rebuild your apartment investment if necessary? If you don’t know, you’re in the majority. In fact, 80% of investors are not properly insured according to Jeremy Goodrich.   Jeremy helps investors protect their commercial real estate and apartment investments. Surprisingly, he says that 4 out of 5 investors he speaks with are not properly insured. While most investors treat insurance as the last item, this could be a huge mistake if you do not understand your coverage options.    Jeremy is one of the principals of Shine Insurance and host of the REI Clarity podcast. He appeared on the show to educate investors on protecting their investments. He helps break down the important aspects of insurance, discusses the difference between being on your team and not just a vendor, and shares a guide for real estate insurance.    Partner: Text “EQRP” to 72000 and receive a special eQRP report on taking control of your retirement money   Key Insights on Commercial Real Estate Insurance  How Jeremy started an insurance agency that would educate clients Why insurance is an important member of your team Insurance as an investing strategy   Your mindset about insurance needs to shift to the understanding that it’s key to protecting those assets you worked so hard to build.   Insurance 101  Understanding the 3 tiers of insurance: Standard, non-standard and non-admitted What you should be looking for in an insurance company and agent   The number of insurance companies willing to insure large habitational risks (apartments) is shrinking   The importance of having an independent insurance agent  Why it’s getting harder to insure multifamily properties The ebbs and flows of insurance rates   The insurance cost for a small multifamily investor will be much higher than an investor with tens of thousands of units.    Breaking down the four main pieces of an insurance policy: building coverage, business personal property coverage, loss of income coverage, liability coverage (most important!)  How to figure out what is covered and not covered in an insurance policy There are two kinds of insurance companies: Those that look for coverage for you, and those who try to avoid a payout. The two most misunderstood factors in a multifamily insurance policy coverage   Make sure your insurance agent understands occupancy and how it works.    The three different insurance policies: Basic, Broad, and Special (you want special!)  When you should be consulting with your insurance agent   In bigger multifamily deals, connect your lender with the insurance agent, and let them figure it out.   Partner: Download our Sample Deal Package   Bullseye Round:    Apparent Failure: Diving into the multifamily world is hard to do as an insurance agent, and I fell on my face a couple of times, but that’s necessary to learn.   Digital Resource: Reonomy    Most Recommended Book: Talk Triggers (Jay Baer)   Daily Habit: Exercise   Wish I Knew When I Was Starting Out: I’ve tried hard not to think about all the things I wish I knew then because I learned so much.   Curious About: Marketing automation   Best Place to Grab a Bite in Bloomington, IN Michael’s Uptown Cafe  Contact Jeremy: Shine Insurance Shine Insurance YouTube Channel Complete Guide to REI Insurance

Ep. 100 - The Power of Three - A Beacon Series Interview Ft. Michael J. Gelb, author of "Mastering the Art of Public Speaking: 8 Secrets to Transform Fear and Supercharge Your Career" by New World Library ========== We made it, my friends and listeners. Welcome to the 100th numbered episode of my Find the Good News podcast.   When I think deeply on the line-up of good people doing good works that I’ve visited with over the past two years, I understand how each of them has been like a teacher. They’ve allowed me to discover and learn without judgment, and they’ve opened up their tender hearts to me without fear of new wounds. I’ve spoken to neighbors and friends putting their good news into action right here in the Louisiana gulf coast communities we call home, and I’ve expanded the Good News signal to bring you visits with unique thinkers and doers that are doing good works throughout the world.   In the very beginning, I recall a thought that if I could just produce three quality conversations, get them out into the ether, then others would come, and together we could put something good out into the world. Oddly enough, my guest in this special 100th episode, Michael J. Gelb, propagates a similar philosophy in his good work as a speaker, motivator, writer, and teacher.   As listeners of Find the Good News may know, I suffered from social anxiety for many, many years. This anxiety kept me away from many joyful and beneficial activities in my life. The ability to sit with this microphone and share with you openly and honestly is the result of decades of hard work. In Michael’s latest book, "Mastering the Art of Public Speaking: 8 Secrets to Transform Fear and Supercharge Your Career,” he cuts right into the heart of fear itself, offering advice, perspectives, and practical thought exercises to help transmute the energies of fear and anxiety.   The reality is that life is relationship, and with relationship comes communication. Good communication, free from fear and anxiety, crafted to serve the common good of all beings, is a good work. I believe that serving the common good is the tie that binds across the expanse of Michael Gelb’s body of work. Just looking at the titles of his books you’ll find words like creativity, connection, healing, innovation, thinking, mastering, power, learning, discovery, and genius. When a being chooses to point all of these faculties at the well being of others, goodness blooms.   I am thankful to Michael Gelb for being a part of this milestone episode. I am grateful to New World Library for connecting me with Michael, and so many other wonderful authors. I am humbled that so many have taken the time to share the right-round-table with me, whether in person or virtually.    The world is always changing. I don’t know what the next 100 conversations will bring, but I’m ready to listen. Whatever I hear, I’m going to continue to learn, and I’ll continue to put forth my best effort to use each of these visits to grow a good heart.   Now, it’s time to get take another look at your anxieties and fears, let the butterflies of nervousness become the wings of excitement, then tune your attention to this Good News Beacon, and press play on a little good news. ========== SUPPORT FIND THE GOOD NEWS >> https://www.findthegood.news/donate/  ========== MEET MICHAEL J. GELB >> https://michaelgelb.com/  BUY YOUR COPY OF "MASTERING THE ART OF PUBLIC SPEAKING" >> https://bookshop.org/books/mastering-the-art-of-public-speaking-8-secrets-to-transform-fear-and-supercharge-your-career-9781713547259/9781608686278   EXPLORE NEW WORD LIBRARY >> https://www.newworldlibrary.com/Books.aspx  ========== FIND THE GOOD NEWS IS PRODUCED BY PARKER BRAND CREATIVE SERVICES >> www.ParkerBrandUp.com   ========== SUPPORT CARE-HELP OF SULPHUR >> http://care-help.org/  •••••••••••••

Despite coming to the game later in life, Michael Williams has held numerous interesting roles within golf, has traveled the globe covering the game & spoken with a who's who of the sport over the years for his own show, the 19th hole on GolfWRX. Earlier this year in the wake of the social upheaval that gripped the country following the killing of George Floyd, the native Washingtonian penned a letter to the golf industry, directed at the game's governing bodies that were struggling for a response or how to take action. In Michael's letter he talks about his frustration with how the game he loves has not sufficiently progressed on issues of diversity and inclusion and provides his thoughts, ideas & proposals on how the sport can & must do better. In our conversation, we hear Michael's backstory growing up in D.C., and journey in life & golf that has formed his opinions and perspective today.

Beth is going Behind the Spotlight with Michael Robison to find out what it's like when you mix entrepreneurship and breaking the rules on traditional family values. Michael Robison is a former Senior Pastor and Faith Leader, a veteran strategic consultant and brand development innovator with a diverse background in finance, sales, development, marketing, communications and staffing. He was recently named one the Top Leaders of 2020 by Yahoo! Finance. After spending nearly 20 years married to his wife Allison, and creating a beautiful life built on adoption and adventure, Michael was compelled to finally share his truth. What Truth? That he is Gay. Michael has made the transition from a traditional family to a beautiful modern family and faces the reality of the conversations of race, sexuality, faith, family and more. Beth and Michael discuss: How Michael grappled with coming out  Reactions from his wife, kids, parents, and grandparents (all apart of a very faith based background) His journey of entrepreneurship (the highs and the lows) The importance of self-acceptance  And so much more In Michael’s journey he has nearly 20 years in senior leadership and growth focused organizations. He has served as a CEO, Tech Startup Founder. Senior Pastor and Non-Profit Executive Director. All of these years of leadership, life and learning have become a resource of beauty and understanding. Connect with Michael:  https://www.michaelrobison.cc/ https://www.michaelrobison.cc/podcast

Growing With Fishes Podcast. A podcast dedicated to growing aquaponic & cannabis and spreading information to the masses about sustainable cannabis and veggie production! Washington v Barr, which sued the federal government, the DEA, the DOJ and then attorney Jeff Sessions (now Barr) on the basis that criminalizing cannabis by listing it is a schedule I substances violates the constitutional rights of medical cannabis patients that need cannabis to survive. For some more background and context, here are a few articles on the case, which you may have seen bits and pieces of over the last 3 years. Plaintiffs in the case include former superbowl champ Marvin Washington, Alexis Bortell, the now 15 year old medical cannabis refugee in CO from TX that has started a regenerative farm (one luv organics) with her family and has been seizure free for 4 years, Jagger Cotte, Iraq War Vet Jose Belen, and the Cannabis Cultural Association. You may have also seen some organizations (Last Prisoner Project, Minority Cannabis Business Association, ASA, NORML,etc) posting about briefs written in support of a case over the last few weeks, including several members of congress - that was for this same case. Just this Monday, Rep Earl Blumenauer issued a press release urging the Supreme Court to hear this appeal, as there is no legislative solution in sight for legalizing cannabis, which is why our legal team has taken this decision to the highest court. Luckily for us, the people playing by the rules to break down the rules from within are Lauren, her law partner Michael, and a team dedicated to social justice that all have a respect for and a relationship with the plant. In Michael’s own words from the Honeysuckle article: “Every time a person of color is treated differently under the Controlled Substances Act, and that’s every day, it constitutes a violation of the Equal Protection Clause. In my view, it violates the Civil Rights Act as well. So, if we can declassify cannabis and remove it from the schedule by obtaining a declaration that it is unconstitutional, that would essentially void the law—and if it’s voided, all of those criminal convictions, I hope, can be vacated. All of those lives that have been destroyed can go on a pathway towards restoration. That, to me, is so important to what we’re doing; it’s one of the reasons why when we took this case on pro bono. What kind of society would we have if we could take this tool out of their arsenal? It wouldn’t resolve all racism… Racism is so important to those in charge that they’re willing to fire on American citizens to perpetuate it. We have to take the wall of racism down brick by brick. This [case] is one brick.” To that point, our friends at Breeder’s Best sponsored a https://www.change.org/p/scotus-urge-scotus-to-accept-the-washington-v-barr-appeal-on-10-9-2020-federalcannabislawsuit?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=8fe62900-0717-11eb-a221-cdbcfd1377ec petition as a call-to-action to generate support for SCOTUS hearing this case. https://minorities4medicalmarijuana.org/ Growing With Fishes Podcast Discord https://discord.gg/nqBf3bj Potent Ponics Classes http://www.potentponics.com/shop/ Marty's Channel APMeds https://www.youtube.com/user/mwaddell6901/videos Steve Channel Potent Ponics https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRkqYlFzKpbCXreVKPYFlGg Facebook group Aquaponic Cannabis Growers https://www.facebook.com/groups/1510902559180077/ Dude Grows Show http://dudegrows.com http://dudegrows.com/aquaponics/ Potentponics.com

