Podcasts about Lybrand

Want a quick estimate of how much your business is worth? With our free valuation calculator, answer a few questions about your business and you'll get an immediate estimate of the value of your business. You might be surprised by how much you can get for it: https://flippa.com/exit -- In this episode of The Exit: Chris Vanderzyden, founder and CEO of Legacy Partners and a former CPA turned entrepreneur, doesn't just talk about selling companies—she's lived it. Twice. After experiencing the good, the bad, and the "wish-I-knew-that-earlier" of business exits, she set out to reinvent the process. Her mission? To help business owners walk away from their life's work not just with a check, but with peace of mind. The Wake-Up Call: Chris shares how too many entrepreneurs are caught off guard—often approached by buyers with zero preparation. Letters of intent in hand, they're suddenly scrambling to understand their business's true value and what the deal means for their future. Her message is clear: Don't wait for a knock at the door. Start planning today. Chris built Legacy Partners around a simple idea: exiting a business is personal. It's about money, sure—but it's also about identity, timing, legacy, and life after the deal. Her team helps owners develop a “master exit plan” that includes: Valuation early and often: Not just to know what your business is worth today—but what can be done to intentionally increase that value before selling. Tactical tax planning: Like estate freezes and trusts—moves that take time and can't be done in the eleventh hour. Team building: From M&A attorneys to wealth managers, having the right specialists matters. (Spoiler: your real estate lawyer isn't the one to negotiate your exit.) What are Chris's top takeaways? Biggest mistake you can make? Waiting too long to plan—and failing to understand your EBITDA is more important than just growing revenue. Timing is everything—externally (sector roll-ups, interest rates, market trends) and internally (don't wait until you've “maxed out” the business). Growth potential matters: Buyers want a runway ahead. If it looks like there's no room left to scale, it can hurt your valuation. It's not about the top-line number—it's what's left after taxes, debt, and fees that really counts. -- Chris Vanderzyden is the President & CEO of Legacy Partners, LLC, an exit planning and M&A advisory firm dedicated to serving privately held, middle-market business owners, in creating and executing successful exit strategies resulting in the harvesting and preservation of wealth. She began her career as a CPA for Coopers & Lybrand, the company that later became PricewaterhouseCoopers following a merger, and subsequently served as an asset manager with Northwest Asset Management in Los Angeles. Following her positions in the corporate world, Chris became an entrepreneur and has successfully built and sold multiple businesses. She has over twenty years of experience consulting for M&A firms and privately held businesses as they grow and ultimately execute their exit plans. Chris's Latest Book on Amazon: https://a.co/d/2M2dWDc Chris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisvanderzyden/ Website: https://legacypartnersllp.com/ -- The Exit—Presented By Flippa: A 30-minute podcast featuring expert entrepreneurs who have been there and done it. The Exit talks to operators who have bought and sold a business. You'll learn how they did it, why they did it, and get exposure to the world of exits, a world occupied by a small few, but accessible to many. To listen to the podcast or get daily listing updates, click on flippa.com/the-exit-podcast/

In this episode, host Robert Olson sits down with veteran finance leader and entrepreneur David Rogers, who shares his remarkable journey from corporate roles at Cooper's and Lybrand and TD Bank to creating Caledon Capital, which grew to manage $10 billion in assets under management. David offers candid insights into his career transitions, from joining FirstService in its infancy as Vice President and CFO to building OMERS' private equity program and ultimately launching his own successful investment firm. Throughout the conversation, he emphasizes how his people-first leadership philosophy shaped his success, the importance of trusted mentors, and finding the right strategic partners for business growth. Now semi-retired and serving on Nicola Wealth's private capital investment committee, David reflects on balancing professional accomplishments with personal fulfillment. Highlights  3:40 - Early career beginnings 10:45 - Creating OMERS' private equity program and investment approach  14:40 - Lessons in leadership and building a people-first culture 16:00 - Identifying market gaps and launching a business 22:15 - Strategic partnerships and business evolution 24:50 - Balancing advisory roles and achieving work-life balance  29:00 - Career reflections Sign Up for our Newsletter

In this episode of the Investing in Integrity podcast, Ross Overline, CEO and co-founder of Scholars of Finance, speaks with John Shrewsberry, CFO at GoodLeap and Former CFO at Wells Fargo. The conversation explores the role of ethical leadership in fostering sustainable finance. John shares his career journey from Wall Street to Wells Fargo and now renewable energy fintech. He explores the balance between performance incentives and ethical standards, reflecting on lessons from the Wells Fargo sales crisis almost a decade ago and emphasizing the dangers of misaligned metrics. John advocates for integrity, transparency, and constructive feedback in leadership while highlighting the role of finance in driving innovation and prosperity. John and Ross also offer advice for young professionals and seasoned leaders on fostering a culture of accountability and growth.  Meet John Shrewsberry John Shrewsberry is the Chief Financial Officer at GoodLeap, where he oversees critical functions such as financial planning, accounting, capital markets, investor relations, human resources, legal, and compliance. Previously, John served as CFO of Wells Fargo, managing the financial operations of the $2 trillion company, including treasury, tax management, and corporate development. During nearly two decades at Wells Fargo, he held leadership roles such as head of Wells Fargo Securities and the Wells Fargo Commercial Capital Group, which stemmed from a finance company he co-founded and sold to Wells Fargo in 2001. Before Wells Fargo, John worked in principal finance at Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse First Boston, following his start as a CPA at Coopers & Lybrand. He earned a degree in economics from Claremont McKenna College and an MBA from Yale School of Management. John serves on the boards of Claremont McKenna, Yale's advisory committees, and the Yale University Endowment Investment Committee.

GILSON, Angela Thomas, 55, passed peacefully on September 15, 2024 surrounded by the love of her family after a two-year battle with ovarian cancer. Angie was born in Roanoke, Virginia, on March 26, 1969, but moved to Richmond as a toddler. She graduated from Douglas Freeman High School and earned her BS in Accounting from James Madison University, making lifelong friends along the way. She began her career as an auditor at Coopers & Lybrand before moving on to accounting and finance positions at AMF Bowling and Circuit City. She then worked part-time at Avalon Bay, her brother's orthodontic practice,...Article LinkSupport the show

With a unique background in finance and mediation, coupled with a passion for culture and education, Monica has traveled the globe extensively – exploring all opportunities to continuously enhance her skill set and personal growth. Around the world, she has had the good fortune to learn from some of the most renowned names in her field. Having previously worked in accounting and finance with corporate giants, Coopers and Lybrand (now PwC), and Rogers Cablesystems, Monica's initial foray into business began with her family's manufacturing company – Balthes Farm Equipment. Growing up in a family business, Monica learned the importance of family values, vision, passion, and commitment. This early imprinting ultimately led to her lifetime quest to understand best practices in business and communication skills, and how to live a happy life. Many years later, she went through the business transition process with her own parents' company, Kooljet Refrigeration Systems. This experience gave her first-hand knowledge about the complexities of family business systems and how challenging that transition can be. Monica's dedication to helping individuals and businesses reach their potential inspires her to work with companies ready to transform their corporate culture. Her experience, coupled with her holistic view of relationship management, supports her clients' commitment to clarify their objectives and create a profitable, harmonious, and sustainable future. Monica received most of her formal education in Canada, completing her undergraduate degree in Economics at the University of Western Ontario. She is a Certified Professional Co-Active Coach, a Certified Management Accountant in Ontario, Canada, and holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the Schulich School of Business at York University. In addition, Ms. Clare holds a diploma in International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Austria, and studied Modern World Systems and Comparative Political Economy with California Polytechnic State University in Thailand. She has recently obtained her FEA (Family Enterprise Advisor) certification with the FEX (Family Enterprise Exchange). While living in Europe for 20 years, Monica also accepted invitations to instruct college and university courses.     What You'll Learn ●      How to resolve differences in perspectives. ●      How ego affects decision-making. ●      How to face the fear of conflict. ●      How to unfreeze the lens around trauma.   Timestamps ·       [09:13] A bit about Monica. ·       [11:13] Defining conflict. ·       [13:12] Differing family perspectives. ·       [15:15] How the ego affects decision-making. ·       [22:34] How to face the fear of conflict. ·       [26:33] Strategic vs soft skills. ·       [30:48] Helping someone understand a different perspective. ·       [37:37] The epigenetic factor. ·       [41:31] Freezing people in time. ·       [49:48] The next executive forum.   Memorable Quotes ·       “The information that you have determines how you make your decisions.” – Monica Clare [14:18] ·       “There is an intuitive aspect of our decision-making.” – Monica Clare [29:28] ·       “That's just the way they see things right now.” – Monica Clare [46:16]   Websites fambizforum.com. www.chrisyonker.com. www.monicaclare.ca. Monica Clare.