We had the pleasure of interviewing Michael C. Duguay over Zoom video!On The Winter of Our Discotheque, his first album in nearly a decade, Michael C. Duguay immerses listeners in his complex universe through work which is both familiar and inventive, equally whimsical and stone-cold stoic. The songs in this collection were composed over ten itinerant and disastrous years, in and about his life lived in hospital beds, shelters, and addiction treatment centres. This quasi-sophomore release finds Michael C. Duguay returned to wellness and rapturously reunited with his craft, writing with startling clarity and remarkable candor, withstanding the conventional singer-songwriter label. The Winter of Our Discotheque is a triumphant reemergence, establishing Michael C. Duguay as an idiosyncratic punk-poet whose mercurial work, while firmly rooted in the vernacular tradition, combines adroit pop and the avant-garde to ecstatic and often devastating effect.On Summer Fights, a song which morphs from pastoral alt-country ballad to jubilant, psychedelic honky-tonk, Michael sings the album’s central thesis; ‘there’s a time and there’s a place for all variety of grace’. This declaration is one of many which draws attention to the beauty that surfaces, and which so often goes overlooked, in a world of chaos and struggle. Describing his time spent battling addiction and mental illness, which found him drifting from the gulf islands of British Columbia, to Halifax’s north end, to a halfway house west of Thunder Bay, Michael remarks, ‘I completely lost hold of my identity, and as my emotions and thinking became increasingly compromised by substances and trauma, my relationship with my practice dissolved; first my ability, then my desire to try’. Despite the hardship endured, in broken moments of lucidity Michael was able to shape new personal understandings of the varieties of human experience, and his own relationship to privilege. These revelations have resulted in a body of work which neither dwells in the darkness nor trivializes his own experience, but which describe in poetic, naturalistic, and sometimes droll language, the realities of his lived experience “I spent a lot of time in places that others might describe as ‘bottoms’, where I never predicted myself landing, and these songs have helped me make sense of those experiences’.  The narrative spun by TheWinter of Our Discotheque is both bildungsroman and poioumenon (a work of art that tells the story of its own making). Revealing its own metfactions as it progresses, his writing draws comparisons to the literary school of Southern Ontario Gothic writers including Munro, Findley, and Urquhart.  The album draws its title from John Steinbeck’s final novel, which in turn references the opening words of Shakespeare’s Richaed III. More than just clever wordplay, the themes on Duguay’s record can be understood as contemporary expressions of both of those writer’s existential anxiety.On the haunting and vertiginous Tithes, overtop of swirling reeds and reverberating electric piano, Michael sings ‘there’s no cause for your applause.’ First sketched in a hospital bed in Moncton in 2014, these words make clear that Michael is not writing to solicit sympathy and validation, or to abide by convention, but to devoutly recommence his work with a new, refined focus and an unshakeable joie de vivre. Musically, this outsider ethos is also present. Soaring brass parts are unexpectedly paired with layers of synth drones and percussion, and the arrangements feature billowing woodwinds and iridescent piano in lieu of guitar solos and other conventional indie-rock signifiers. Clocking in at just under an hour, the album’s eight songs are meticulous, and the genre-defying arrangements are palatial. Simply put, The Winter of Our Discotheque is an uniquely indulgent album, and audibly the work of an idiosyncratic artist skillfully working out a decade’s worth of pent up creativity. In Michael’s patient and thoughtful hands, this sort of indulgence is a virtue. While the album sonically references a wide spectrum of influence – post-rock, mid-nineties midwest emo, oblique Americana, and cinimetac psych-pop – an impressive clarity of aesthetic vision, supported by Michael’s distinct vocals and lyrical style, has resulted in a record that is both boldly obscure and remarkably cohesive.Michael C. Duguay first surfaced in the Canadian music landscape as a collaborative multi-instrumentalist working with a number of a number of critically acclaimed projects, performing on breakthrough albums by Evening Hymns and The Burning Hell, and in east-coast supergroup Weird Lines (with Julie Doiron and Jon McKiel), among others. While touring the world and gaining a reputation primarily as a backing musician, Michael was covertly recognized in the Canadian music community as an enigmatic personality, fervent community organizer, and a gifted artist, songwriter, and poet whose busy touring schedule and reckless lifestyle often stood in the way of formally documenting his own work. In 2012, he self-released Heavy on the Glory, a collection of eight songs written and recorded between 2004 and 2010, produced by James Bunton (Donovan Woods, Ohbijou), and featuring over thirty contributing musicians. Recorded in the shared living space of the communal artist co-op that he inhabited in Peterborough, Ontario, the album showcased Duguay’s emerging knack for lucent storytelling and his penchant for thrilling compositions, entrenched in stalwart punk rock ethos and energy. Though considered by those in his circle to be a captivating documentation of Duguay’s conspicuous ability, Heavy on the Glory was never formally promoted or toured as Duguay’s health and personal life unraveled. Following a move to Sackville, New Brunswick after years of substance abuse and undiagnosed mental illness, Duguay suffered a series of mental breakdowns, eventually leading to institutionalization, poverty, and homelessness. From 2014 to 2018, Michael disappeared from the Canadian music scene completely.In 2018, Michael resurfaced near Kingston, Ontario after sustained and determined efforts from his friends and family contributed to his return to health and stability. He compiled and completed his poetry and song-sketches from the preceding decade, and set out to record and produce a new album. With a revolving and diverse cast of friends including members of Evening Hymns, Pony Girl, Little Kid, Minotaurs, Alanna Gurr, Merival, the Two Minute Miracles, and Omhouse – his partner performs the trombone parts, and his 87 year old Grandfather also sings on the closing track – the album was produced out of heralded Canadian studios including Port William Sound, The House of Miracles, and Little Bullhorn. The result, two years later, is The Winter of our Discotheque; a fascinating and compelling collection of songs that offer a sobering insight into the mind of an artist deeply invested in the meticulous craft of honest songwriting. With storytelling rooted in genuine grit and hard-earned mettle, Michael has finally been given the chance to have his voice heard. On the album’s sprawling opening track, One Million More, a powerful eight-minute testimony of forgiveness, and a humble and compelling commitment to personal accountability, sobriety, and his craft, Michael sings, ‘‘I’ve heard the song remains the same; I think I’ll write one million more.’ With this proclamation, Michael C. Duguay announces the long-awaited arrival of his distinctive voice. The batch of uniquely thoughtful, compelling, and resonant songs that follow serve as a promise of what is destined to be a rich and prolific career for one of Canada’s finest and most formidable young songwriters.We want to hear from you! Please email Tera@BringinitBackwards.com.www.BringinitBackwards.comAmerican Songwriter Podcast Network#podcast #interview #bringinbackpod  #foryou #foryoupage #stayhome #togetherathome #zoom #aspn #americansongwriter #americansongwriterpodcastnetwork​​Listen & Subscribe to BiBFollow our podcast on Instagram and Twitter! 

Today Alex and Lisa talk with Michael Maisey, author of Young Offender, self-development coach, motivational speaker, host of the C.I.P. Podcast, creator and Host of The Free ‘Time For Change’ online programme. We absolutely loved recording this episode, where we discussed Michael’s amazing story, what led him to sobriety and the impact he is now having on the lives of so many. In Michael’s book, Young Offender he documents his life growing up during the late nineties on the Ivy Bridge Estate in Isleworth, west London. Abandoned by his father and abused by his uncle, scared and wanting to feel as if he belonged, he fell in with a local gang. He started drinking, taking drugs and shoplifting. By the time he was fifteen he was an armed robber. When a poorly planned raid on his local corner shop went wrong, he was sent to the infamous Feltham Young Offenders Institute. Michael's first stint in Feltham left him hardened. Assigned to the Quail Wing, home to the institute's most violent and dangerous offenders, he soon established his place in the system. Over the next five years, Michael became one of London's most wanted armed robbers. In and out of prison, he was accused of drug-dealing, assault and even attempted murder. Totally dependent on drugs and alcohol, he was subjected to a controversial detox programme which ended in a failed suicide attempt. At rock bottom, he began attending AA meetings. But a drug-deal gone wrong left him with an ultimatum - change or die. Could he leave his criminal past behind? Young Offender is a powerful story of redemption by a man who found the strength to turn his life around and - with no qualifications - to become a successful businessman and loving father. Follow Michael Maisey on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelmaisey/ Listen to his podcast: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5bk7xoWRgCqABzkVdkHUmQ Find out more about the CIP project: https://www.thecipproject.com Click on the following link to find out more of what we are up to, you can sign up to our newsletter, join our Facebook group and subscribe to our YouTube channel - linktr.ee/soberexperiment Additional links: Luna Courses: https://www.lunacourses.com/ Nacoa: https://www.nacoa.org.uk/ Woman Within: https://womanwithin.org.uk/ AA https://aa.org/ Al Anon https://al-anon.org/ 15% off Nocktail use BEESOBER at checkout https://www.nocktail.com 10% off Noughty AF wine use BEESOBER10 at checkout https://thomsonandscott.com/products/noughty-alcohol-free-sparkling-wine Buy a range of AF drinks from The Dry Drinker https://scripts.affiliatefuture.com/AFClick.asp?affiliateID=348247&merchantID=7264&programmeID=26735&mediaID=-1&tracking=&url=

Michelle is live from the road this week and is calling in to the show.  Matt found out before the show that he is 1 hour short of getting an ACE award, continues to redesign his office, and has continued gardening.  In Michael's area schools have been moving to virtual.  With this change in the status quo, Michael has been doing parent education and moving slowly back to the clinic.  Michelle tested positive for Covid-19 and was in quarantine.  But she has been cleared to continue her move to Kansas and she and her family have been cleared for recovery.           On today's show, we discuss Covid and the return to school's affect on CFYs and Externships and what does therapy look like in the Covid era.  This week's Informed SLP dives into the world of infant language.  We also look at our SSPOD Shoutouts and Due Process.  The ASHA Spotlight looks at the ASHA Youtube Channel.    The Discord is up and ready for people to interact with the crew 24/7 with a new website, www.discord.speechsciencepodcast.com. ----more---- SSPOD Shoutout: Do you know an SLP who deserves a digital fist bump or shout out?  We want to know your #SSPODSHOUTOUT, which is recognition for someone doing something awesome somewhere.  On Weds August 5th, a free YOGA opportunity for SLPs.    SSPOD Due Process:  Do you have a complaint or need to vent, then you want to participate in the #SSPODDUEPROCESS.  This week's due process was submitted anonymously:  How do we balance returning to schools and the safety of everyone involved?   Topic #1:    How does virtual schools affect CFYs and Externships?  How will CFYs and Externs get the valuable in person learning when they don't step foot on campus?   Topic #2:  When do you clear a patient or family to return to therapy?   Is it ethical to turn down a client due to concerns over covid?   The Informed SLP: Looks at the effect baby talk has on infants.    ASHA Shoutout: ASHA has put out a short video about the importance of our field in the recovery aspect from Covid.    Contact Email: speechsciencepodcast@gmail.com Voicemail: (614) 681-1798 Discord: https://discord.speechsciencepodcast.com   New Episode and Interact here: www.speechsciencepodcast.com podcast.speechsciencepodcast.com   Support Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/speechsciencepodcast   Rate and Review: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/speechscience-org-podcast/id1224862476?fbclid=IwAR3QRzd5K4J-eS2SUGBK1CyIUvoDrhu8Gr4SqskNkCDVUJyk5It3sa26k3Y&ign-mpt=uo%3D8&mt=2   Credits Intro Music: Please Listen Carefully by Jahzzar is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike License. Bump Music: County Fair Rock, copyright of John Deku, at soundcloud.com/dirtdogmusic The Informed SLP: At The Count by Broke For Free is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License Closing Music: Slow Burn by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.   Show Links   Topic 1: https://www.asha.org/Students/graduate-students/ https://www.asha.org/Certification/2020-SLP-Certification-Standards/ https://www.asha.org/Students/Externships/ https://www.asha.org/certification/Clinical-Fellowship/   Topic 2 https://www.asha.org/Code-of-Ethics/ https://leader.pubs.asha.org/do/10.1044/covid-19-ethical-considerations-for-audiologists-and-speech-language-pathologists/full/     The Informed SLP: https://www.theinformedslpmembers.com/ei-reviews/does-baby-talk-help-infants-learn-new-words https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/infa.12006   SSPODSHOUTOUT https://www.facebook.com/events/217169852840169/   ASHA Spotlight https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk1Jks4eJFY     Speech Science Powered by: You!

Michael Desparrios is no stranger to the world of education. As a former special education teacher and a special education consultant and coordinator he has seen firsthand the challenges teachers and parents sometimes face with understanding, and empathy for each other in times of trouble. In Michael’s current role as the Leader of Educational Initiatives for the Our Community Listens organization, he develops and train participants in the field of listening, non-verbal behaviors, and healing broken relationships. Join Kristy Houle as she chats with Michael about the program and her own experience with the 3-day training.

This week, Blank Check tackles one of film’s greatest mysteries, John Travolta’s career in the 90s. In Michael (1996), he plays an angel who visits earth to bring people together, but get this…he’ a bad boy! With the cast rounded out with Andie MacDowell, William Hurt, Bob Hoskins and of course, Sparky the dog, it did well at the box office but where does it land in the scope of Nora’s career? Kevin Porter (Good Christian Fun (https://www.goodchristianfun.com/) , Gilmore Guys (http://www.gilmoreguysshow.com/) ) joins! This episode is sponsored by: NOOM (https://www.noom.com/) (CODE: Check) The Truth vs Hollywood Podcast  (https://audioboom.com/channels/5017114)

Retired First Sergeant from the United States Air Force with nearly 40 years of experience training hundreds of thousands of people from more than 1,000 organizations.In Michael’s military service he led an organization of 320 security force members that were recognized as the “best cops in the Air Force” and led a 600 person communications force to be recognized as “Best in Command.” Since his 20 years of military service Michael has dedicated his career to training leaders and organizations to reach their peak performance.As a trainer Michael helped Sutter Physicians Services grow from 300 employees to over 2,000 employees and received the Sacramento Workplace, Excellence in Leadership Award. He has worked with organizations such as Golden One Credit Union, CalTrans, CalPers, California Department of General Services, The Non Commissioned Officers Association, Sutter Health, Sacramento Housing Redevelopment Agency, and the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. His passion is to see the human potential within organizations realized, released, and renewed.Michael’s projects have taken him to Australia, Japan, South Africa, Turkey, and Okinawa. His primary focus is developing workplace training processes and programs where people development and personal growth exceed expectations.Michael is consistently booked 150+ times a year because of his dynamic teaching style and unique understanding of human and organizational development.Learn More: https://michaelgrabow.com/Influential Influencers with Mike Saundershttp://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/

Retired First Sergeant from the United States Air Force with nearly 40 years of experience training hundreds of thousands of people from more than 1,000 organizations.In Michael’s military service he led an organization of 320 security force members that were recognized as the “best cops in the Air Force” and led a 600 person communications force to be recognized as “Best in Command.” Since his 20 years of military service Michael has dedicated his career to training leaders and organizations to reach their peak performance.As a trainer Michael helped Sutter Physicians Services grow from 300 employees to over 2,000 employees and received the Sacramento Workplace, Excellence in Leadership Award. He has worked with organizations such as Golden One Credit Union, CalTrans, CalPers, California Department of General Services, The Non Commissioned Officers Association, Sutter Health, Sacramento Housing Redevelopment Agency, and the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. His passion is to see the human potential within organizations realized, released, and renewed.Michael’s projects have taken him to Australia, Japan, South Africa, Turkey, and Okinawa. His primary focus is developing workplace training processes and programs where people development and personal growth exceed expectations.Michael is consistently booked 150+ times a year because of his dynamic teaching style and unique understanding of human and organizational development.Learn More: https://michaelgrabow.com/Influential Influencers with Mike Saundershttp://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/

Retired First Sergeant from the United States Air Force with nearly 40 years of experience training hundreds of thousands of people from more than 1,000 organizations.In Michael’s military service he led an organization of 320 security force members that were recognized as the “best cops in the Air Force” and led a 600 person communications force to be recognized as “Best in Command.” Since his 20 years of military service Michael has dedicated his career to training leaders and organizations to reach their peak performance.As a trainer Michael helped Sutter Physicians Services grow from 300 employees to over 2,000 employees and received the Sacramento Workplace, Excellence in Leadership Award. He has worked with organizations such as Golden One Credit Union, CalTrans, CalPers, California Department of General Services, The Non Commissioned Officers Association, Sutter Health, Sacramento Housing Redevelopment Agency, and the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. His passion is to see the human potential within organizations realized, released, and renewed.Michael’s projects have taken him to Australia, Japan, South Africa, Turkey, and Okinawa. His primary focus is developing workplace training processes and programs where people development and personal growth exceed expectations.Michael is consistently booked 150+ times a year because of his dynamic teaching style and unique understanding of human and organizational development.Learn More: https://michaelgrabow.com/Influential Influencers with Mike Saundershttp://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/

Retired First Sergeant from the United States Air Force with nearly 40 years of experience training hundreds of thousands of people from more than 1,000 organizations.In Michael’s military service he led an organization of 320 security force members that were recognized as the “best cops in the Air Force” and led a 600 person communications force to be recognized as “Best in Command.” Since his 20 years of military service Michael has dedicated his career to training leaders and organizations to reach their peak performance.As a trainer Michael helped Sutter Physicians Services grow from 300 employees to over 2,000 employees and received the Sacramento Workplace, Excellence in Leadership Award. He has worked with organizations such as Golden One Credit Union, CalTrans, CalPers, California Department of General Services, The Non Commissioned Officers Association, Sutter Health, Sacramento Housing Redevelopment Agency, and the San Francisco Metropolitan Transportation Agency. His passion is to see the human potential within organizations realized, released, and renewed.Michael’s projects have taken him to Australia, Japan, South Africa, Turkey, and Okinawa. His primary focus is developing workplace training processes and programs where people development and personal growth exceed expectations.Michael is consistently booked 150+ times a year because of his dynamic teaching style and unique understanding of human and organizational development.Learn More: https://michaelgrabow.com/Influential Influencers with Mike Saundershttp://businessinnovatorsradio.com/influential-entrepreneurs-with-mike-saunders/

This week we hear from teammates Patty Monaco, Facility Administrator in Carmel, NY, and Michael Kritschgau, Senior Director for DaVita Clinical Research, on the topic of transitioning from “bud to boss” (aka from a peer to manager role). They give us great insights on their journeys from accepting manager roles both inside DaVita and outside. They explain the phases of this type of transition, both the good and the tough emotions associated, and their advice on how to manage these relationships. Patty’s Tip: Don’t play favorites. Michael’s Tip: Make a point to have that personal interaction with your teammates. Like what you heard in this episode? Rate us on iTunes or your favorite podcast app! GUEST: Patty Monaco, Facility Administrator and Michael Kritschgau, Senior Director HOSTED BY: Grace Berman and Doug Miller, Senior Directors, Wisdom *In Michael’s story about a teammate he had to let go, this was not at DaVita. He also had a personal friendship with this teammate before becoming her manager. Submit your listener mail! Share your leadership advice here. For DaVita teammates, please visit podcast.davitaway.com to learn more about our guests and hosts, and listen to our other episodes. Share your thoughts and comments about our podcast here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DLIPodcastEval. Have an idea on a topic you want to hear in 2019? Share it with us here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2019PodcastTopics

MICHAEL HERKES (pronounced "Her-Kiss") has been a practicing modern witch for eighteen years. In Michael's solitary practice, he works exclusively with the goddess Lilith and has lectured on her in various cities across the United States. His new book THE GLAM WITCH documents his personal practice of Lilith based witchcraft he calls the Great Lilithian Arcane Mysteries (or GLAM for short). It officially released last month and peaked as the #1 best-selling new release in the category of Paganism, Wicca, and Witchcraft on Amazon. Tonight we will talk to him about his views and path.

Our guest says if you aren’t using testimonials, you’re missing out on a simple, but great tool for new business. Michael Gass is the founder of Fuel Lines Business Development, a firm which provides business development resources, training and consulting services to businesses like Platypus Advertising + Design. His blog, “Fuel Lines” has been rated among the top 100 marketing blogs in the world, according to Ad Age’s Power 150, and he is considered one of our country’s foremost authorities on social media.   Testimonials Should be a Priority We may procrastinate or feel awkward about asking clients for testimonials, but according to Michael, a testimonial is as good as a referral for most prospects, and small-to-mid-sized companies depend on referrals. Michael is a business development consultant to advertising, digital and PR agencies. He says most agencies are missing the boat when they do not use testimonials, especially on their websites. A website is an online brochure for your capabilities and services. Testimonials add credibility to what you do and validates your expertise. Testimonials are what clients are going to research and look for in advance of engaging with you. You can also use testimonials as an endorsement on LinkedIn and on social media. Pictures and video work very well, as well as links back to your client. Michael says links are not only good for SEO, they make it that much easier for prospects to get references about you before they ask you for them. If you are using celebrity endorsements, make sure the use of the celebrity is relevant to your brand and not just name-dropping.   Asking for Testimonials Michael says timing is important when asking clients for testimonials. The best time is after you have completed a project and have seen positive results. You should also make the process easy for your client. If you are uncomfortable with writing a testimonial for the client to approve, ask them for a couple of sentences about you to make the reference more personal. You can edit those sentences, add a few thoughts and go back to the client for final approval.   The Battleground for New Business is Online Michael got into social media before it was even called that. Web.O was a term that was batted around, and the geeks involved in social media were resistant to helping outsiders like Michael, who had an intuition about its future success. He tested everything, identified his target audience and started building a community around his audience. He created content of value to them and eventually became a thought leader in the marketing industry. Today, Michael has more than 100,000 Twitter followers, 40,000 subscribers to his newsletter and a tremendous amount of traffic that follows his niche blog, Fuel Lines. As a consultant, Michael is using his experience to help agencies re-learn business development. The old way of prospecting was chasing new business. Today it is about being found. He advises agencies to identify a target audience, build a community and create a niche blog that will provide valuable content for their audience. In Michael’s 11 years as a consultant, he has never had to make a cold call. People come to him because prospects feel they know him from his blog, newsletter, website and social media posts. And, using testimonials has helped sell his services before prospects have even met him.   Connect with Michael Phone: (205) 370-7750 Email: michael@michaelgass.com Blog: https://www.fuelingnewbusiness.com/ Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook: @michaelgass  

Your next professional transition could make or break your career. Are you prepared? My guest is Michael Watkins, author of Master Your Next Move. He also wrote the international bestseller The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Better. Michael is Professor of Leadership & Organizational Change at IMD Business School. Transitions into new roles are the most challenging times in the professional lives of leaders. Early missteps can create bad first impressions, leading to negative feedback loops in which leaders look increasingly unsuited for the job. Left unchecked, irreparable harm can have a lasting effect on a leader’s transition to a new position. In Michael's new book, you'll learn how to avoid making common mistakes — not learning enough about their new company’s culture and politics, trying to do too much too soon, not aligning expectations, and coming in with “the answer” — the likes of which, can lead to underperformance. Master Your Next Move answers a distinct need, focusing on the most common types of transitions you're likely to face. In this 20-minute interview, Michael reveals how to stay on track during your next career move. And how to help your new employees do the same.

Executive Director of the Bernard van Leer Foundation, Michael Feigelson, joins Alberto Lidji to discuss political engagement, diversity of leadership and support for Early Childhood Development. Michael speaks passionately about engaging with global policymakers and diverse stakeholders in support of Early Childhood Development. We hear of Michael's early days as a consultant at McKinsey & Co, his non-profit work in Mexico and his subsequent rise to lead one of the world’s earliest and most effective advocates of Early Childhood Development -- the Bernard van Leer Foundation has been active in this field since the 1960s. When asked about the tension between scalability and high quality in Early Childhood Development programs, he quickly points out that this tension isn’t confined to the world of Early Childhood Development exclusively; it is a general theme in life, in business, and in philanthropy. Michael goes on to talk of their high scale work in Brazil, in conjunction with government and with the Maria Cecilia Souto Vidigal Foundation. He is candid that along with scale there certainly are many quality issues being identified, but this should not prevent one from aiming to scale.  Michael’s view is to go fast and go for scale, and work for quality in the meantime. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good – “the reality of scaling anything up is that it’s messy, and you’re going to have problems, and it’s going to fail in different parts.” Michael notes that when driving forward programs at such scale and dealing with governments, you need to keep in mind that political contexts are fluid, and you need to get your program to a point -- in your window of opportunity -- where it’s irreversible and that means you need to get it big enough, so there’s a large enough number of people and constituents, from parents, to policymakers, to politicians who are invested in it. From “a political standpoint, pace matters, speed matters”. Two tips from Michael if you’re looking to engage with governments: (1) Government is a huge entity in any country with thousands of people. There’s a tendency to think about government as a sort of homogenous entity but like any institution of that size it’s not at all. It’s filled up with people, thousands of different types of people with different interests. In Michael’s experience there are always people inside government who deeply want to do something for babies and toddlers. And a lot of the work is just finding those people who are committed and passionate about Early Childhood Development -- it’s not about creating the leadership; it’s actually already there but just needs to be supported and augmented. (2) Ensure there’s a diversity of leadership. You don’t want the program to be tied to a single political party; you wanted it to be tied to all of the political parties. You don’t want it to be just the national government; you want it to be the state an local government, too. You don’t just want it to be the public sector; you want it to be the private sector and civil society as well. So, you’re really trying to create a broad group of leaders who will all be advocating for Early Childhood Development in their own way.   As far as getting ministries to work with each other, Michael notes there is this insistence on having all the ministries talking to each other, and policies across all the sectors and somebody co-ordinating everything. Yes, once in a while this happens but more often than not, what he looks for is a good anchoring point to start with – either for a platform that already exists, or for a ministry that can act as the anchor, or for the top authority in the country to take the lead (ie the prime minister) and that’s the best way to get co-ordination. The latter part of the conversation focuses on their Urban95 initiative, which aims to look at cities and urban planning from the vantage point of the height of a child – 95cm.  If you could experience a city from 95cm, what would you change?  Urban95 is active in more than 10 cities globally. An interesting observation is that air quality came up as a key topic. About 93% of the world’s kids breathe air that is under the WHO standard today. And the exposure to polluted air doesn’t just have an impact on a child’s health today but also on their lung growth and brain function in the long-term. Moreover, the air is dirtier at 95cm (as opposed to an adult’s normal height); and to add to that babies and toddlers breathe about four times as frequently because they have shorter breaths than adults, so they’re taking in more dirty air than adults and they can’t filter it as well. The key takeaway from Michael: Set goals that are far too big for you to reasonably achieve by yourself, because that’s what’s needed in the world and it forces you into a collaborative mode. For additional links, guest bios and resources, visit Lidji.org  -- please subscribe to this podcast and recommend it to others if you find it enjoyable. Thank you.