In this episode Mark Devine, a retired Navy SEAL commander, founder of SealFit and Unbeatable Mind, and New York Times bestselling author shares his journey from Wall Street to the Navy SEALs, emphasizing the transformative power of meditation and Zen practices. He discusses the balance between 'yin and yang' life approaches, the importance of physical, mental, and emotional development, and how his training methods have evolved over the years. The discussion highlights how integrating self-awareness, compassion, and mental training can lead to extraordinary performance and effective leadership. Marcus and Mark also delve into the essence of true warrior leaders and the evolution of Devine's perspective on what it means to be a warrior. Episode Highlights: 04:04 Journey to Zen and Martial Arts 04:23 From Wall Street to Navy SEALs 31:00 The Yin and Yang of Personal Growth 33:15 The Warrior's Path: Oak and Reed 33:42 Merging the Hard and Soft 34:54 Witnessing Awareness and Ego 43:44 The Essence of True Leadership Mark Divine, from upstate New York, graduated from Colgate University where he focused on athletic endeavors like swimming, rowing, and triathlon racing. He began his career as a CPA at Coopers & Lybrand in NYC, serving clients like Solomon Brothers and Paine Webber. After earning an MBA from NYU Stern, he pursued his dream of becoming a Navy SEAL officer, graduating as the honor-man of his class. He served for nine years on active duty and eleven in the reserves. Mark co-founded Coronado Brewing Company, launched NavySEALs.com, and developed the SEALFIT program, incorporating his Unbeatable Mind warrior development model. You can learn more about Mark at: https://markdivine.com/ Learn more about the gift of Adversity and my mission to help my fellow humans create a better world by heading to www.marcusaureliusanderson.com. There you can take action by joining my ANV inner circle to get exclusive content and information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

About Tony Lopes Tony can speak to a wide range of topics related to wealth, macroeconomics, and freedom. He'll work with you to make sure it is the best fit for your show and audience! http://dirtybootscapital.com/ https://www.facebook.com/DirtyBootsCapital https://www.instagram.com/dirty_boots_capital/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tony-lopes-far/ ------------------------------------------------------ About Carl Richards Carl Richards has spent more than 25 years behind the microphone, on radio and on stage, entertaining and influencing audiences world wide. He's a 3x best selling author, TEDx Speaker and emcee, Podcast host and the founder and CEO of Carl Speaks and Podcast Solutions Made Made Simple. Carl helps coaches, consultants and other subject mater experts become the got authority by launching world class podcasts. He lives with his spouse in Gananoque, Ontario Canada, where he enjoys camping and boating in the 1000 Islands. https://podcastsolutionsmadesimple.com/ https://www.facebook.com/carl.richards.148 https://www.instagram.com/podcastsolutionsmadesimple/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/carl-richards-podcast-solutions-made-simple/ ------------------------------------------------------ About Christopher Stafford Graduating summa cum laude with an accounting degree from Walsh College, a private university in Troy, Michigan, Chris passed his CPA examination and worked for Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouseCoopers) as a certified public accountant. Working in the Detroit, San Diego, New York City and San Francisco offices, he concentrated in the emerging business market, consulting with new business owners and helping them jumpstart their businesses. He advised large and small companies about their business practices for 11 years, reviewing hundreds of business plans for start-up companies. After eleven years, he left the accounting profession in 1991 to pursue his passion for real estate. As a real estate broker in San Francisco and a real estate investor nationwide, Chris has consistently earned top producer awards. https://theagentunleashed.com/ https://www.facebook.com/Christopher.S.Stafford https://www.linkedin.com/in/theagentunleashed/ ------------------------------------------------------ Collabpalooza Solopreneur Automation Summit https://collabpalooza.com When It Worked Podcast https://getoffthedamnphone.com/podcast 00:00:00 Lets Play Jeopardy! 00:00:33 Fermented Cider Is Called? 00:01:10 Hollywood Legends 00:02:19 Hollywood Legends For 400 00:03:22 Carl Gets 500 Points 00:03:45 Ancient Weapon Threw Stones 00:04:34 Well Done 00:04:55 Carls Smartness On Jeopardy 00:05:54 Say Cheese In Hospital 00:06:19 The Check Is In The Mail 00:07:45 Biafra 00:10:36 Bronze Age 00:11:54 What's A Floppy Disk Anyway? 00:12:47 Carls Vikings, 400 Inventions, Civil Wars 00:16:06 Spains Dictator Years 00:16:33 Tony Lopes Real Estate Investing Success 00:21:01 Tony Lopes Treatment 00:21:29 Success Tips For High End Agents 00:24:32 Podcasting Helps Real Estate Professionals Build Relationships 00:27:44 Myths And Misconceptions About Podcasts Busted 00:29:01 Podcast Solutions Made Simple 00:30:07 Everything We Do For Podcast Success 00:31:53 Call Or Chat With Carl At Podcast Solutions

Mothers Day, Auroras, then funny funny memes! 10:11 aNIMAL cLOSER 10:47 NEWS End Round 1 https://youtu.be/drKTWpSkFmg Ellis, R. (2024, May 10). Cows are potential spreaders of bird flu to humans. WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/food-poisoning/news/20240510/cows-are-potential-spreaders-bird-flu-humans -- Cow udders have the same receptors for flu viruses as humans and birds, raising concerns that cows could become “mixing vessels” that help the bird flu virus spread between people. Speaking of toxic breeding grounds- ‘Patriarchal, insular, and risk-averse': FDIC inquiry finds pervasive sexual harassment. (2024, May 7). POLITICO. https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/07/fdic-workplace-misconduct-00156570 1 in 24 New York City residents is a millionaire, more than any other city. (2024, May 8). CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/city-with-most-millionaires-new-york-number-1/ Sneed, T., & Lybrand, H. (2024, May 10). Steve Bannon: Appeals court upholds contempt-of-Congress conviction for defying Jan. 6 subpoena | CNN politics. CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/10/politics/steve-bannon-appeal-denied/index.html Bannon was sentenced to four months in federal prison, and that sentence was also upheld Friday by the appeals court. The ruling could pave the way for Bannon to eventually report to prison, though the timing is unclear. ALSO MOVING SLOW … UN General Assembly backs Palestinian bid for membership. (2024, May 10). reuters.com. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/un-general-assembly-set-back-palestinian-bid-membership-2024-05-10/ The assembly adopted a resolution with 143 votes in favor and nine against - including the U.S. and Israel - while 25 countries abstained. It does not give the Palestinians full U.N. membership, but simply recognizes them as qualified to join. https://www.youtube.com/c/FacebookfortheBlindFB4tB ► COME to a LIVE recording every Tuesday at 7:30p CST (♫@7:00p) Follow the link below - RSVP by email, then we send a Zoom link about an hour before the show! https://linktr.ee/fb4tb #FB4tB ► Like & Subscribe! FB4tB YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/FacebookfortheBlindFB4tB ► Subscribe to the FB4tB podcast HERE: https://bit.ly/3mINXct ► Like FB4tB on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FB4TB ► Follow FB4tB on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FB4tB_WasTaken ► Check out another nifty visualizered FB4tB podcast episode here: https://youtu.be/9O9KVHScswU Thank you for listening! #Listenable, #FB4tB, #Comedy, #memes, #TuesdayNight, #LIVE, #podcast, filmed before a Live audience

On the afternoon of May 30, 2005, the senior students from Mountain Brook High School gathered at the airport in Aruba to make their return flight to Alabama after their celebratory trip, when chaperones noticed that one of the students was missing. Eighteen-year-old Natalee Holloway was last seen around 1:30 am that morning, leaving a bar with a student from the local International School of Aruba, but no one had seen or heard from her since and when they checked the hotel, Natalee's luggage and other belongings were still in her room. It would take nearly twenty years before her killer was held responsible and the truth about her disappearance was brought to light.Thank you to the wondrous Dave White of Bring Me the Axe Podcast for Research!ReferencesABC News. 2006. Exclusive: van der Sloot talks about night out. February 22. Accessed March 26, 2024. https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/story?id=1648218.Associated Press. 2005. "Three young suspects can be held in case of missing girl, judge rules." New York Times, June 12.—. 2005. "Two suspects to be held in girl's case." New York Times, June 9.—. 2012. "Natalee Holloway declared dead by judge six years after disappearance." The Guardian, January 12.Burrough, Bryan. 2006. "Missing White Female." Vanity Fair, November 20.Chandler, Kim. 2023. "Attorney describes Joran van der Sloot's confession." Montgomery Advertiser, November 11: 1.CNN News. 2010. Interpol: Van der Sloot tried to extort Holloway's mother. June 9. Accessed March 27, 2024. http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/06/08/us.van.der.sloot.alabama/.CNN Wire. 2012. Van der Sloot sentenced to 28 years for Peru murder . January 13. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2012/01/13/world/americas/peru-van-der-sloot-sentence.Holloway, Beth. 2007. "My daughter disappeared." Good Housekeeping, November 1: 185.Holloway, Dave, R. Stephanie Good, and Larry Garrison. 2023. Aruba: The Tragic Untold Story of Natalee Holloway and Corruption in Paradise. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishing.Lybrand, Holmes, Jean Casarez, and Evan Perez. 2023. FBI details how van der Sloot's confession in Natalee Holloway's death came together. October 24. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.cnn.com/2023/10/24/us/joran-van-der-sloot-holloway-plea-deal/index.html.Lyman, Rick. 2005. "Missing woman's case spurs discussion of news coverage." New York Times, August 7.NBC News. 2005. Aruban police again search landfill for Holloway. July 28. Accessed March 26, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna8745217.—. 2010. Van der Sloot admits Holloway family extortion plot: 'Why not?'. September 6. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna39023617.Nelson, Andrew. 2005. "Missing teen's friends, family continue hope." Birmingham Post-Herald, June 6: 24.News, ABC. 2006. "Dutch teen tells Primetime about night with Natalee Holloway." ABC News, February 23.Norton, Michael. 2005. "FBI answers mother's plea to aid search." Montgomery Advertiser, June 4: 1.Robinson, Carol. 2023. Listen to Joran van der Sloot describe Natalee Holloway's final moments in chilling confession. October 18. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/listen-to-joran-van-der-sloot-describe-natalee-holloways-final-moments-in-chilling-confession.html.Robinson, Carol, and Ivana Hrynkiw. 2023. Joran van der Sloot confesses to killing Natalee Holloway: ‘You terminated her dreams,' mother says. October 18. Accessed March 27, 2024. https://www.al.com/news/2023/10/joran-van-der-sloot-expected-to-plead-guilty-in-natalee-holloway-extortion-case-today-latest-updates.html.Robinson, Gene. 2005. "Missing white women and the media." Washington Post, June 14.The Independent. 2010. "Sex, lies and a murder suspect with a story to sell." The Independent, June 23.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Brooks is a Web Developer who specializes in building highly interactive, data-rich React applications. He is currently a Developer Relations Manager at Shopify and Remix. EPISODE LINKS: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brooks-lybrand/PODCAST LINKS: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-nikos-show/id1240503636 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2dBlXuaLe1IHkXqG2whQNC #react #remix #software