On this podcast episode, I spend time with Michael Hyatt. Michael is the founder and CEO of Michael Hyatt & Company, a leadership development firm specializing in transformative live events, workshops, and digital and physical planning tools. In his newest book, Free to Focus, Michael reveals to readers nine proven ways to win at work so they are finally free to succeed at the rest of life. Michael has been married to his wife, Gail, for forty years. They have five daughters, three sons-in-law, and eight grandchildren. They live just outside Nashville, Tennessee. This episode is brought to you byhttps://www.blinkist.com/ ( Blinkist). Fit reading into your life with key takeaways from the world's best nonfiction books in text and audio. Blinkist now connects 6-million readers worldwide. Visit https://www.blinkist.com/timecrafting (https://www.blinkist.com/timecrafting) and start your 7-day free trial today! This episode is also brought to you by https://frontapp.com/ (Front). Founded in 2013, if you are ready to transform your team’s productivity with efficient email, you’ve got to give Front a try for only $9/month. Front is reinventing the inbox so people can accomplish more together. With new workflows, efficient collaboration, and all their communication channels in one place, more than 5,000 businesses rely on their Front inbox to be more productive as a team. Visit https://www.frontapp.com/timecrafting (https://www.frontapp.com/timecrafting) to start your free trial today! Everyone gets 168 hours a week and yet for some it never feels like enough. Work gobbles up the lion's share. Most people think productivity is about finding or saving time. But it's not. It's about making our time work for us. In Michael’s book Free to Focus he reveals to readers nine proven ways to win at work so they are finally free to succeed at the rest of life —their health, relationships, hobbies, and more. He helps readers redefine their goals, evaluate what's working, cut out the nonessentials, focus on the most important tasks, manage their time and energy, and build momentum for a lifetime of success. Specifics that we covered on the show include: On Michael’s new book, Free to Focus (01:58) On Michael's definition and background on productivity (02:35) On the idea of hitting the reset button (03:39) Scheduling every hour of the day vs. leaving white space in your calendar (06:48) On making time for others (07:40) On how to not forget things (10:13) The idea of the intersection between passion and proficiency (11:25) How to say "no" with grace (14:38) Tips for delegation, scaling yourself and getting an assistant (22:01) How the book Free to Focus came to be (25:58) On planning and mapping your week (29:15) What is a backstage and frontstage work (32:40) Ideas on how to beat distractions (37:30) On productivity being a personal thing (43:25) How does it feel to be Michael Hyatt the leader? (45:30) What does journaling look like for a Michael Hyatt? (46:48) Parting advice to the listeners (50:10) Quote “We have got to ask ourselves, what is it that we are trying to achieve through productivity? The first part of the book is all under the umbrella of STOP. We have got to stop and ask ourselves why are we on this hamster wheel? What is it that we are trying to accomplish? And where is it leading?” Relevant Links: https://michaelhyatt.com/ (Website) https://twitter.com/michaelhyatt (Twitter) https://www.facebook.com/michaelhyatt (Facebook) https://www.instagram.com/michaelhyatt/ (Instagram) https://michaelhyatt.com/blog/ (Blog) Book: https://www.amazon.com/Free-Focus-Productivity-System-Achieve-ebook/dp/B07F3DM7C1 (Free to Focus) This episode drives home the point that many professionals are working as much as 70 hours a week thinking that they are productive...but productivity is about making our time work for us. Just imagine...

We’ve been getting empathy wrong. If used well empathy can improve the ROI on marketing and communications, employee retention, the brand, ability to connect with customers, and recruiting numbers to name a few. Listen to my conversation with Michael Ventura, CEO of the design and strategy studio Sub Rosa, to learn why he developed the design process Applied Empathy and wrote the book by the same name. Listen to stories including how Applied Empathy enabled GE to improve cancer detection by 10% through mammography exams while also making patients feel more comfortable and eager to schedule their next appointment. This guy is super interesting and smart. Bio: Michael Ventura is Founder & CEO of Sub Rosa, Author of Applied Empathy. In Michael’s own words: “I’m a problem solver at heart. I like to help remove obstacles that stand in the way of getting people where they want to go. I've tried to build my career in the service of helping those I interact with to be better than they were yesterday. Slowly but surely, this practice has grown into the beautiful creature it is today. I’m not sure where it’ll go next, but I’m happy to discover whatever destiny presents along the way.”

In Michael's first midweek rant, he recaps Black History month by celebrating black inventors and their impact on society. Then he rants about Jussie Smollett and those who "cry wolf". https://unchurchedpodcast.wordpress.com

The Soul of Immigration “We just need to start seeing each other as God-created human beings instead of all these other labels that we have.” - Vivian LemusMarch 26, 2018 was the day that has forever have changed the lives of Tony and Vivian Lemus. It was on that day they were officially sworn in as United States citizens. We celebrate this special day with Tony and Vivian on this episode of Restoring the Soul and are excited to take you inside their nearly 17-year journey of becoming US citizens to help show that the issue of immigration is not just tied to laws and whether or not migrants are “dotting their i’s and crossing their t’s”. In Michael’s hour-long conversation, he hopes to show that immigration is a living and breathing story of people’s lives that have gotten caught in the sticky spokes of politics and misunderstanding.Tony Lemus is originally from Guatemala. He serves as Program Director at El Centro Humanitario where he oversees the design, development and execution of programs to serve the homeless seeking employment. He holds a law degree from Guatemala, as well as certificates in Public Management and Political Strategies acquired in Costa Rica and Taiwan. Vivian Lemus is also originally from Guatemala and serves as a paralegal at a Denver Immigration law firm. She has worked in administration and teaching, having interacted with people of different cultures and backgrounds throughout her life.In this podcast, we hope you will discover:What the process of “letting go” feels like for immigrants.The challenges associated with raising 3rd Culture Kids.The stresses related to immigrants living in the United States, legal or undocumented. 

Greg chats with the now retired Professor, Michael Mortell who was the President of University College Cork from 1989 to 1999. His father died when he was just five years of age and Michael found that he had to dig a little deeper, and try a little harder to succeed in every walk of life. He succeeded on the hurling field and he succeeded in academia earning scholarships to UCC and the much revered Caltech in Los Angeles. In Michael's time, he relentlessly drove UCC forward, raising the standards, the facilities and the profile of the university in Ireland and internationally. When he walked into UCC as a student in 1958 it was effectively a large school and when he left it was the equivalent of a large town!  Enjoy the show!  

http://RunningAFEVER.com Michael Zalewski lost a lot of weight on the keto diet, which he no longer uses after discovering the health detriment of it. Like myself, he lost weight rapidly in the beginning as part of a weight loss contest, and subsequently moved to a more healthy pace. The keto diet consists of a high-fat, low-carb, no-sugar diet. Like the atkins diet, the idea is that with no carbs to burn, the body must burn fat. But a high-fat diet has definite health risk. In Michael's case his cholesterol raced. After he discovered this, and at the advice of his wife, who is a nurse, Michael stopped keto and is now on a Mediterranean-style diet. Like many muscular men, Michael is, and, he feels, will probably always be overweight according to the National Institutes of Health BMI recommendations. But he uses his waist size (the same as in his high school days) as a main indicator of a healthy weight and body composition. Recorded November 26, 2018. Weight (change since Jan 2018): 195 (-79) Workout time: 0 Minutes Total Distance (total since Nov 2017): 0 Miles (275.95) Steps: 5,613 Muscle Mass (change since Aug 2018): 144.89 (+2) Body Fat: 25.7% 2018 Goals: ACHIEVED (1) Run 10.5 miles in one day by 11/18/18 (2) Lose 100lbs by 12/25/18 2019 Goal: 15% Body Fat

Alrighty, folks... we're back to our normal scheduling post-Thanksgiving! I hope you all enjoyed our Throwback/Flashback episodes during the break. My first guest after the break is Michael Autery! Michael is a Lieutenant in the United States Naval officer and the host of the podcast "Unalienable", which is all about the Constitution, what it means, and how it applies to current issues. In Michael's own words- "I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic, and I think of my podcast as an extension of that oath." Today's episode focuses on the sometimes confusing relationship between libertarianism, our United States' foreign policy, and those members of our armed forces. Michael and I dig into these topics, discussing why members of the military tend to support those libertarian-leaning candidates (such as Ron and Rand Paul), why some service members turn towards the GOP post-service rather than the LP, and how libertarians can be more effective in recruiting these service members into our ranks. We then conclude today's episode with a discussion on the ignorance of the average voter and what we should do to address the very real problem that an ignorant voter-base does to our democratic-republic system of government. Bio: Michael is a United States Naval officer (Lieutenant Junior Grade), becoming an officer in the spring of 2015. He is also the host of the podcast "Unalienable". Before the Naval Academy, he was an enlisted sailor (Petty Officer 3rd Class), serving a total of 9 years in the Navy (the last 4 as an officer). Michael is also an amateur bodybuilder. He has competed once before, and would like to compete again in the spring. He also hope to one day run for Congress upon his leaving the Navy. He has a total of two podcasts. He started "Unalienable" in April of 2018 and started "Philosophication with Ginger and the Beard" with his friend in August of 2018. Find Michael online- Unalienable Podcast: https://unalienable.libsyn.com/ Philosophication with Ginger and the Beard: http://philosophication.libsyn.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/MichaelAutery Support The Brian Nichols Show Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s episode, we all enjoy the new sequel to Halloween! Disregard everything you know and dive into the discussion on the only two films that matter in the franchise anymore; the original and this 2018 sequel. We all like the movie again, SHOCKER!, even if Jon’s audio sounds like he is podcasting while being smothered by Michael Myers with a pillow. Spoilers for the original film throughout, and the new film after the 20 minute mark. Download. Listen. Enjoy! 0:01:00 Hitting The Reset Button on Halloween 0:11:00 Discussing The Relationships 0:15:00 Yay Or Nay To 2018 Version 0:19:30 Michael's Motivations 0:20:18 SPOILERS 0:23:00 Let’s Talk About The Doctor And Homages 0:32:00 Where Is The Ending Going? 0:39:00 In Michael’s Shoes @middleofrow #nothe