I rarely have met someone who, throughout his life, has been presented with so many challenges but always moves forward with strength, poise, and vision. Robert Schott and I first met 27 years ago when Karen and I moved to New Jersey for a job. Robert immediately took a liking to both of us as we were asked to help our church, also the church Robert and his wife Erica attended, design wheelchair access both for Karen and others. As I got to know Robert I recognized that he was quite a determined individual who worked hard to bring success to whatever endeavors he undertook.   Robert's story both in the work he has done for others as well as his own inventing mindset is well worth hearing. In fact, as you will hear, he has designed a new toy currently looking for a manufacturing home, but that already has been described as the first invention creating a new way of play for children.   If all of us ever encounter through these podcast episodes someone unstoppable it is Robert Schott. I hope his thoughts, life lessons and his enthusiastic mindset rubs off on all of us. His faith and his attitude really do show all of us that we can be more unstoppable than we think we can.     About the Guest:     Robert Schott has more than 40 years of business and employee communications design experience currently concentrated in employee benefits and retirement plans. With Charles Schwab Retirement Plan Services, Mr. Schott specializes in customizing people engagement strategies on financial literacy and to prepare his clients' employees for their future retirement income needs. Pensions & Investments magazine recognized two of his recent projects with First Place Eddy Awards for superior achievement in Retirement Readiness and Financial Wellness communications design. Mr. Schott help similar roles at Merrill Lynch Retirement Plan Services, J.P. Morgan/American Century Retirement Plan Services, J.P. Morgan Investment Management, and Coopers & Lybrand Human Resources Group. Additionally, Mr. Schott founded and owns Bopt Inc., a consumer product development and sales company featuring two notable inventions, WOWindow Posters® and SprawlyWalls™. WOWindow Posters are translucent posters designed for illuminating Halloween and Christmas images in windows simply by turning on the room lights. SprawlyWalls is a build, decorate, and play system for children ages 5 to 11 to create play spaces for their dolls and action figures. The Strong National Museum of Play/Toy Hall of Fame recently included SprawlyWalls in its in-museum Play Lab. Mr. Schott is a member of the Leadership Forum Community (LFC) which convenes to explore leadership challenges, develop conscious leaders, and create solutions that result in meaningful and equitable change in organizations, education, and society. He collaborated on the concept of ‘Conscious Dialogue' presented at the LFC Summit in July 2023. Notably, in 2019 and 2021, Mr. Schott participated in America in One Room, an experiment in Deliberative Democracy designed by social scientists at Stanford University to foster civil discourse on political themes by convening over 500 USA citizens for moderated discussions. In 2021, Mr. Schott's community, Cranford New Jersey, recognized him with the annual Kindness Award for bringing joy to others through his massive annual front yard snow sculptures. In June 2023, he joined an expedition in Newfoundland Canada to search for a missing French biplane that would have beat Charles Lindbergh in 1927 for the $50k prize money had it landed in front of the Statue of Liberty coming from Paris. Mr. Schott holds a bachelor of arts with honors in communication design from Rochester Institute of Technology. He completed a Mini-MBA certification program at Rutgers, Center for Management Development. He had previously held Series 7 and 66 licenses for his financial industry work.     Ways to connect with Tony:   https://www.facebook.com/robert.schott.33/ https://www.facebook.com/SprawlyWalls/ https://www.facebook.com/WOWindows/ https://www.instagram.com/sprawlywalls/ https://www.instagram.com/shotinthedarkguy/ Twitter: @wowindows     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, Hi, and welcome once again to unstoppable mindset. I am your host, Mike Hingson. And today, I get to really have a wonderful pleasure and honor to even introduce you to someone who I've known for a long time, Robert Schott lived fairly close to us when we lived in New Jersey, we lived in Westfield, New Jersey, but we both went to the same church, which is where we met, we met the shots and others became good friends. And Robert was a very good supporter of ours, especially helping Karen because if and when we started at the church, it was not very wheelchair accessible. And there were a lot of issues to try to make it more accessible. And Robert and others were really helpful in advocating and recognizing the value of that. So he's become a great friend. He's had associations with Rochester Institute of Technology and actually helped get me to do a speech there one. So Robert and I have known each other for a long time. Gosh, if we were to really go back and count, Robert, it's since what 1996. So that is what 27 years long. I know. Welcome to unstoppable mindset.   Robert Schott ** 02:34 Well, thank you, Michael. And I appreciate the warm regard as friends that's top of mind and you create helped create a fascinating part of my life. And Erica's life, which we're grateful for. And we were sorry to see you move west. But I know that was all for good things   Michael Hingson ** 02:53 are good things. But we still get to stay in touch. And yeah, and one of these days, I hope to be able to get back to New Jersey and spend some time with all of you, which would be good. So we'll have to figure that out at some point. But for now, let's let's talk about you a little bit. Why don't you tell us a little bit about as I love to do with the deepening of these things, the the early Robert growing up and all that sort of stuff and kind of what got you to where you are at least a little bit and then we can always go back and talk more about that. But yeah, love to hear some of the early Robert stories.   Robert Schott ** 03:30 Yeah, and cut me off when we need to pivot but okay, I'm cutting you off now.   Michael Hingson ** 03:33 Thanks.   Robert Schott ** 03:36 You're funny, man. Yeah, go ahead. Well, in fact, I grew up in a town past Westfield, which was Fanwood nestled by Scotch Plains. I went to Scotch Plains Fanwood high school I was one of five children to two middle class English parents. My mom was the high school nurse where I was went to high school I had a hard time cutting class or calling out sick because she knew   Michael Hingson ** 04:02 my dad told us no anyway.   Robert Schott ** 04:05 Yeah, you know, my dad actually have pretty fascinating place to work. He was a lab technician on the brainiac floor at Bell Laboratories and Murray Hill that could go on and on about that but one little thing was the tech across the hall from him he had made the first transistor which set a whole lot of things in motion. But we we you know mom and dad were around dad would go down in the basement and do oil painting and I mentioned that for a reason I'll tell you what, we were very involved in our school and activities band, I was a big into Boy Scouts. And all along the way I would became very interested in art. And that was I mentioned that was a fine art oil painter became professional grade but he taught me how to oil paint when I was seven years old and always made sure I was supplied with tools and gear. You know from what caravita oil painting in watercolor. So that became a nice side thing for me to focus on, which kind of fizzled out as a creative arts. But by the time I went to college, where I shifted to Applied Arts and what that what I mean is graphic design was my major at Rochester Institute of Technology. It's interesting, I think about that decision. And when I was in junior high school, I made a proclamation to my family, I said, I don't like TV advertising, I'm going to go into advertising and change it, I'm going to change the world of advertising. And so when I was studying schools, Syracuse University was, you know, one of the two that I narrowed down or it was the other. And I got to Syracuse, I would have been in New House School of Communication, which was more advertising and media focused, whereas it was more graphics and artistic focus. But the decision which was relevant for 18 year old was the ice rink at RMIT was on the way from classes. And if I went to Syracuse, it would have been a two mile train. So we make our decisions. It all turns out,   Michael Hingson ** 06:13 you my brother in law, is in Idaho, and for years was a master cabinet maker, he's now more of a general contractor, but his winters were all controlled and covered by skiing. And in fact, in the winter, for many years, he as an Certified International Ski guide, would take people to France and do off piste, skiing and so on. But I understand exactly what you're saying about the ice rink because he was all about skiing, and still likes to ski but he's a lot older and doesn't do the events. And he's also got work in the winter. So responsibilities change, but I know what you're saying.   Robert Schott ** 06:57 Yeah, I was. I learned how to ice skate on my backyard after an ice storm in 11th grade and I began playing ice hockey pickup with some friends and I had two years to get ready before college and I I actually made I got cut from the junior varsity team. But I said to the coach, hey, listen, I really want to learn this game. Can I can I come to all the practices? Can I come to the games and carry everybody sticks in the water? He said sure. And so I didn't miss a practice and mid season. I guess enough guys got hurt or quit. Or I showed progress. He put me on in a game. He gave me the last minute of a game. And the only thing I was able to do was when I jumped over the boards the puck was coming by. And so as the opponent, I just put my hip out and I gave the guy a hip check. He went flying and the game was over. So he said, Yeah, you're qualified. We need you for the next game. Like I had, I had two goals and three assists and eight games. So I actually was a producer.   Michael Hingson ** 07:55 Well, it's always better to be a producer than not needless to say. So what was your actual major then?   Robert Schott ** 08:03 Well, it was called Communication Design. And it was focused on communicating through graphic arts, and largely the two dimensional realm of graphic arts. And I was a high achiever in my classes, mostly A's and what I did some standout work. It led to a summer job at a welding products company in the art department. And I remember getting rejected by Texas wiener hotdogs that summer. And then I went to this agency and as I was walking out the door, they because they said they had nothing for me, oh, here's something Oh, you have to know how to type. So I said, Holy cow. I know how to type. My mom made me take typing in eighth grade. So I ended up in the art department, you know, go figure and I was using an IBM Selectric components, not yet knocking out, you know, graphic text writing with that, that early typesetting machine. And so it was a great and that summer job. One of our one of our vendors would come in and pick up work and he ended up at the end of the summer saying come work for me when you graduated. I help you with your homework for the rest of the year.   Michael Hingson ** 09:16 God does provide doesn't teach Oh, it's pretty funny. Yeah, there you go. So you graduated when did you graduate?   Robert Schott ** 09:25 That was 1981. Okay, then I was really busy student you know, between a little bit of ice hockey and academic word, the artwork was very time consuming. And I also was a pretty high level student leader in on the campus and that led to some pretty fun things too. So I was pretty harried, you know, really had to burn the candle on both ends a lot of the time. But in 1981, I had that job offer, which I took and it was he they put me on the artboard to Do graphic arts and there was a small boutique, there was a dozen people doing business to business communications, which included business slides, industrial videos, other graphics and advertising materials. And it turned out I was, I was actually not very good as an artist on the board on demand, you know, I was a good student, but it didn't translate. And so getting into the thick of it, they went into computer graphics, there was a machine called jet graphics that allowed us to make business presentation slides, instead of using the old graphic art, code Iliff and other kind of build your slide business that way. And they put me in charge of them. And within three years, we had seven of these machines in two locations running around the clock, seven days a week. And it was a grind, if I may think I really, I discovered the limits of the physical limits of sleep deprivation, which is not a healthy thing, but I did it. And that's what was probably the first thing I ever became an expert at in the country may be further making these slides and supervising and training, you know, a team 24/7.   Michael Hingson ** 11:21 So how long did you stay there? So this was after college? Right?   Robert Schott ** 11:24 Yeah, so I was there for seven years. Wow. Okay. And I mentioned one thing about a large part of my career was in reflection, I'm trying to coach my own young adult children don't fall into the same trap. Maybe I didn't really have the aspirational goal in my mind, like when I did when I was in junior high school. But what I did do was accept the next job that somebody offered me. One because I was ready to leave and two was a good job offer. But it didn't. After doing that three or four times it didn't ever really align with where maybe the root of my skills or passions lay. So a lot of years went by just, you know, three, seven year stints to say, Yeah, I'll take that job and, you know, going to have children, I need a professional job, and I needed benefits. And, you know, I took my I took my eye off the market, what I was really maybe meant to be   Michael Hingson ** 12:28 right. So you say you went off and you took other jobs. And so where did you end up?   Robert Schott ** 12:36 So the sequence was I left? We were doing business slides for the Coopers and Lybrand can see accounting and consulting firm and I was making the earliest of its kind slide presentations for 401k plans in the middle early 80s. And from that, I got to work with Coopers and Lybrand. You know, my first job was working with Coopers and Lybrand. And they said, why don't you come over here, because they liked what I was doing producing the record on case stuff. So I learned how to be an A Communication Consultant, the full gamut it was writing and directing and strategy at Coopers for their human resource advisory group clients. And sure enough, in the 401k plan at Cooper's they had JP Morgan investment funds. And that when they brought those funds in, I got to know the funds. And we communicated to 20,000 people about those funds. And eventually, JP Morgan said, why don't you come work over here? There you go. So I went over there. And you know, each time I was still have a relationship, or I left, which was, you know, kind of unique.   Michael Hingson ** 13:44 But good. She kept a positive relationship,   Robert Schott ** 13:47 no burn bridges. It was natural for me to move on. And the Morgan thing was in your marketing grew up helping to communicate the value of these types of 401k plan funds that other companies would put into their 401 K plans. So it was kind of there that I moved into another role where they formed a partnership with a company called American century. And we formed a partnership in retirement plan servicing and I moved over to that side of the business. But things didn't really go very well, after a while and I was getting frustrated with the work environment and the work I was doing. That's what led to the spark of doing something different.   Michael Hingson ** 14:36 So you, you decided you really needed to do something different than working in those kinds of environments. And did you have an idea of what you wanted to do and where you were going to go?   Robert Schott ** 14:46 Well, it it's interesting, because, you know, there was no there was no real physical track to making Something happened that would put me in a new place. But there was a seed to have an invention idea I had to pursue. And that was really the mission. Can I take this idea? Get it further, far enough along? And then then from there, it was the idea, could I license it to a big manufacturing company? And so the inspiration was in a day of wallowing in my corporate anxiety, I went upstairs. And you remember my daughter, Carly, she was seven years old and 2000 2001, I think it was. And she was playing a certain way with her Barbie dolls. She was making rooms to play with her dolls across the floor with cardboard bricks. And I just went up to watch her play. That was my relief release. And I said, Hey, Carly, I wonder if a toy exists, where you can build walls. And you don't have to, you know, I can get something official that it was a Sunday afternoon. And I said, What, hey, let's go downstairs and draw what this toy could do. So seven year old, Carla and I went downstairs and we started drawing this idea of connecting walls to make dollhouse rooms. And I said to her right there, okay. This is all I need to know that this is something I have to pursue. And I'm going to work really hard to make this get this product made for you. And that's what kicked off the inventions probably was back then.   Michael Hingson ** 16:30 So basically, though, were you working for someone else at the time? Or Did Jesus decide to do this full time? Or how did all that work?   Robert Schott ** 16:37 Yeah. So initially, I was still working at JP Morgan investment. And at one point, I got laid off. Another fell out that they were rejiggering things. And of course that happens. But they gave me a generous severance package. And I said, Oh, holy cow, here's my moment. I'm going to go full blast on this toy idea. So I've been working on it for a year. Now I had this open time, with some, you know, compensation to cover my expenses, and then went hard at it. Now in the meantime, I was anxious. So I ended up pursuing five other part time things. I got a benefits consulting job, and I was dabbling with these other things that were really distracting and, frankly, the ability debilitating because I couldn't get anything to stick to make additional money. And and to have the free time to work on a toy.   Michael Hingson ** 17:34 That totally Sarika doing.   Robert Schott ** 17:37 She can. She's been working ever since you've known her in occupational therapy,   Michael Hingson ** 17:42 since she continued to work. Yeah. So   Robert Schott ** 17:46 yeah, I mean, I had the severance. So that was key. But I also didn't know if I was going to have another job at the end of it. So I had to continue thinking about how to make money if the toy thing doesn't, you know, come to Canada really fast. But in that period, I really refined the concept I filed for design and utility patents on the mechanical element of the walls, the way they would connect together. I created a logo and branding and I created a packaging design. I made prototypes, dope models for the kids to play with Ram focus groups with groups, a little kids, and all the proofs of this really cool thing we're coming through. And through. You know, a friend of mines likes to say it's, it's not serendipity or accident or luck, it's intentionality. And when you have really crisp intentions, some things kind of can just happen and out of the most unexpected places. And that that happened, I ended up getting a meeting with Hasbro, a college friend of mine, and it was like the Tom Hanks at Hasbro. He had a lab where he'd make stuff for the inventors. So I said he introduced me the creative guy. And they said, Yeah, if we really liked your idea, but it's not really for us, at least not at this time. And we back up a second when I was in the outplacement Center at Morgan, a former client then friend said hey, talk to this guy, John, John Harvey, and he'll coach you on your transition because he started a free coaching Transition Network out of Maplewood, New Jersey. So I called John and he said, what do you what do you really want to do? And I said, Oh, I really want to make this toy. He said to me, Hey, listen to this. Three months ago. I was at a think tank session. I might get the details fuzzy here, but it was the heads of innovation from Nike, somewhere else and Mattel and when you're ready, I'll introduce you to the head of innovation at Mattel. And so after my Hasbro meeting I called on Joe It said yeah. And he made the introduction and through another couple things. I got to make a meeting with the Creative Director for Barbie at Mattel, the biggest toy brand on Earth, and I got an hour. That's what I left the building that the young lady said, I know you got it in here because people like you don't. To Joe told you stuff about Barbie probably shouldn't have because, you know, it's proprietary, but he really liked what she came up with. And I'll share that walking out of that building was the singular highest moment, work moment of my life. And nothing is taught that yet. Even though the deals didn't turn out, just the sense that I made an impression to this big company, as a novice said, Man, I really ready to I'm really able to do something different.   Michael Hingson ** 20:57 So you have When did you have the meeting with Mattel?   Robert Schott ** 21:01 That was the late spring of 2003.   Michael Hingson ** 21:05 Okay, so that was always ago that was 20 years ago? Yeah. 20 years. And but did you have a basic conceptual design? Or did you actually have a model at that point?   Robert Schott ** 21:17 Oh, yeah, I had the prototypes, I had play models, you know, everything was, you know, in a condition that was acceptable from a toy inventor for a big company to take it on. And I didn't make any errors about what I anything beyond what I knew what I did. I didn't say I knew how to price it or manufacture it, or anything like that, which other toy inventors would have known more about. But, you know, no deals came through and I solicited all companies, you know, Lego and connects, and I went to FAO, Schwarz and Toys R Us and all in fact, the last meeting I had was with the head of brands at Toys R Us that was through an acquaintance, a friend of mine who I worked with in my first job out of out of school, he introduced me the head of brands, and I met there and Susan said, Oh, Robert, I really really liked your idea. I can't work with you. Because it's not real yet. You know, I need to be able to product to put on the shelves. But go back to Mattel tell them they're not they got their heads in the wrong place. Because this is what we need on the shelves. And I'll spare you the EXPLAIN of that. What was that? So, you know, here's another validation from the biggest toy distributor on earth without my concept. And crazily I just kind of got burnt out and I need to get a new job and I let it go. I just had to let it go for a while.   Michael Hingson ** 22:41 So what did you do?   Robert Schott ** 22:45 Well, two things happened. One, the realization that I knew I could do something different, I thought about what else I had made around my home. And in fact, it was in the year 2000. For Halloween I had made out of hardboard and red cellophane giant cutouts of cat eyes that I hung in the Windows upstairs. And with a room lights on they lit up like a giant cat was looking at. I thought, holy cow. There's an idea. Maybe i i figured i can get that done myself. I don't need to sell the idea. I'll just get after it. And so I worked on it for three quarters of a year. And then I talked to a friend. I remember you remember Brian Jenkins and Cindy Jenkins from the church. Brian was a printer by trade and I said Hey, Brian, what do you think of this idea. And in the same call, he said, Hey, I was just drawing a pumpkin that would light up to put in the window. And we agreed to go into business together. And it took us two more years to figure out how to make them. We ended up with a outfit in Green Bay, Wisconsin that agreed to work with us. And a little thing that I learned along that way was never, never, never admit your deficiencies on something always present yourself as confident and professional. And they this big company that served enterprises like Procter and Gamble allowed us to come into their space and dabble with manufacturing this printed window posts around big wide plastic sheets on 150 foot long printing press. And we pulled it off, you know we made a poster that that worked. So now I said there was two things. That's one track and I'll tell you more. But at the same time I needed to get back to day job with income and the fellow that I got laid off with from Morgan said, Hey Robert, I saw a posting for that's made for you and it was with Merrill Lynch and I put my resume into the black hole. And the next day I had a call that never happens. And three days later, I had an interview. And remember the second part of that interview that the hiring manager took me back to the first interviewee, or, as she said to the first, the second one, Hey, give this guy an offer yet. So it was a slam dunk, I got back to work, right at the end of my 15 month severance. So that all kind of worked out nice.   Michael Hingson ** 25:29 But you did keep on dreaming, which is part of the whole story at first, which is great, but you did go back to work. And that works for a little while, at least while Merrill was around.   Robert Schott ** 25:40 Yeah, well, kind of they never really went away. They took up, you know, partnered up. But I worked there for, I think, six years. And this is how you can do things sometimes in life that are, it's creative thinking. And I said to the boss, hey, look, I had a bunch of bad things happen with the poster business after we had a tremendous start, you know, we, we ended up in three years with a million and a half dollars of sales. And we were getting attention by the biggest enterprises in consumer, brick and mortar stores. But then, sadly, Brian passed away in 2009. And I had to take on the whole thing myself. And I approached my, my boss, I said, Look, I gotta leave, you know, I gotta work on this. And she said, Well, why don't go so fast. We need you here. How about if we give you a reduced hours, but still keep you on benefits? I said, that works. So I went from 70 hours a week to 40 kept my bike benefits. And then I worked another 40 a week on the   Michael Hingson ** 26:44 poster business, back to sleep deprivation.   Robert Schott ** 26:47 Yeah, well, that was easy street from earlier years. So I did that for another year. And finally, I said, No, this isn't going to work. And I cut out and I worked on the poster business full time for five years, which was had diminishing returns, the world was changing. And there's a lot of obstacles that I had overcome. Amazon was starting to come into play in the big box store, the big Oh, my wholesale accounts were drifting away, and it was just a mess. So I ended up going back again, through fellow I worked with at Merrill said, Hey, come work for us. And I won't get into that, because it's my current work. But that's, that's where I've been for seven, eight years. Now. It's the next corporate gig.   Michael Hingson ** 27:41 Things that I react to. And the most significant to me is no matter what with all of the job changes. I don't know that I would say all of it's not like there were such a huge amount, compared to some people who can't hold a job, you moved from place to place. But one of the things that I find most striking is that you kept really wonderful relationships, wherever you went. And whenever you left, you continue to have relationships. And that's been very supportive for you, which I think is really cool. A lot of people don't do that and burn too many bridges, which is unfortunate.   Robert Schott ** 28:21 Yeah, thanks for recognizing that I, I hold friendships or business acquaintances from all the roles I had. And I'm, you know, happy about reconnecting with people and reminiscing. But they've also come into play. Over time, what at different points, I'd reach out and say, hey, you know, I know you're doing this now. But that was, you know, there's a 40 year relationship from that first a few of them that I've been able to go back to currently and say, Hey, let's talk about this thing I'm working on.   Michael Hingson ** 28:55 And there must be ways that you're obviously benefiting and helping them as well.   Robert Schott ** 28:59 Oh, sure. Yeah, absolutely.   Michael Hingson ** 29:03 Well, you know, clearly, by definition of what this podcast is all about, you are absolutely unstoppable. in mind, and so on. Give me a couple of examples in your own mind, or from your own perspective of how you've been on top of that, maybe a small one and a big one.   Robert Schott ** 29:20 Yes, that's a good question. It was a couple of small ones that are more recent. I'll just stick to the more recent because it's shows I still have the ability to persevere, and it has a lot to do with a lesson my mom taught me was you always have to finish what you start. And I learned that you know, when I was five, six years old, you know, she wouldn't let us quit something at school because we were unhappy or didn't like it. We had to finish it. And so I got into for fun making big snow sculptures out in my front yard. And I've been doing in our town of Cranford for over 30 years and I did a MIT college and back in high school. Well, in 2020, it was 2021 There was a big blizzard. And I'd been waiting to do this particular snow sculpture of Abraham Lincoln, half scale. So half scale is for 15 feet tall. And I had gotten skilled enough to know how to prepare my drawings. And I built a wooden form to fill as the base. And we we had a convergence of things and I need one was a big snowstorm to it has to get warm afterwards because I mold and build. And I had to have the time. So this thing started on a Sunday afternoon. And as I got to do this, this, this is it. This is the moment of truth. And so from Sunday afternoon, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and then some nights after my work job. And then all day Saturday, I worked on Abraham Lincoln. And I realized that it was probably over six tons of snow that we moved. I spent 435 hours sculpting carving, and I had a bunch of helpers. And it was magnificent. And it attracted national media attention. And the beautiful part was it landed right on Lincoln's birthday when I finished it. You have pictures? Yeah, I do. I have some good pictures of it.   Michael Hingson ** 31:23 Once we have a picture or an article, loved it featured in the podcast notes.   Robert Schott ** 31:27 Yeah, I absolutely send that. But here's the kicker. And I didn't tell a lot of people that week, that Sunday when I started, I had body aches and a fever. And I said, I have to do this. This is the moment of truth. Well, I didn't find out till Thursday that I had COVID. I was climbing ladders and lifting snow six hours a day changing clothes three times because I was sweating so much. And I just it was so hard to get up in the morning and get at this thing, but I did it. So there's, there's I guess that's a good example of a small thing. Getting it done.   Michael Hingson ** 32:04 Not sure it's so small, but I hear you. And then once you said 14 feet tall,   Robert Schott ** 32:08 14 feet tall. Yeah. of Abraham Lincoln, nestled in his chair looking out from the Lincoln Memorial. Right. So that's, that's an unstoppable, I'd say, you know, pursuing the window posters is an exciting things that I feel really proud of achievement, that I can look back on fondly and say I really got something good done there. And I think that, you know, the window posters I've been doing for, yeah, I've been working on it for 20 years 17 In business. And it's, it's been, it was wildly successful when we got going. And it's had a lot of setbacks, and been losing money for 10 years. So it's something that's kind of weird, because I can't even get out of it. You know, I couldn't sell the business, I couldn't sell the inventory. But I'm straddled with some debt from it. And from, you know, having things I just don't want to throw away. Every year, it's all online, and I sell them online, and I make make some money, just about is covering expenses now. So, back to unstoppable during the pandemic, I'll say I had the good fortune of being able to cut out three or four hours a day of commuting to New York City. And I said, Alright, I gotta get this toy made. And I picked up this volleyballs again, and I I got serious about pursuing it to the finish. And to the act of that, you know, fast forward. Last November, I got product in hand. You know, I took it from further engineering, prototyping, manufacture, testing, then you fracturing, packaging, patent filings marketing. I've been working on its sale since last November. So 20 years later, you know, or more. It's coming to fruition. Now, once   Michael Hingson ** 34:06 Yeah,   Robert Schott ** 34:08 let me add a point here. Because when I said I was gonna make the window posters, I said, Alright, I'm not giving up on the toy, but I'm going to make so much money from the window for posters, I can afford to make the toy pins some day. I just told you I was I've been losing money on the toy on the posters. But what I didn't, what finally occurred to me a year ago was holy cow. I got a I got the value and benefit of experience from learning how to make a product bring to market to make the toy. So the the, the outcome was, I didn't make a lot of money to make it but I earned a lifetime of experience to know how to make it. I think that's pretty cool.   Michael Hingson ** 34:51 That's worth a lot.   Robert Schott ** 34:53 Yeah. Yeah, let's How do you make a barcode? I don't know. Well, you have to figure it out. So every part of bringing your part like to mark it from scratch, has these learning hurdles,   Michael Hingson ** 35:03 you know, you go to the bar and you make it home.   Robert Schott ** 35:07 You go to the bar you drink, you talk to the guy next, know how to make barcodes. Or   Michael Hingson ** 35:15 it seems easy to me. Well,   Robert Schott ** 35:18 Michael, I was experimenting with making glow in the dark window posters. So I went to Green Bay to do a glow in the dark test. And just in my travels, I met three more people on the airplane in the airport and at lunch that day, who were in the glow in the dark business. So intentionality, you know, I talked about what I was doing. Oh, I do go to dark paint that will happen in one day.   Michael Hingson ** 35:47 As you said a lifetime of experience, which is something that is priceless.   Robert Schott ** 35:53 Yeah. I'll put a cap on that one. I'll say that, you know, maybe not financially. I haven't blown it out financially. But I'm really rich for the experience.   Michael Hingson ** 36:03 Yeah, exactly what I'm saying. Yeah. Well, so what exactly is happening with sprawling walls then today?   Robert Schott ** 36:11 Well, I had envisioned, pursuing direct consumer through E commerce only and using virtual communities to help create viral interest in the modern way of exposing a product. And that's not going like I envisioned this past nine months. It was disheartening to see one, even in a few years, how that realm has changed, and how much harder it is to get out, reach out and trade attention. And on a shoestring budget, you know, haven't been able to engage at a higher level where people, you know, for 50 grand, they could help make that happen. But in the meantime, I was working with a person who was critical of me spending time on the idea of networking. And I said I'm because he was helped me think through some of the marketing stuff. And so I've gone up to ra T, I was invited to go to the hockey game, I'll be in the President's booth at the arena at the campus. I'm going I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm gonna make the trip us up my time. And he said, Why are you gonna waste your time showing something that's not really ready for I'm going anyway, fella. So I went, and guess who was in the President's booth. But I mentioned I was a student leader and are at, and the Director of Student Affairs who I became very close to in a lifetime friend, and eventually become number two, at RMIT, as the Secretary to the institute. And he was in that booth with his wife. And it's like, holy cow. Well, of course, I brought my prototype. So I'm showing everybody in the President's booth, my toy idea. And then Fred pulls me aside and says, hey, hey, Robert, and if you know this, but I'm on the board of directors at the strong National Museum of Play, and Toy Hall of Fame. If you want, I can get your meeting there. Like it was the perfect storm for networking, and meeting. So here, I had an hour with the chief curator of the National Museum of Play, and he's been in this business for 35 years, who looked at what I was doing and said, Man, this is such a great story. And I think the trouble with you getting exposure with your product is because people don't know what to make of it yet. In fact, Robert, you've invented a new category of play. As well, that isn't that because he couldn't think of a comparable to what I've created. And furthermore, they said, we'd like to bring this product into our life play lab, we're in the side, the museum kids can come in and play with, you know, free play type of building toy systems and learn a lot from that. Yeah, so I think they're putting it in there in a few weeks, in reality, and they're also bringing my toy out in public outreach to children who have troubled circumstances, and may not have a environment where they live to be able to play. So they bring these children to places where they expose them to just pure play, just for the sake of playing in the creative collaboration that goes with that. So I'm grateful to be turning my product into something bigger than just me making a toy to sell but actually influencing young children.   Michael Hingson ** 39:49 But hopefully it will turn into a real product that sells which is always a good thing. But you know, one of the things that I react to keep thinking back on is house Bro, then had no interest in it with things like GI Joe and so on, I would have thought they would have been very interested in sprawie forte, but I guess   Robert Schott ** 40:08 it's you, you're spot on, you know, when I went to Hasbro, I didn't come with just the Girl doll system. Right.   Michael Hingson ** 40:16 I understand.   Robert Schott ** 40:17 I came with the Army system. So I brought my GI Joes and I had camouflage wall panels that connected together to make, you know, Fort scenes. But yeah, they didn't see it that what they said was Well, that's all good. And well, but, you know, boys like to build and destroy. So   Michael Hingson ** 40:40 that was a funny line. Yeah, especially well, yeah. All the way around. Well, you know, clearly though, everything that you're doing, you continue to move forward. And you get sidelined along the way, sometimes from circumstances over which you have no control. But, but you still do, which I think is great. What puts you in keeps you in a mind frame of being unstoppable and just continuing to move forward? Because no matter what's happened, you've had a lot of things that have been setbacks, and a lot of people would just be held back by that. But you've continued to move forward. And you've done it very intentionally and in very positive way. How does that work?   Robert Schott ** 41:27 Yeah, thanks, Michael. I'm gonna go back to the root of a painting I did when I was seven years old side by side with my dad. And it was an apple with a sugar jar on burlap. And he painted his version of paint in mind. And I remember getting it done and maybe didn't reflect on it back then. But I reflect on it now that I created a piece of art that I can look at and enjoy. And we got that done together. And through the pursuit of art, the creative arts, oil painting, sculpture, watercolor painting, and other things. I find the greatest joy for myself looking at, if I can look at something that I did, or that someone else did, and see joy in it, and continuous enjoyment and keep coming back to it like a good movie, like the Wizard of Oz, I can watch that every time. To me that describes what art is that it has this appeal that you can continue to enjoy. And you don't get there by not working at it. Right. So I think when I see something I want to do and get done, a need to see it finished, because I want to sit back and look at what I did it, you know, despite many obstacles, like with the window posters, you know, there was a storm that there was a hurricane that wiped out Halloween when winter and snow blizzard the next Halloween and then my warehouse got hit by lightning and all my product deliveries were late, my partner passed away and you know, all these things that just just bang on? Yeah, but you just got to keep going. So I think presently, like with what I'm pursuing, the side gig, if you will, I have this vision of what it would be. And there's something bigger than I realized last year. But it's so big that it overrides any doubt that I have or fear or even the skepticism of others. And even the regard for risking money on it, I come to realize that, you know, money saved isn't helping me create and invest in in my own pursuit. So I've let loose let go and I don't let it get me down. Like I would have, you know, 30 years ago.   Michael Hingson ** 43:47 So how do you view money today? Or how is your attitude about the whole issue of money changed? Both from the standpoint of you personally, but you've obviously been in companies that specialize in that stuff. So you must have a lot of ways to to answer that.   Robert Schott ** 44:02 Yeah. So it's kind of a little funny contradiction. I teach a lot about saving for retirement yet I'm spending a lot of my retirement savings. I'm investing in my future is what I'm doing. You know, I discovered I had a to really make it happen. I had to use what I have with the belief that it will work out and I'll be better off for it financially one day. Certainly, the cut three high end college educations at a time when I thought money was going to really be flowing from the window posters and my work. That was a drain as it is on anybody today, the way college expenses go. And then just trying to keep my head above water with the poster business. It's been technically losing money. You know, just I'm resolved that this is my way to pursue something bigger in my life. And I'll figure it out. I'll just keep Working I have, I'm so resourceful and I have so many ways that I could earn money for the next 20 years, if I have to that, I just, I don't like it that I'm in a spot. But I love that I feel hopeful and confident in my abilities.   Michael Hingson ** 45:15 But you've made the commitment to do it. And if it means that you'd have to put some things on hold for a while and do more mundane or more things that are not directly in line with what you want to do. Right, you're going to get to do what you want to do. And you'll, you'll let some of the other stuff be a part of what you do to make that happen.   Robert Schott ** 45:36 That's right. And I'll just finish off on the Toy Story, if you will, I have two big events coming up. In the next month. I was accepted to a when he call it up a media showcase. I'll be on Pier 60 in New York City on September 12. So by the time people see this, I might have been well past but the showcases of is for the best toys of 2023. And while I didn't make the cut as a best toy, they accepted me to be present, which is I think a nice credit to that I'm recognizing what I have to be in the presence of major media as well as social influencers. And then I was also accepted on the last day of this year's Toy Fair at the Javits Center in early October for Toy inventors day. So that didn't come easy, either. I had to qualify. And I'll be in front of major manufacturers to potentially come back to the idea of licensing the product. So I've got four tracks, I can sell direct to consumer, I can make the product and sell wholesale. I can pursue other avenues like homeschool and teaching networks and Montessori schools where play free play is the thing, or I could make a licensing deal. So all these are on the table right now and making some of those big opportunities happen.   Michael Hingson ** 47:06 Have you thought of doing anything like trying to go on to Shark Tank and showing this to the world through that?   Robert Schott ** 47:14 Oh, I've thought about it a lot. But I've also tried out for shark tank with the poster idea. And there's a lot of reasons I don't want to do that. A lot of reasons why I won't do that is I won't get into that. But I think I can pursue avenues through my own. Maybe I could put it this way. I've discovered how I can make tracks doing things. And I think maybe other people don't think that's their only avenue. Yeah. Success. And I don't believe that for me. So that's a there's a good answer. Well,   Michael Hingson ** 47:51 and clearly in partisan businesses zine and you want to make it the way you want to make it. So it's just a question out of curiosity, but it makes sense. You know, to, to at least ask the question, and you thought about it. Not that answers it, which is great. Yeah. The you continue to be resilient, about pressing through and finishing whatever you start. I think you've hit on it some but why is it that you are so firm at being able to press through and continue to work? What, what, what keeps you going? And always moving forward like you do?   Robert Schott ** 48:33 Well, you know, I think when you first introduced the idea of me being a guest, I had this theme in my head, which was real, that some bit of my career, I didn't feel very interesting anymore.   Michael Hingson ** 48:49 What and I said you were interesting. Yeah,   Robert Schott ** 48:52 I know. But I'd go on vacation with four other families and these other guys were all entrepreneur, for Nouriel, I had nothing to talk about in my work life that would be of any interest at the dinner table. So it's going to be interesting again, but anyway, I think it's there was lessons growing up about endurance and achieving things, you know, I was a boy scout, and we we camped every month of the year, whatever the weather was, wherever we went so, you know, five below zero in a tent with no floor and a summer sleeping bag. You have to somehow get through that night and learn where your limits are in pain points. I made Eagle Scout at college I was in academics and sports and and student leadership and you know, I actually the one and only time I sought professional help was at school, the counselor to say I'm falling apart, you know helped me put my pieces back together again and the coaching I got there it was really valuable. You know, encourage anybody who's feeling a bad spot to take it Then under the resources out there, and then that first job I had was 12 people. And it was all for one one for all, we were all the hats, you know, when when we move to a new building, they said, We're gonna come in Saturday and work on the wiring together and this new building. So the boss was running out around teaching us how to do wiring, it wasn't really legal, but that's what we did. So you learn how to solve little and big problems. And nothing is an obstacle when you have that frame of mind. And so when I get stuck on a business problem with my side gigs, I hunt down the answer. And I find people who know the answer, and I get coaching and make alliances. And so there's an answer to at all, it's just matter how you pursue that. And the other part of that is, you can set up a business plan and say, These are the steps we're gonna get done. But you can take yourself off of that anxiety by saying, I'm working on this thing to get done. And then the next thing or maybe three things at once, but I'm not going to worry about where it is two years from now, because I can't do that I have to work on what I can figure out today. And I've gotten really good at that. And, you know, setting the expectation, like I thought I would be blowing up my product by June. And yet, most of it's still sitting on the shelf. Alright, dial down my expectation, slow down, what I'm trying to get done, work on some bigger game things. And here's the bigger bigger game, Michael, I want to make sure I get in a year ago, I realized that invented this toy. But then I discovered this world called free play. And I've been studying the meaning of what free play is it's the definition is children given us a place to play and things to play with, that are non electronic. And without parental supervision. And sing alone or with a group or a friend's day will discover how to keep keep an afternoon going through trying and failing and trying and failing and trying and succeeding and solving each other's problems. And what I further learned is that there's incredible power in the development of a child through this kind of activity. And there's some important studies that Mattel and has done with Cardiff University and Melissa and Doug with Gallup, that are proving how children will mature with greater empathy and social skills, when time is devoted to free play versus playing by themselves or electronic play. And I realized I have a new direction that the bigger game is getting my toy out there. But helping children in their free play development   Michael Hingson ** 52:37 is part of what the museum really referred to when they said you develop the whole new way to play.   Robert Schott ** 52:44 Yeah, yeah, fits right in there with all of that. And so I'm becoming a student of that realm. I'm a novice. But I can see a third act for myself in pressing forward in becoming the leader or spokesperson in that model of play.   Michael Hingson ** 53:02 Some Yeah. So writing about it and getting some other things to help enhance your credibility would mean sense writing about it, speaking about it, as you said, and then going to places and talking about it would make sense. And that takes away a little bit from the toy, but maybe not. Maybe certainly something to explore.   Robert Schott ** 53:20 Yeah, I think it actually feeds the toy.   Michael Hingson ** 53:23 It does feed the toy, I think. Yeah. Which makes sense to do. Well, so for you. You, you continue to, you know, to move forward for you. What do you think about your journey now, as opposed to 20? Or even 30 years ago? Do you think your journey has really changed as your mindset changed? Have you changed?   Robert Schott ** 53:51 Well, you know, I've certainly learned a vast amount in pursuing nice things. And like you said, I've given up a lot of things to, you know, it's hard to stay inside on a gorgeous sunny weekend, you know, doing bookkeeping, and accounting and inventory management for for things. But I think my motivation has never been hired to see something come to fruition. And my understanding of how important it is to our society is feeding that and to also know that I'm getting the attention of important players. And what I'm pursuing is gives me great hope. So I'm going to continue with my corporate life. In fact, I'm actually trying to shift that a little bit more to around the realm of Community Oriented financial literacy. And I may have opportunities where I work now, to make that my work. To take all I've learned over 40 years in financial education, and actually be out in the communities leading programming that's a picture on anything for myself that could come around in a couple years where I am, but pursue the toy, pursue the Childhood Development theme. But personally, I'd like to free myself of the amount of work I'm doing, if I can make it financially viable. And get back to my basic artwork, I haven't finished an oil painting last year, that got recognized with a second place in the Union County art show here in New Jersey. And I started that 140 years ago, I finished it last year, I want to create new things now. So I need to find the time to get back to my arts, work on some of my athletic ambitions and other crazy adventures, I have room in my system for off the wall things. So that's, that's where I'm at mentally and emotionally, so   Michael Hingson ** 55:52 well, and you continue to, to move forward, as I said before, which is, which is great, and you continue to clearly be as unstoppable as one can imagine. So what's ahead for you?   Robert Schott ** 56:05 Well, immediately, it's just keep doing great work and my day job, is that what you mean? And then just keep chipping away at the toy, you know, manage my expectation on the toy, keep finding avenues, because I can't work on it full time. Just find out what I can get done. And but aim bigger, you know, I need to think for think for a while on what's the best bigger hits that I can get to make it come really to life. And in fact, this morning, I prove the banner I'm going to bring to the media and the toy vendor showcase that illustrates the future of the toy. And what I mean by as I've got five phases of development, that take it from a single size eight by 12 inch panel that connects with others, to 16 different sizes, and four different palettes of colors. And eventually, mechanical elements like pulleys and levers and drawing and graphic applications to the panels and maybe even LED lighting. So I'm paying you to picture the future so others can see it with me, you know, I, what I've got today isn't really describing what it could become. And I want to make sure people understand that.   Michael Hingson ** 57:19 Yeah, and I think as I said a minute ago, doing some writing about it really composing some things and putting it out in places might very well be helpful and actually lend a lot to credibility, I think people need to be drawn into your vision and why you can only do so much of that with an actual model of the toy, writing, talking about it, speaking about it, having slides that show it in action, whatever, I think those are things that will help pull people in to realize what visionary ideas you have. And it'll be interesting to see what happens when it goes into the, to the free play area and the museum and how all that works. Yeah, and I because that's gonna lend a lot of support to what you're doing.   Robert Schott ** 58:10 I completely agree on the visibility through my own initiatives, whether you know, certainly joining you, but other situations like this I'm going to pursue, we're going into a little higher gear on our social media, visibility of the product with examples and videos, and I've got social media influencers creating content. So I'm in a big content build phase, but I like the idea of the writing side. It's right now it could be you know, reflections of what I've learned about childhood development and, and free play. And even though I'm a novice, I have something to say and point people to where they can learn more. In fact, when I, when I go to the Showcase, I'm putting up something into the showcase gift bag for all the media is going to include a rolled up window poster, and then two sheets that describe both products. And there'll be QR codes that lead those who see my sheet, to the studies by Mattel, Melissa and Doug and a survey I've started on for parents to take to tell me about what their children's play patterns are today. It's an open survey and I'm encouraging all parents with children, four to 11 to complete it that helps inform me about what current children are doing and what they need next.   Michael Hingson ** 59:34 When can you get some photos of kids actually playing with the toys?   Robert Schott ** 59:38 I've got? I've got a bunch of photos new one came in today, but I probably have you know 50 or 60 photos and videos saying some videos putting some of that I would think past to be helped them Yeah, most importantly I want those that content from strangers. You know, I don't want you know Exactly right. And there's some beautiful things coming in Michael I, I did some street fairs in the spring. And I'm going to do one more in Cranford in October. And I set up a play space for the kids, I invite them to play. And the spirit of what I created shows up, you know, one kid joins in, and then three more come by, and then they're all playing together, and they're creating things. But there's surprises like, I think they can build walls. But all of a sudden, this kid takes all the sticks that hold the walls together and makes a sword out of it. And another kid takes the walls and built a ramp down off the table with a structure that he engineered to run his cars down it. There's all this innovation is what this is about. And the kids are showcasing it at the street fair. So I've got all those photos too.   Michael Hingson ** 1:00:45 That's great well, and put them out. I mean, that's those are all cool things. I want to thank you for being here. And I'm excited for you. And I'm excited by what's going to happen. And I look forward to hearing more about it. So definitely keep us in your and on your email list. But one of these days, we'll get back there to visit. But I really hope that it all goes well for you and that this will catch on soon, and people will start to get really excited about what you're doing. And I agree, I think it's really interesting that although you intended it as walls on the house, kids are doing a lot more with it and so much the better that they do. Yeah, future engineers.   Robert Schott ** 1:01:25 And you know, the, the key selling point about it, and a couple of them is that it integrates and connects to Lego. It connects with connects, you can put Avery removable papers that you run through your printer to make wallpapers and you can draw on it with Expo markers. And the best part is you can collapse it back down into the box in like no time flat. Parents love that you can put it away into a little box.   Michael Hingson ** 1:01:52 That's not messy when you do that. No, just   Robert Schott ** 1:01:55 don't think that the pick pick up the little clips because they hurt your feet just like little Lego. That's fair. Yeah, Michael, thanks.   Michael Hingson ** 1:02:05 This has really been fun. Well, you're absolutely welcome. And this has been great. I really appreciate that we finally got a chance to do this. And you need to come back in a little while and let us know how it's going and tell us about the adventure because it clearly is an adventure. And I hope that you listening have enjoyed this. If people want to reach out to learn more about you what you're doing and so on. Robert, how do they do that?   Robert Schott ** 1:02:28 Well, I just set up a new email address yesterday morning to Robert dot Schott S C H O T T  at bopt Inc. It's B O P T inc.com. And little funny there Mike, I'll close with this. I named my company bopt because I was told it's how I spelled my name when I was four years old. There you go. From Robert to Bob to Bobt But two weeks ago, I was going through a folder my mom left for me my drawings from when I was five. Just two weeks ago I saw these for the first time and I discovered I actually spelled my name B O P P T and my sister said, well don't worry about it. Robert, you can just say Bobt is the nickname for the longer version B O P P T   Michael Hingson ** 1:03:19 so it's Robert dot Schott or just Robert Schott. Robert dot Schott at S C H O T T  at B O P T.com. Yeah, well, great. Well, please reach out to Robert. We've got some social media links and other things that are in the cover notes. Please send me a picture of Abraham Lincoln that will be fun to add in anything else that you want us to put in there. We definitely want to do and be supportive of you. And thank you for listening. I'd love to hear what you all think. Please feel free to email me Michaelhi at accessibe A C C E S S I B E. I can spell.com or go to our podcast page www dot Michael Hingson h i n g s o n.com/podcast. We'd love to hear from you. And Robert, for you and for you listening if you know anyone else who want to be a guest on unstoppable mindset. You've heard a lot of the stories that people tell you heard Robert today. We'd love to hear from you about people, you know, who ought to come on unstoppable mindset as well. So please let us know. Please give us introductions. We appreciate it. And so once more. Robert, I want to thank you for being here. And we really appreciate your time late in the evening in New Jersey. You get in the spring   **Michael Hingson ** 1:04:43 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.