Episode 65 – The challenges of investing for children With the cost of housing continuing to climb, in addition to the rising cost of tertiary education, many parents and grandparents are worried about what the future holds for the young people in their lives. Last week Michael contacted me. He has a young daughter and was thinking of starting an investment for her, where he’d perhaps tip in $25 per week, so that when she was a young adult, there’d be a pool of money to get her off and running. He’d seen a lot written about ETF’s so he figured that must be the way to go. But his initial enquiries weren’t bearing much fruit and so he reached out to me, to establish whether there was something he was missing. Why is it so hard to start investments for children. The first barrier Michael found was that he couldn’t actually establish an investment in his daughter’s name. I confirmed that there’s two reasons for this. One is because, to establish an investment, whether that be buying shares through a broker, or into a managed fund, you are engaging in the world of contract law, and contracts can’t be enforced on minors. Now it may be possible in some instances to transfer investments across to children whilst under age 18 after purchase, but that then brings us to the second reason why investments in your child’s names is problematic – Minor’s tax. This is a penalty tax regime designed to prevent wealthy parents from hiding assets in their children’s name to avoid tax. Kids can earn investment income of $416 per year without a problem so basic bank interest is not an issue, but once they go over this threshold, they are taxed at an amazing 66 cents in the dollar! This drops to a not much better 45% when their income exceeds about $1,300. So ownership wise, when investing for children, the investment will likely need to be in an adult’s name – usually one of the parents (could even be in both names). And the adult owner will need to include the investment income, and hopefully capital gains, on their tax return. Given this, it would be sensible to have the investment in the name of the parent likely to have the lowest income, since this will result in the lowest tax payable. Most investments will allow you to put a designation on the account which is like a tag, so you might have “Jane’s investment”. These designations have no legal or tax impact, but they help in identifying investments. If these tax consequences are a significant barrier, most likely because both parents earn incomes of over $80,000, then another solution to investing for children is to use Insurance Bonds, or a derivation of them, Child Advancement policies. Insurance bonds are a little like super funds, but without the restrictions of access to your money. Insurance bonds pay tax within the bond (at 30%), so you don’t need to include them in your personal tax return. If you hold them for 10 years or more, then when you withdraw the funds – to for instance gift to your daughter so she can buy her first home - there is no further tax to be paid. This is quite different to a regular investment in one of the parents’ names, where upon sale, Capital Gains tax will be payable (assuming there has been growth of course). The investment options are quite wide within insurance bonds, so just like within super, you can choose the Growth or Balanced options, or individual asset classes like Australian shares or International Bonds. If you are saving specifically for education purposes, Child Advancement policies, which are a version of an Insurance bond, can be very helpful. These enable you to claim back the 30% tax paid within the bond where you can demonstrate that withdrawals are being made to fund education expenses. You do this by providing the receipts when you withdraw the funds. Acceptable expenses are quite broad – school uniforms, books, fees, music lessons, and plenty more. And the expenses can relate to all levels of education, including tertiary education. Products vary quite a bit in this space, so just be sure to have a good read of the product brochure so you understand exactly what you are getting. Whichever ownership structure you decide is right for your child’s investment, one final note is that whilst ETF’s have many great applications, regular savings plans are not one of them. In Michael’s case he wanted to add to his investment on a regular basis. To do this with an ETF, you have to buy the shares in the ETF through a broker, and that means every time you want to add to the investment, you have to pay brokerage. That’s likely to be around $20 per trade, which will really add up if you want to add, say, each month. You’re likely to be better off using a managed fund (or an insurance bond as per above), as these will typically have regular investment plans where you can instruct the fund to deduct a specific amount from your bank account each month and add it to your investment. I’ve not seen a fund charge a fee to do this. The ongoing management fees within managed funds are usually higher than an ETF, so it could be that you switch money across to an ETF once it builds up to a significant sum. There are tax consequences to this though, so this is something worth getting some advice on. Well I hope that has helped you move forward with your investment plans for your young one. The keys points when considering investing for children are: The investment will need to be in the name of an adult, probably a parent. If both parents are likely to earn a reasonable income, it might be worth exploring the use of an Insurance Bond. And if the purpose of your savings is to fund education expenses, then you should look into child advancement policies, which are a specific type of Insurance Bond.   Important Information: This information is of a general nature only and has been prepared without taking into account your particular financial needs, circumstances and objectives. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information, it is not guaranteed. You should obtain professional advice before acting on the information contained in this publication. An edited version of this article originally appeared in Money Magazine.

I was happy to link up again with the very incisive podcast host Michael Joseph, to round off our two-part chat about some unsettling aspects of hip-hop music and culture that never get spoken about elsewhere.In Michael’s words:“Conversation starts @ 3:05. Mark and I continue to discuss the role of the 5 Percenter teachings and Nation of Islam in Hip-Hop; we picked up where we left off in episode 2. In this discussion we focus mostly on Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam and the Malcolm X–Elijah Muhammad controversy; we also discuss 5-percenter/Islam influenced Hip-Hop groups such as Public Enemy and the Wu-Tang clan. We wrap up by talking about DMX and some of his strange behavior in relationship to esoteric and religious agendas within Rap music. Hypocrisy is the general theme of this discussion and there is plenty to go around.”This show is best listened two after first absorbing part one of our chat, for a full study of the subject matter under discussion. You can catch part one here:https://schism206.podbean.com/e/p2bp-podcast-episode-2-mark-devlin

I was happy to link up again with the very incisive podcast host Michael Joseph, to round off our two-part chat about some unsettling aspects of hip-hop music and culture that never get spoken about elsewhere.In Michael’s words:“Conversation starts @ 3:05. Mark and I continue to discuss the role of the 5 Percenter teachings and Nation of Islam in Hip-Hop; we picked up where we left off in episode 2. In this discussion we focus mostly on Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam and the Malcolm X–Elijah Muhammad controversy; we also discuss 5-percenter/Islam influenced Hip-Hop groups such as Public Enemy and the Wu-Tang clan. We wrap up by talking about DMX and some of his strange behavior in relationship to esoteric and religious agendas within Rap music. Hypocrisy is the general theme of this discussion and there is plenty to go around.”This show is best listened two after first absorbing part one of our chat, for a full study of the subject matter under discussion. You can catch part one here:https://schism206.podbean.com/e/p2bp-podcast-episode-2-mark-devlin

This week is all about Planet Returns.  This is when a planet goes back to be the same sign and degree that is was in when you were born. In Michael's chart we are showing his chart with his Saturn return just coming up showing in green on the outside wheel.. ..and the fact that he had Jupiter retrograde in his chart in the sign of 6 degrees of Cancer in the 11th house Here is what the ephemeris page on Astro.com looks like and here is Michael's Jupiter return date and what that looks like on the ephemeris, I've highlighted in blue

Join us for this special edition podcast with Director of Public Policy for National Nurses United, Michael Lighty. In Michael’s article he notes, the labor movement exists to stop money from being the metric of value and power. Healthcare is exhibit A for money as the metric (see Elizabeth Rosenthal’s book, “American Sickness”). Unions derive power from members, engaged in fights to win a better life at work, home and in society. Medicare for All enjoys strong majority support among the general public, and overwhelming support among union members and Democrats (70-80% in recent polls).