Welcome to an incredible conversation with Tash from On Talent! She's made her mark in the recruitment world, co-founding On Talent, and has a wealth of wisdom to share. We kick off discussing the game-changing role of an Executive Assistant in maximizing productivity, and how to truly tap into this resource. Tash also shares her insights on the impact of large agencies on recruitment careers, recounting her valuable experiences and mentorship at PwC, Coopers & Lybrand and Manpower group. Ever wondered about the nitty-gritty of starting your own company? Tash opens up about the journey and sacrifices behind OnTalent's founding. You'll get a real sense of the challenges faced, from crafting a shareholding agreement to the personal compromises necessary to get a venture off the ground. Also, we explore a misunderstood profession - recruitment. Tash delves into the realities, the value recruiters bring, and how setting standards can uplift the industry.As we steer the conversation to executive recruitment, Tash shares her tips for hiring a CEO for a board, underlining the importance of interviewing the board's director reports and adopting a curious mindset. She also shines a light on her role as a secret squirrel/judge in the Restaurant and Hotel industry and the commendable work some of the individual businesses do in working with chefs with current or prior substance/mental health/general health problems. Wrapping up, Tash and I discuss our business futures, revealing our personal goals and emphasizing the worth of an external coach or mentor. Tune in for a deep-dive into the recruitment world and how to leverage its resources.· Our Website is: xrecruiter.io · Podcast Hotline: 0485 865 483 · Join Our Discord: https://discord.gg/acGZHJKTWt

Dennis Sherwood is a management consultant who specialises in creativity, innovation, and systems thinking. He has a Physics Masters from the University of Cambridge, an MPhil in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale University and a PhD in biology from the University of California in San Diego. After being a consulting partner at Deloitte Haskins + Sells, and Coopers & Lybrand, he became an executive director at Goldman Sachs. He now runs his own business, The Silver Bullet Machine Manufacturing Company Limited, specializing in organizational creativity and innovation. He has been using systems thinking since 1984 and is one of the UK's leading experts. In addition, he has authored 14 books on a variety of subjects, including systems thinking, creativity, innovation, and financial modelling. His most recent book is Missing the Mark: Why so many school exam grades are wrong - and how to get results we can trust - and this is the topic of this episode. LINKS Dennis's website: https://www.silverbulletmachine.com/ Rethinking Education conference - Sat 23rd September, London: https://bit.ly/reconf23 Making Change Stick: https://makingchangestick.co The Rethinking Education podcast is hosted and produced by Dr James Mannion. You can contact him at www.rethinking-ed.org/contact, or via a social platform of your choosing: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/RethinkingJames Insta: https://www.instagram.com/drjamesmannion LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-mannion/ SUPPORT THE RETHINKING ED PODCAST: Become a patron: https://www.patreon.com/repod Buy me a coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/repod