Michael's schedule turned a modest one-month challenge into a five-month one.Many would give up. I suspect most people respond that way to environmental challenges---when it gets harder or unpredictable, they abandon it.I wondered how Michael would handle it.Needless to say, he stuck to it---amid the extra time, involving his wife, travel, and more.What do you know, the challenge was easy. Not trivial, but something he could have done earlier.HabitsMichael is an expert at creating habits, so if you're listening in part to learn to create yours, his story will help.He called some conventional wisdom on habit formation "bollocks," which made me cringe. Until I heard his explanation, which taught me new things and made more sense than what I thought before. I consider myself knowledgeable and experienced on habit formation.As usual, success involved turning community into a teammate. In Michael's case, he enlisted his wife's help and (mutual) support. Sound obvious? It is with experience, but most people find other people obstruct their habits.Michael's story isn't the first where a challenge others might consider big became easy. He described the resulting feeling as warm and fuzzy.My big lessonMy big lesson was that it's hard to do big things when you haven't done the small things.But doing the small things enables the big things, so doing the small things helps. The key is doing, not just talking, planning, or settling for awareness. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Session 44 Dr. Michael Egnor is an academic Pediatric Neurosurgeon based in NY. We discuss his long career in the field and his thoughts about what you should know. Michael has been out of fellowship training now for 26 years and is currently a faculty member at Stony Brook University. Also, check out MedEd Media Network for a selection of podcasts to help you on this journey to becoming a physician. [01:25] His Interest in Medicine When Michael was very young, his mother had a brain aneurysm that ruptured. She survived but she had some neurological sequelae. So even when he was young, he was already involved with neurosurgeons. He thought that to be a neurosurgeon was the pinnacle of what one could accomplish in terms of profession. Moreover, he found medicine fascinating. He recalls that he read a book Not as a Stranger back in high school. It was a novel about a doctor but the title just fascinated him. The title actually came from a passage in the Chapter 19 of Job in the Bible. Job was asked how he deals with all of the horror he experienced and all the terrible things he has seen. He knows what he's going through ultimately will allow him to see life and actually to see God, not as a stranger. That is if you would come to know him and what it means to be him in an intimate way. "To be a physician, you get to see in an intimate way what life is all about and understand what it means to be a human being." He was also inspired by Dr. Christiaan Barnard who was the first surgeon to perform a heat transplant. He recalls seeing the news about it as a kid and got fascinated by it. He is specifically fascinated by congenital heart defects. As well, the  brain fascinated him. That said, he knew he wanted to be a doctor and a surgeon, just not sure as to what kind. Then he went to the army in high school because he needed money to go to college. He served as a medic in the army for three years. And getting accepted to college, it gave him a deferred admission so he started college when he was 20. Right after college, he went to medical school. Being older going to college, he considers himself being more focused than some of his classmates. He knew what he wanted to do so he worked really hard to get into medical school. Out of medical school, still undecided between neurosurgery and cardiac surgery, he started general surgery internship in Mt. Sinai in New York. And halfway through his internship, he realized he wanted to do neurosurgery. He knew that 20-30 years down the road, he would still be fascinated by the brain and not as much by the heart. So he applied outside of the match. He called neurosurgery programs.They needed a resident at the University of Miami so he went there with his newly married wife. He spent six years in Miami, training in neurosurgery and came back to Long Island where his wife's family is from. Then he got a job at Stony Brook as one of the faculty. [05:50] Brain versus Heart Not that the heart isn't a wonderful topic of research, it struck him as a fascinating machine. But with the brain, he thinks you can take the knowledge much further. The other thing that enthralled him was neuroanatomy and how the brain was structured. To him, it was like almost as I if he was learning a secret to what life was all about and it was in the structure of the brain. So he felt the brain would keep him interested indefinitely. While the heart for him was to mechanical for him. "Almost as I if I was learning a secret to what life was all about and it was in the structure of the brain." [07:17] His Path to Pediatric Neurosurgery He didn't get out of training as a pediatric neurosurgery, He did general neurosurgery but he has always liked pediatrics. He likes the patients and has a fair amount of empathy for parents. He also has a personality for it. And in some ways, he thinks neurosurgeons and pediatricians are thought a being at the opposite ends of the spectrum of medical personalities. Pediatricians tend to be warm, nice people who are nice to the family and patients. Neurosurgeons are thought of to be egostistical and dysfunctional people who just operate like crazy. But these stereotypes are not entirely true. Pediatricians respond well to neurosurgeons and vice versa. What happened at Stony Book was for a couple of years, they didn't have a pediatric neurosurgeon. Since pediatricians like him, they sent him a lot of patients. So the chairman of pediatrics ultimately asked if he was willing to just become a designated pediatric neurosurgeon. And so he agreed. So there's a way to get boarded in pediatric neurosurgery outside of the fellowship track.It was a matter of submitting case logs for several years and taking a written exam. [09:30] Traits to Lead to Becoming a Good Pediatric Neurosurgeon Michael explains it's a blend of two very different species. Pediatricians tend to be people who are warm, nice people. They love kids and want to take care of them. Neurosurgeons are egotistical people and surgically oriented. This path is great if you find you love the surgery and are fascinated by the brain. You like some of the technical challenges of neurosurgery and on the other hand you want to take care of kids. For example, you find conditions like hydrocephalus to be very challenging and fascinating from a scientific standpoint. "It's a hybrid of two different ways of practicing medicine." Neurosurgery is an interesting specialty. As much as he has met the nicest people who are neurosurgeons, there are those who are crazy too. Michael says, neurosurgeons have to have some degree of almost irrational confidence in their abilities. It's something normal human beings don't want to do. You're taking tumor out of someone's brain where you stand a reasonable chance of killing them if you make a mistake. It's not something even people who are inclined to surgery have a particular comfort of doing it. So you have to be fairly egotistical to do this for a living. And how does one pull that off in the real world? Neurosurgeons have different ways of doing it. Some neurosurgeons just concentrate on being technically as good as they possibly can. Others are psychopaths in a non-criminal way. What Michael means is some of them don't take into account the humanity on the other end of the operating table. they just do the job as well as they can and then if it works out, great. If not, they'd call out the next patient. Some neurosurgeons limit their practice so that they only do things they feel comfortable doing. While others don't put it together well at all and don't do such a good job. [12:25] Types of Cases and Patients As a pediatric neurosurgeon, a large fraction of his practice is children with hydrocephalus. And he follows them into adulthood so he also has a fair amount of adult patients. Michael mentions the issue in pediatric neurosurgery that pediatric neurosurgeons who work in adult hospitals question as to where they will follow their pediatric patients when they grow up and become adults? Some pediatric neurosurgeons who work in children's hospitals can't do that. This is because patients can't be cared for at the hospital they work at. In Michael's practice, he deals a lot with hydrocephalus in both children and adults. He also deals with hydrocephalus in older people. He sees elderly people who have normal pressure hydrocephalus. Other cases he deals with are brain tumors, Chiari malformations in both children and adults, as well as syringomyelia in their spinal cortices. He also sees patients with craniosynostosis, infants with deformed skulls, and of course, trauma both adult and pediatric. As to what percentage of patients coming to him that already have a known issue, Micheal says it's a very common scenario to see a child with brain tumor. And the pediatrician feels a lot of guilt about it because almost a child who has brain tumor has several months of symptoms. And pediatricians work up a child with some vomiting and headache. And after 1-2 months of evaluation, they get scanned and the tumor is found. And so he tells them that in some sense, the neurosurgeon has the easiest job because virtually, patients come to him already with scans showing what's wrong with them. The primary care people, the pediatricians, or the internists for adults have a tougher job because they see a large volume of patients. Only a small fraction of them have serious problems. Then they have to find the ones who have the serious problems. The major issues he faces are: is the patient's diagnosis responsible for the patient's symptoms? This can be tricky. People can have headaches from the chiari malformation and don't need surgery. Michael finds it a challenge to sort out whether the symptoms of the patients are really caused by the disease identified on the scan. You have to be sure since the remedy you're offering is surgery. You want to make sure you're operating for good reasons. "That's one issue I face quite a bit is making sure the diagnosis is the cause of the symptoms." [16:25] Typical Week of a Pediatric Neurosurgeon. Taking Calls, and Percentage of Patients Ending Up in the O.R. Michael describes his week since it basically depends on whether the hospital has a lot of trauma or not. But his typical week would be that he'd be on call once or twice during that week at night. He takes a general surgery call. During the day, he has two operative days a week. On average, he takes 2-5 cases a week. He has 2-3 half-day clinics a week where he sees 15-20 patients per clinic. He has some academic time, usually one and a half days a week where he writes papers. They don't have residency in neurosurgery so he's a residency director for a program without a residency. This said, he's in the process of applying for residency. He teaches medical students as they rotate through the service he teaches and in the ethics class. Of the patients he sees in clinics, only a relatively small percentage, about 10%-20%, go to the operating room. Many of the patients he sees are follow-ups after the surgery. Many of them are children with shunts he sees annually. They don't need surgery but he sees them manually. It's very important that if you have a shunt for hydrocephalus, you have a neurosurgeon that knows you. And that you know them and that they neurosurgeon is always available to you. He finds that annual visits keep everything fresh so they know each other. Common cases would be a kid who bumps his head on the baseball field, has a mild headache and gets a scan. And something would be seen on the scan that has pathological significance but the primary care doctor sends the child to him. Most of the calls he takes would be coming to the hospital for surgery. They don't have residents so any surgery is done by the attending. They have physician extenders but he still has to come in and do the surgery. Nowadays, generally, residents don't operate alone so even if they had residents, he would have to come in. About a third of his calls, he would have nights coming in. [19:45] The Path to Pediatric Neurosurgery, Competitiveness, and Research Basically, neurosurgery residencies have been for five or six years including the internship year. That's followed by a year or two of fellowship, if you want to do it. This past two years, the ACGME and the residency review committee (RRC) for neurosurgery have standardized neurosurgical training. Now, it's a seven-year program including a year of fundamental clinical skills, which used to be the internship. And then six years of explicit neurosurgical training. Now they try to fold in the fellowship experience into the seven-year residency. So you don't have to do fellowship after you do it during the residency. There is research involved in neurosurgery. In fact, programs are required to have a research curriculum, whether it's training or research methods. Residents are expected to be academically active, to publish during their residency. And programs are reviewed by the RRC based in part on the research output of their faculty and residents. "It's a major emphasis in the residency review committee in neurosurgery to foster research in neurosurgery." Although he doesn't have the numbers, Michael thinks that half of the applicants get into programs. He would rate it as moderately competitive. It's a small specialty with about a hundred programs in the country. There are a whole lot of people interested in going into it but his sense is about 50% of applicants get in. As to the reason for it competitiveness, it appeals to a fair number of people, particularly people who are highly motivated. You have to really want to practice medicine at a fairly intense level to want to get into neurosurgery. Moreover, people may be attracted by the status or the financial aspects. Most neurosurgeons do fairly well financially. And there aren't enough people repelled by the volume or nature of the work. "It's fairy popular given what a small specialty it is." According to my data, there are are only 218 physicians. Michael agrees this is just about right. Pediatric neurosurgery is one of the less popular neurosurgical specialties. Within the neurosurgical profession, popular subspecialties include spinal neurosurgery, general neurosurgery, vascular. The reason for this is people don't like dealing with shunts. Many neurosurgeons, too, don't like dealing with kids or with families. Another reason is pediatric neurosurgery doesn't pay as well as other neurosurgical specialties. It seems to be a general rule across all pediatric subspecialties is that the pay isn't as good as it is for adults. But Michael points out you don't go into it for the money. [24:00] How to Be Competitive for a Residency Spot Besides being a good student and being a human being which always help you, Michael cites two things students should focus on. First is research. Have some publications appealing to a neurosurgical residency program. The second is to have some hands-on experience particularly with the programs you're applying to. When he was a resident in Miami, they took two residents a year. There was an unwritten rule that one resident was taken based on the CV and the other based on personal experience. When somebody would rotate through their service, you get to know them personally. It turned out that the people who did the best in the residency were almost the people who had rotated to the service and who they knew personally. You're going to work with the resident for seven years in fairly intimate ways in the middle of the night, saving lives, and doing all these stressful things. You really want to be somebody who you know you can work with, somebody you can trust and stand with for seven years. "The residency in neurosurgery is so long and it's such a stressful process. It's almost like a short marriage." Michael suggests that for people interested in neurosurgery, try to arrange external rotations at the programs you're most interested in applying to. This way, when your application comes across their desk, they would know who they're dealing with. Nevertheless, the research is a big deal. But the programs have a lot of stress on them from the ACGME and from the RRC to have residents that do research. It's one of the criteria by which re-certification of the program is determined. Plus, if you already have an established researcher in your program, it's more likely for them to make their program look good. That said, having a research background is very appealing to programs. In the long run, having research background makes you a better resident and a better neurosurgeon. [26:45] Biases Against DOs and Subspecialty Opportunities Michael's personal experience with osteopaths has been uniformly positive. Some of the best doctors he knows are osteopaths and his personal doctor is an osteopath. He thinks osteopaths are great doctors generally. He also knows that osteopathic programs have been brought into the ACGME. There are osteopaths at neurosurgery programs that do well. Although now, he's not sure how it's working into allopathic training. But osteopathic students are in an excellent profession and they can be very good doctors and very good neurosurgeon. In terms of other subspecialty opportunities, there is a boarding process for pediatric neurosurgeons. Although they're not ACGME-certified. So there are boards but they are not same status as the neurosurgery boards or the internal medicine boards. Beyond that, he's not aware of any certification process. But there are pediatric neurosurgeons who have particular interest in areas like hydrocephalus, epilepsy surgery, vascular, tumor. So you can develop a niche within the pediatric neurosurgery world. [28:50] Message to Pediatricians, Working with Other Specialties, and Turf Wars Michael says it's nice for neurosurgeons and pediatricians to become friends in terms of personal relationships. The pediatrician knows you personally. He gets a lot of calls from pediatricians just asking common sense questions. He finds that in the relationship between pediatricians and neurosurgeons, it's nice to form long-term friendships. In return, there are also situations where he calls the pediatricians. He will have a patient who has a neurosurgical issue but also has some pediatric issues. Then he'll speak with pediatrician about helping them out with that. Michael works a lot with other specialists like intensivist both adult and pediatric, orthopedists, otolaryngologists, and neurologists. For somebody who wants to go into neurosurgery because they're interested in doing spine surgery, Michael explains that in general surgery, most of the operative stuff is spinal. General neurosurgeons deal with spine in generally 80% of their cases. And most of the spine they do overlaps with orthopedics. Most general surgery particularly in private practice deal with spine. And there are movements right now in general surgery to relinquish cranial privileges if you're a private practice neurosurgeon. Many of them find that the cranial surgery, because it only forms only a small fraction of the cases they do, it does form a very large fraction of the difficult situations they encounter. So it's not just worth it. Also, it makes the call much worse. If you're doing cranial neurosurgery, you're called in at night for that subdural in the ER. But if your practice is restricted to spinal neurosurgery, you don't have to be called in for the cranial problem. So many of pediatric neurosurgeons restrict the practice of the spine. He actually has a friend in Florida who has been doing this for fifteen years. It makes for a very nice practice. In terms of overlap with orthopedics, Michael sees a lot of them. He never thought of it as something very competitive although his spine colleagues might feel differently about that. But they have a good relationship with their orthopedic colleagues at Stony Brook. The difference in the work they do is that neurosurgeons don't tend to do congenital deformities with scoliosis. On the other hand, Orthopedists don't do intradural surgery. "Kids with scoliosis still tend to be treated only by orthopedists and not by neurosurgeons." [35:10] What He Wished He Knew Now Michael doesn't think he would have done anything differently. He thought a lot about it. He likes pediatric neurosurgery. He is very interested in hydrocephalus from a research standpoint. Most of his research is in hydrocephalus dynamics and the cranium related to it. That said, there are tons of specialties within neurosurgeries that are great including spinal neurosurgery, tumor neurosurgery. But each of them has their drawbacks. For spinal neurosurgery, you have to want to deal with spine patients who can be very difficult to deal with. They're in chronic pain. So it should be something you like doing. Michael finds it's not for him. Tumor work is fascinating but many of your adult patients are dying. And to go into clinic everyday and see patient after patient with terminal illness is a hard thing to do. Cerebrovascular neurosurgery is very powerful specialty now with a lot of good work but they deal with some very difficult clinical situations. And the call can be brutal because you're taking call for strokes. Functional neurosurgery is great work for people who are fascinated by the intellectual aspects of epilepsy and movement disorders. But you have to have a certain personality to do that. Functional cases are very detailed, high tech cases that you have to like doing. [37:15] What He Likes the Most and Least about Pediatric Neurosurgery Michael likes fixing shunts. Even some pediatric neurosurgeons don't like that too much. But he finds hydrocephalus a fascinating condition. He's very interested in the dynamics of it and thinks there's much we don't understand about it. Hydrocephalus is the one neurosurgical condition where you can come into the hospital near death and walk out of the hospital a day or two later just fine. You can come blowing a pupil and go home in two days if they fix your shunt in time and the pupil comes down. In hydrocephalus, you can get incredibly dramatic results. I find managing shunts to be frankly challenging. "Doctors who deal with critically ill patients the most are neurosurgeons as much as any." What he likes the least about his specialty is seeing patients not doing well. This something all doctors need to deal with to some extent. Even if an objective observer wouldn't think of the outcome as a mistake, you still hold it in your heart and hod it in your head. That if you could have done something differently, could this patient have done better. Michael adds that one of the most important things about being a neurosurgeon is that you have to deal with the outcome. A neurosurgeon who has a major complication of 1%, you're a good neurosurgeon. A good complication rate for major cases. But if you're doing 200 cases, it means that two patients a year are going to have major complications. And if you're doing it for 30 years, there are 60 people out there who had major complications that's your responsibility and you live with those faces in your head. So he tells students going into neurosurgery is you have to be able to deal with that. That can be hard. In fact, some neurosurgeons quit. And some do dysfunctional things. They drink. They take drugs. They become egotistical creeps. They have different ways of dealing with that. Some become religious. Some limit their practice to things they can do safely. But you deal with stressful cases and bad outcome and dealing with litigation which is every neurosurgeon's pain. It's hard and it's a major part of the stress neurosurgeons go through. "Over the years, you get faces of people in your head who didn't survive or who were hurt for whom you feel some responsibility." There's a neurosurgeon named Henry Marsh who wrote a book called Do No Harm. He is a very prominent British neurosurgeon and did doctors tend not to. He wrote a book about all his bad outcomes. So the book wasn't about how gifted he was and all the great successes he had. Although he was a great neurosurgeon, the book was about his catastrophes. It's a very honest book. Michael recommends this book to people thinking about going into neurosurgery. [41:50] Future Changes in Neurosurgery The most dramatic change that's occurred in neurosurgery during his career has been cerebrovascular surgery with endovascular techniques. The ability to treat aneurysms with endovascular methods to treat AVMs and strokes. None of that was possible when he was training so this has been a real revolution. It primarily affects endovascular neurosurgeons but it's still a big change. In terms of pediatric neurosurgery, he's not seeing much changes except that they're seeing a lot less spina bifida than they used to. Due to folate supplementation in bread and milk and other foods, it's reducing the incidence of this condition. And also, prenatal diagnosis. Many of these babies are being aborted prenatally. There's a lot of research in tumors but the basic management of tumors has not changed all that radically. In spine, there was a study done back looking at which neurosurgical operations are under performed and which are over performed. They felt that functional neurosurgery was under performed. While the spinal surgery was over performed. So the reality is there are more people having spinal surgery than really need spinal surgery. Many people could recover from their spinal problems with good physical therapy and non surgical management. What's he's concerned about over the years is that insurance and the government will decide to reimburse spine in a much lower level and be much more stringent in the reimbursement which would affect neurosurgery in a very profound way. Because most of their income stream comes from the spinal surgery. [44:10] Michael's Final Words of Wisdom Consider this path if it's going to something that's going to be in your heart, it's your passion and not something you do for money. You also have to take into account the emotional stress that comes with dealing with people's lives on an intense personal level. He didn't actually feel this stress until he became an attending. You're going to have patients who don't do well so you have to have the psychological and spiritual resources to deal with that. "You have to take into account the emotional stress of dealing with people's lives on such an intense personal level." Links: If you have suggestions on people we should have on this podcast, shoot me an email at ryan@medicalschoolhq.net. We're looking for great guests! MedEd Media Network Not as a Stranger by Morton Thompson Do No Harm by Henry Marsh