Having a partner who supports you not only in your personal life but also in your business endeavors can bring numerous benefits. From shared goals and mutual support to leverage complementary skills and the ability to navigate challenges together, a partner can enhance both your personal and professional growth.Eric Tingom, the Director of Technology and Tax Strategy and Shannon's husband and business partner at Heritage Financial Strategies discusses his background in accounting, finance, and business management consulting. He highlights his role in building and managing Heritage, sharing the challenges they faced, including his extensive traveling before COVID and the process of rebuilding their office space. The importance of providing clients with a comprehensive financial planning experience and working towards their future goals is emphasized throughout the discussion.Join us at Heritage Financial Strategies for a comprehensive and personalized financial planning experience that will help you achieve your future goals.Episode Highlights● Eric's background in accounting● Building their brand new office from scratch● How his experience working with small businesses and government contracts has prepared him for his current role.  ● Producing a plan  About the GuestEric Tingom is the director of technology and tax strategy of Heritage Financial strategies. He is a lifelong entrepreneur, starting his first technology company while in college at Arizona State University, where he earned a degree in Accounting. Right out of ASU, he worked in public auditing for Cooper and Lybrand, now Price Waterhouse Cooper (PWC). He has worked with private companies as well as large government agencies helping them comply with new rules and regulations and streamlining their policies and procedures.  His past work experiences are part of why Eric joined Heritage Financial Strategies. He has played an integral part in setting up the technology, data security, and integration so that it meets all FINRA requirements. His work has been instrumental in the success of the business, where employees and clients enjoy the latest technological advances.  Eric will continue to have more interactions with clients as his role expands to bring new tax and insurance services to Heritage Financial Strategies clients.   