Michael Walsh has built his company, Kaizen Consulting, into something that allows him to explore his own personal freedom. By embracing the methods that he uses when working with other entrepreneurs to help them grow their businesses, he has surpassed his own expectations for what the entrepreneurial life can bring. His Paper Napkin Wisdom was inspired from his work with a particular client who experience a five-fold increase in sales: "Thinking big is not enough." This concept arose when Michael asked himself the following two questions: "What stops businesses from growing?" and "What moves businesses past those things that have stopped them?" The conclusion at which he arrived was simple: vision is exciting and aspirational, in the way that limbic energy is contagious. Vision without structure, however, either creates chaos or will fall flat. Vision is fast and compelling, while structure is slow and stable. (Conversely, structure without vision is like slogging through the mud).  Michael observed that while entrepreneurial businesses are on the rise - 45% last more than five years today, versus 15% two decades ago - the growth of these businesses is missing. Of those businesses that succeed, 85% fail to reach $1 million in revenue; of those that reach $1 million, 95% fail to reach $5 million; of those that reach $5 million, 98% fail to reach $10 million. In Michael's experience, the difference between being an expert and being an entrepreneur running an expert business is three factors. Along with excelling at what you do, you must hone your skills in sales/marketing, finance, and people management (picture trying to balance four spinning plates instead of just one). Now consider that you’re also balancing these four spinning plates while balancing yourself on a ball, otherwise known as a constantly changing marketplace. When you attempt to grow from this point, your balance point ultimately falters. The one single thing driving most entrepreneurs is freedom, and, as Michael puts it,  growth equates to access to freedom. This level of satisfaction, however, doesn’t come from reducing the risk - satisfaction comes from winning in the face of the risk. In response to the businesses that approach him with questions on how to grow, Michael proposes three simple rules: 1.       Treat yourself as your company's most valuable asset 2.       Free yourself up to do what you do best (i.e. trust others to execute tasks that are essential, but not your area of expertise, such as bookkeeping) 3.       Focus on your own strengths and then concentrate your attempts to grow on those areas.    Following this process will start to fuse all of those different spinning plates into one, cohesive organization. Eventually, you will find yourself experiencing better balance and the increased level of freedom that inspired your drive toward growth in the first place.

Michael Patrick Benning sits down with Agile Amped to discuss improving working relationships when dealing with creative/UX teams. In Michael's experience, differences in working processes can give rise to conflicts, especially when some teams have moved toward more Agile, iteration-based processes while others still deliver value using waterfall. Michael two examples of UX teams burdened with legacy processes: legacy approval processes (e.g., a simple request necessitating approval by five levels of management) and legacy testing processes. He also highlights for viewers what they missed in his session "Balancing Order and Chaos". SolutionsIQ's Sheila Olds hosts at Southern Fried Agile 2016 in Charlotte, North Carolina. About Agile Amped The Agile Amped podcast series connects the community through compelling stories, passionate people, shared knowledge, and innovative ideas. Fueled by inspiring conversations with industry thought leaders, Agile Amped offers valuable content – anytime, anywhere. To receive real-time updates, subscribe! Subscribe: http://bit.ly/SIQYouTube, http://bit.ly/SIQiTunes, http://www.solutionsiq.com/agile-amped/ Follow: http://bit.ly/SIQTwitter  Like: http://bit.ly/SIQFacebook

Michael Tamez was morbidly obese, had severe obstructive sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and advanced gum disease. Not only did he lose 105 pounds (47kg) and reverse all of those lifestyle related health conditions, he also transformed the dysfunctional relationship he had with food, his lifestyle, and his true self. This 13 year health transformation experience was intensified when he lost five family members within eighteen months. Because of the tremendous impact of these losses, Michael was forced to have major mental, emotional, and spiritual breakthroughs in some the most difficult times of his life. After experiencing all of these life transforming deaths, he was highly inspired to write an empowering book about life. In Michael’s debut book, Transformative Nutrition: The Ultimate Guide to Healthy and Balanced Living, he describes his influential health journey in detail. Having been on the other side of balance, Michael can relate very closely to what people deal with when it comes to weight related health imbalances. His unique and progressive approach is not just for people who want to lose weight or eat healthier; it is intended for anyone who wants to establish a functional, healthy relationship with their body, meanwhile impacting every area of their life.  As a certified Integrative Health Coach and published wellness author, Michael's mission is to inspire a permanent shift in the way people eat, think, feel, live and love. Being hailed as “Sex and the City for Food,” The Food Heals Podcast brings together experts in the field of nutrition, health and healing to teach you the best-kept natural secrets to being a hotter, healthier, happier YOU! The Food Heals Podcast is hosted by Allison Melody and Suzy Hardy – two self-proclaimed natural chicks who will rock your world and change your beliefs about health! This sexy, savvy duo provides eco-friendly advice on a variety of issues including the healing power of nutrition, living authentically, turning your passion into your career, choosing the best natural health and beauty products, the benefits of a plant-based diet and so much more! Check out Michael's site at Transformative-Nutrition.com Become a founding member of the Food Heals VIP Club & get 20% off your lifetime membership at www.FoodHealsVIP.com. Get your free guide, Health, Longevity & Weight-loss Secrets at FoodHealsNation.com.

Whether you're a supportive coach or a person on the wellness journey looking to lose 40, 50, or even 100 pounds or more, the light at the end of the tunnel can sometimes seem dark. Hours on the treadmill. Counting calories in MyFitnessPal. Starving yourself. But what if losing weight had less to do with diet and exercise and ultimately was more about the emotional intelligence you have in your most authentic self? Finding Your Authentic Self From doing the powerful inner-work, letting go of his past, and changing his behavior, Holistic Health Coach and Author Michael Tamez was able to shift his functional relationship with food and realize his most authentic self to lose over 100 pounds. Michael Tamez is a certified holistic health coach and the author of "Transformative Nutrition" The Ultimate Guide To Healthy& Balanced Living." He's stopping by Wellness Force today to share his 15 year story of overcoming severe sleep apnea, high blood pressure, advanced gum disease, and going through layers of self resentment to then transcend and transform his life to let go of a surreal amount of weight. Hiding Behind The Fat At age 20, Michael was morbidly obese, had severe obstructive sleep apnea, high blood pressure, and advanced gum disease. By coming out of hiding and facing the anger in his heart, not only did he lose 100 pounds and reverse all of those lifestyle related health conditions, he also transformed the dysfunctional relationship he had with food, his lifestyle, and his true self. This health transformation experience was intensified when he lost five family members within eighteen months. Because of the tremendous impact of these losses, Michael was forced to have major mental, emotional, and spiritual breakthroughs in some the most difficult times of his life. After experiencing all of these life transforming deaths, he was highly inspired to write an empowering book about life. In Michael’s book, Transformative Nutrition: The Ultimate Guide to Healthy and Balanced Living, he describes his influential health journey in detail. Having been on the other side of balance, Michael can relate very closely to what people deal with when it comes to weight issues and lifestyle related health imbalances. Healthy And Balanced Living His unique and progressive approach is not just for people who want to lose weight or eat healthier; it is intended for anyone who wants to establish a functional, healthy relationship with their body, meanwhile impacting every area of their life. Michael's mission is to inspire a permanent shift in the way people eat, think, feel, live and love. More from Michael's Work: "Unless you address the underlying causes of being overweight in the first place, the weight is most likely going to eventually return. The second question is going to take some work. That is what my whole book is about. People don’t become overweight overnight, do they? I know I didn’t. Therefore, they aren’t going to become skinny overnight either. Even if someone could magically wake up 50 pounds lighter, do you honestly think all of the negative mental and emotional attachments to being overweight will disappear? I can tell you from my permanent weight loss journey of initially losing almost 70 pounds over the course of the first year, those attachments took many years to break free from even after losing the weight." Resources Mentioned In The Show Michael Tamez Official Website Email Michael Tamez Micheal's Book, "Transformative Nutrition" www.GoDoctorYourself.com Permanent Weight Loss Blog Michael's Before And After Photos Mind Body Green Article Food Matters TV Articles Transformative Nutrition Coaching Listen To Michael Uncover How to let go of old weight by finding your most authentic self Why all diets don't work due to emotional roots What to do next when diet and exercise aren't enough How to use your body's signals to direct your personal wellness Why personal development is the missing link for sustainable weight loss "I drank two liters of soda a day. I ate fast food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, not caring at all about the consequences. I thought exercise was a joke, and it got to a point where I’d get winded just tying my shoes. Weight loss wasn’t even on my radar." - Michael Tamez [tweetthis]"Fat loss has less to do with diet & exercise. It's about the emotional intelligence of your authentic self." @TransformativeN [/tweetthis]   Thanks To Our Amazing Sponsor Want to avoid more trips to the store and save hundreds of dollars a year on superfood supplements? Check out Perfect Supplements.com Go to perfectsupplements.com/wellnessforce to get your grass-fed collagen from today's show and sign up for a free membership, plus get 10% off your entire order - just enter promo code "wellnessforce" at checkout. Ask A Live Question For The Next Episode Click here to leave a voicemail directly to Josh Trent to be read live! Rate & Review Wellness Force Aloha! Josh here. Listen, I deeply value your thoughts, now let your voice be heard! I thrive to serve better based on your words, feedback, and requests for the Wellness Force Community. (including breaking bad habits) Get Your Free Audio Book http://www.wellnessforce.com/FreeBook You May Also Like These Episodes Nir Eyal:Breaking Bad Habits, Technology Addiction, & EmotionalTriggers Healthy, Happy & Harder To Kill w/ Steph Gaudreau of Stupid Easy Paleo Beyond Meditation: How To Get A Better Brain With Ariel Garten Living A Healthy Lifestyle In A Modern World With Dan Pardi  Creating A Life Worth Living With Michael Strasner Get More Wellness In Your Life: Download your free Digital Health Transformation Guide: wellnessforce.com/radio Don't miss next week's show: Subscribe and stay updated Did you like this show? Rate and review Wellness Force on iTunes So nice!  You read all the way to the bottom? That's what I call love! I do the same thing for the people, things, and movements I care about as well. PS: Looks like you and I share the same passion. I'm grateful for you and want to extend you my email address. Write to me and let me know what you'd like to have to get more wellness in your life!