Peter Mckenzie is The C-Suite Coach. He helps busy senior leaders regain energy and focus, increase impact and reach peak performance. Peter is the latest member of the GrowCFO mentoring team. Based in Barcelona Spain, Peter is the general manager of Anticipa Real Estate. He joins Kevin Appleby on the GrowCFO show. Peter discussed his background in finance and how he transitioned to general management and became a coach and keynote speaker. Peter worked in auditing for three years before taking a sabbatical to learn Spanish and become an English teacher in Spain. He later returned to the finance world, working for Citi Group for 20 years and touching various businesses before joining GrowCFO. Peter discussed his experience as a CFO in the financial sector, including his involvement in mergers and acquisitions. He also talked about his journey in public speaking and how it is an important skill for CFOs to have in order to effectively lead and influence their teams and organizations.29:24 Peter and Kevin discussed the importance of resilience, courage, and grit for CFOs, especially during challenging times. Peter also shared his experience of transitioning from a CFO role to a general manager role, highlighting the value of gaining experience outside of finance. https://youtu.be/Xykjf9gy998 Links Mentoring at GrowCFO  Peter McKenzie's Mentoring Bio Peter McKenzie on LinkedIn Kevin Appleby on LinkedIn Timestamps Introducing Peter McKenzie (0:11) How Peter ended up in Spain. (2:03) How he got started in the financial industry. (4:17) Peter's background with Coopers & Lybrand and PwC. (6:36) The post-merger integration process. (8:49) Peter's story of how he learned to love speaking in public. (10:36) The importance of public speaking for CFOs. (13:04) Resilience is a requirement to have the drive and the courage to make mistakes. (15:39) Getting comfortable with feeling uncomfortable. (18:20) The moment you're not doing a CFO role, are you doing a general manager role? (20:14)