When Lee Herzenberg remembers the day her son Michael was born, she laughs and calls it a “cool birth.” Her obstetrician was a friend, and she describes it almost like a party -- “a little bit painful, but that you forget very quickly.” Lee even got a kick out of the fact that a resident learned to do an episiotomy on her. It was November 1961, and she was at the newly christened Palo Alto-Stanford Hospital Center; her husband Len was a biology professor on campus. Like most fathers at the time, he didn’t attend the birth -- which meant he wasn’t there when their new child, Michael, started turning blue. The nurses whisked the newborn off to the nursery without telling Lee anything was wrong. It was then that a doctor noticed the characteristic features of Down syndrome: floppy muscles, eyes that slanted upward. They got Michael breathing again, but doctors thought his prognosis was grim. They gave Michael just a few months to live. A daisy chain of physicians was called, and Lee says it was a pediatrics professor who told her husband what had happened. Then Len was dispatched to tell Lee. She remembers the moment with uncharacteristic emotion. “We hugged each other, and it was a terrible conversation to realize that you’d lost the baby, but the baby was lost,” Lee says now. “We knew immediately what we’d do – we had already made the decision that it was not a good thing to take the baby home, and so we didn’t.” In the 1960’s -- an era before neurodiversity movements and early intervention programs -- many people still called people with Down Syndrome “mongoloids.” Playwright Arthur Miller institutionalized his son, Daniel, in 1966; a few years later, an article in The Atlantic Monthly argued that “a Down’s is not a person.” Lee and Len Herzenberg had seen friends struggle with the birth of a child with Down syndrome and even gone with a colleague to an institution, where he dropped off his own infant daughter. So, they made a choice: Michael would never come home. But Michael wasn’t lost. Michael’s birth sparked their search for a blood test that has revolutionized prenatal care in this country. Lee Herzenberg with her son, Michael. (Mary Harris) --- I made the mistake of telling one scientist I was reporting about “Len Herzenberg’s lab.” He corrected me instantly: “Len and Lee’s lab”. Because Lee Herzenberg was “leaning in” decades before Sheryl Sandberg coined the phrase. At 81, Lee, a professor of genetics, is still running the lab she and her husband founded more than 50 years ago. Len died in 2013. The lab is a quirky place, even by Stanford standards. Lee rarely sits on chairs, preferring cushions on the floor. She’s often accompanied by her bichon frise, Gigi. Researchers can often be found working in this basement office well into the night. But Lee Herzenberg isn’t just quirky: she’s one of the few -- possibly the only -- professor at Stanford never to have officially graduated from college. Instead, she trained by her husband’s side, auditing courses while he got his Ph.D. at Cal Tech (women weren’t allowed to attend at the time), and working at his labs at the Pasteur Institute in Paris and the NIH. And the science that’s done here has changed the course of medicine. The Herzenbergs are best known as the creators of the modern-day fluorescence-activated flow cytometer, or FACS. It was a machine born out of frustration: Len couldn’t stand squinting down a microscope looking at cells. Before the FACS, a biologist looking at slides could feel like he was playing a really intense round of “Where’s Waldo”, staring at crowds of all kinds of cells, trying to pinpoint the exact one he was looking for. Not only was it annoying, Len Herzenberg worried it wasn’t particularly scientific. He wanted a way to find and describe cells that didn’t rely on his worn out eyes. The FACS was used to diagnose AIDS - because it can quickly and easily sort out T-cells. The FACS was used to find the first stem cells. When Len Herzenberg died, one colleague told The New York Times that “without Len, tens of thousands of people now alive would not be.” But in the 1970s, the Herzenbergs were still proving the value of this machine. That’s when they started thinking about using it to create a blood test for Down syndrome. Len Herzenberg had seen research from Finland claiming it was possible to see a fetus’ cells in a mother’s blood. It was hard to believe. But he knew that the FACS, with its nearly magical sorting capabilities, could figure it out. So he took on a medical student named Diana Bianchi as a research associate and made sorting out these cells her project. If they isolate these cells, he could know a lot about the developing fetus, including whether the fetus had chromosomal abnormalities. “They had a very personal reason for doing this, because of their son, Michael,” Bianchi says now. “They wanted to have a test that could be offered to any pregnant woman – that would be noninvasive and would allow them to know if child had Down syndrome. The first step, however, was to show that you could pull out fetal cells.” Scientists now estimate that for every 200 billion cells in a mother’s bloodstream - about 10 of those are fetal cells. Bianchi was one of the first people to see them. The New York Times quoted Len Herzenberg saying it was a “first step” towards a blood test for Down syndrome for all pregnant women. But it would take thirty years for a practical test to become a reality. As it turned out, Len Herzenberg's FACS wasn't the right tool for prenatal diagnosis. There weren’t very many fetal cells to be sorted, and if a pregnant woman already had children, scientists couldn’t be sure if the cells in her blood came from the current fetus or one of her older kids. But in 2008, Len helped ensure the right tool was found. A researcher named Stephen Quake had discovered a way to sequence chunks of fetal DNA floating in expectant mothers' blood. As a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Len made sure the paper was published in the academy's journal. Another researcher, Dennis Lo, confirmed Quake’s findings. Three years later, the tests were on the market. Now, at just 10 weeks into a pregnancy, a whole range of things can be revealed with this test. Not just Down syndrome, but a host of other chromosomal abnormalities as well as the sex of the child to be. Until this test, doctors had to rely on amniocentesis, an invasive procedure that involves-- inserting a needle in the womb to sample amniotic fluid, or biopsying the placenta -- to tell them with any reliability whether a fetus had a chromosomal abnormality. These tests aren’t just uncomfortable, they come with a risk of miscarriage. By some estimates, in the last five years the number of these procedures performed in this country have plummeted by more than 50 percent. To some parents, this knowledge can be alarming. Advocates in Ohio are trying to pass a law preventing abortions if Down syndrome is the reason (North Dakota and Indiana have already passed similar laws). Lee Herzenberg is honest about what she would have done if she’d known early on in her pregnancy that Michael had Down syndrome. “I’d say if I had the choice of not pushing Michael into this life – if I at that time would know I was carrying a Down syndrome child -- I would have aborted the child,” she says. “I see no reason Michael has to live the life he leads. The fact that we’ve made it very happy for him or that he’s made it very happy for us -- all of that is adapting to a situation, but I don’t think it’s fair or proper.” But Lee Herzenberg is alarmed that these tests are now being used to determine the sex of unborn babies. She worries about parents choosing to abort girls. -- Diana Bianchi, that medical student from the Herzenberg lab, is now a professor at Tufts, where she founded the Mother Infant Research Institute. She’s still working in prenatal testing. In fact, perfecting these tests has become her life’s work. But her focus has shifted. Now that she can detect Down syndrome so early, she wants to treat it early, too: in the womb. Because finding this chromosomal abnormality at 10 weeks means there’s a window of opportunity: The brain changes associated with Down syndrome don’t occur until a month or so later. Theoretically, you could treat a fetus before some brain changes occur at all. Bianchi’s work is still early. She’s experimenting with mice, giving them existing drugs in utero to see if she can forestall brain damage.   There’s an often-quoted statistic, that 90 percent of parents who find out that their fetus has Down syndrome will abort. But that statistic is from a study done in the United Kingdom. In the US, far fewer women terminate.   “We have to unpack this connection between prenatal testing and abortion,” she says. “We have good data to suggest that approximately 40 plus percent of women who know their fetus has Down syndrome continue their pregnancy. There are many women who speak very highly of the fact that this allows them to prepare.” -- The photos that Michael keeps in his room. (Mary Harris) The Down syndrome baby who kicked off the search for this blood test is now a 54-year-old man. He lives in a squat house in Redwood City, Calif., just a 30 minute drive from his birth mother’s home. For years, Michael lived with a local woman named Barbara Jennings, who raised a number of children with developmental challenges. The Herzenberg’s pediatrician helped them find her when Michael was a newborn. The Herzenbergs would visit Michael every month or so, but they never felt they should bring him home. When Barbara died, Michael moved to this group home. It’s hard to know how much Michael understands when I talked to him, though he’s learned to read and use a cell phone. And he’s stubborn. A lot like his mother, actually. “Michael has the hardest head in the whole world,” says Janet Thomas, the caretaker who runs this house. “He does whatever he wants to do. He does not care whatever you say. He’s going to do whatever it is he wants to do -- that’s Michael.” I asked Lee if she ever regretted not raising Michael, and she said no.  “It was a decision that was selfish if you like, because we had things we wanted to do.  In retrospect, a lot of things would never have gotten done. There would be no FACS had we decided to do this. Because it would have been a very intensive kind of upbringing.” As for Michael, he clearly loves his mother, no matter what she decided. In Michael’s room, there are photos on almost every surface, with snapshots of his biological and adopted families. In the corner is a huge poster of his father, celebrating when he won the Kyoto Prize for his contributions to biotechnology. And deep in one album, there’s a picture of Len and Lee together. The caption reads “Michael’s other mom + dad.”

Most creatives would agree that giving yourself to the creative process is vital to your success as a creative. It is vital to creating authentic work worth sharing with the world. And we all have our own version of that creative process. Michael Yankoski s creative process is unique in that it is highly experiential. It could be said it is like throwing yourself into the creative fire. What has emerged for author and speaker, Michael Yankoski is thoughtful, authentic, moving work. The kind of work that shatters previously held presuppositions about the world. Michael choose to spend five months living on the street in an effort to better understand what it is like to be homeless. The result of that experience was his book Under The Overpass. His most recent experiential, creative endeavor resulted in his new book The Sacred Year that releases today (September 16, 2014). This book is the culmination of a year spent exploring ancient and modern spiritual practices in an effort to not just talk about a life of faith but actually experience it. As Michael joins Dane in this episode of Converge they talk about his various life experiences and how his creativity is shaped by the power of those experiences. They also discuss the challenges of creating in the context of the creative community. In Michael’s case it was publishing a book and navigating the tension between working with a publisher and staying true to his creative vision as an artist. If you enjoy this episode of Converge be sure to check out Michael s work and even consider grabbing a copy of The Sacred Year. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter @michaelyankoski. Thanks to Triple Scoop Music for providing the music for today s show and thanks to our wonderful audio producer Anna Queza of AQreative. The post Ep. 027 Experiential Creativity with Michael Yankoski appeared first on Fastermind.co.

In Michael's Hot Corner, we analyze/dispute the importance of the Yankees/Bosox rivalry, we gush over Lakeland's Joker Marchant Stadium, and review the home team.

So, you've written your masterpiece, recorded your album, shot your independent film - now what?  How do you get the world to notice? The role of a publicist in the life of any creative or business endeavor can be the difference between financial success or failure. But what does a publicist do? Where do you find one? What do they cost? What impact can you realistically expect? Candi and Randy are joined by veteran PR guru Michael Caprio, of Caprio Media Design, to discuss all these topics and more.  In Michael's 25+ years of experience in the world of public relations, he has handled campaigns for musicians, authors, actors and theatrical productions.  His past and current client list includes Olivia Newton-John, Jon Secada, John Tesh, The Chippendales, Jim Brickman, Jonathan Butler, Rick Braun, Matt Zarley and many, many more. If you're an independent creative, listen in for tips for what you can do for yourself and what you should leave to the professionals of PR.