Today's guest is Christopher W. J. Gaunt OBE is the Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey and an accomplished business executive with invaluable international experience across several key business sectors. Spending a major share of the first few decades of his career in the beverage industry, Chris has held many top-level executive positions at international brands including Coca Cola, Wine and Spirit Division of the Whitbread Brewery Group, HP Bulmer and Allied Domecq, and Carlsberg International. Chirs W. J. Gaunt BiographyChris has over five decades of experience in building cross-border relationships and collaborations, especially in Central Asia, Africa, and the EU. In his present capacity as the Executive Chairman of the British Chamber of Commerce Turkey, Chris is responsible for representing over 800,000 Turkish businesses and Chambers in the UK. The British Chamber of Commerce in Turkey (BCCT) is the world's second-oldest British Chamber established abroad, and it offers a range of business services to promote networking and B2B matchmaking in the Turkish market. The chamber represents business people and companies of all sizes and from a broad spectrum of sectors, including major multinationals as well as a substantial number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Turkey, the UK, and the surrounding region.Since his joining at BCCT in 2014, Chris has led the chamber to serve more than 700+ UK clients, has delivered hundreds of market-related services, and has contributed to export wins totaling more than GBP 75 million. The chamber offers market information, market access, event management, and many other services in cooperation with its extensive business network and through its partnership with 14 local chambers of commerce in the most dynamic cities of Turkey.In addition to his work with the BCCT, Chris was instrumental in the major restructuring project for a newly privatised group of FMCG companies during his time at Coopers and Lybrand in Croatia.Prior to that, Chris was one of the faces that represented Coca Cola, he travelled across many countries and cultures, including Moscow, regions of Africa, and the then unknown areas of Central Asia, like Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and other countries that broke up from the Soviet Union. Chris was awarded the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2019 H.M. the Queen's New Year Honors list for services to Trade and British Commercial Interests. He is also associated with the boards of many international names including Global Thinkers Forum, Suzer Group Turkey, MLA College, and Young Guru Academy, to name a few.Read Chris W. J. Gaunt's full biography on https://openbusinesscouncil.org/wiki/chris-w-j-gauntAbout Dinis Guarda profile and Channelshttps://www.openbusinesscouncil.orghttps://www.intelligenthq.comhttps://www.hedgethink.com/https://www.citiesabc.com/https://openbusinesscouncil.org/wiki/dinis-guardaMore interviews and research videos on Dinis Guarda YouTube

This week's episode features Bob Diamond talking about the education piece of the real estate business and the things that make it crucial for new investors to find the right mentor.  So, whether you're a pro or new to this business and looking for more opportunities, this is a must-listen conversation. WHAT TO LISTEN FOR2 major statistics in real estate you should look at before acquiring propertiesWhy your intention, passion, and commitment matter when seeking foundation  A powerful piece of advice to assess an educator or a mentor's personalityHow to identify if a coach or mentor is the perfect fit for you and the kind of investor you areThe value of getting yourself educated in making smart investment decisionsRESOURCES/LINKS MENTIONEDRaising an Entrepreneur by Margot Machol Bisnow https://www.amazon.com/Margot-Machol-Bisnow/ Youtube Link: Tom Vu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzsSpDyBc_4BiggerPockets https://www.biggerpockets.com/ABOUT BOB DIAMONDBob Diamond is a practicing real estate attorney and investor with decades of experience in real estate law, investment, and development. He is the author of three books on Real Estate Investing. He became a Pennsylvania-licensed attorney in 1993. During his career outside of real estate and law, Bob worked for Meridian Mortgage in their default and REO department, for Arthur Anderson and Coopers & Lybrand as a business consultant, and for the international law firm Cozen O'Connor, as a Real Estate Attorney. Bob has been investing in Real Estate for over 23 years and has participated as the buyer, seller, or attorney in over one hundred million dollars in real estate transactions over the past 23 years. Bob has been teaching Real Estate Investing since 1999, so you have probably heard of him in the investor world, where he is known as the 'guru's guru.' Because of his legal expertise and experience as a Real Estate Attorney, Bob is sought after for his advice and counsel. Bob has a unique money-maker concept that fits perfectly with Real Estate Investing and that anybody can do. You don't need a lot of cash and never have to borrow a penny to do the business. Yet you can make loads of cash profit.CONNECT WITH BOBLinkedIn: Bob Diamond https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-diamond-86489a/CONNECT WITH USWebsite: https://www.selfstorageinvesting.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/selfstorageinvestingTwitter: https://twitter.com/SelfStorageGuyLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottameyers/Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SelfStorageInvestingInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/self_storage_investing/Subscribe so you never miss a NEW episode! Leave us an honest rating and review on Apple Podcast.

Happy New Year and thank you for joining us in our first 2023 episode of Deal Talk with 7MA. In today's episode, 7 Mile's co-founders Leroy Davis, Andy Johnston, and Tripp Davis join Steve Sypek to reflect on the eventful period in the M&A world over the past couple years.They recount coming off a historic year in 2021, where M&A activity in the technology services space and the broader market was at all time highs. They discuss some challenges that 2022 introduced that they may not have expected heading into the year. They analyze the impact of geo-political events such as Russia's attacks on Ukraine and the Fed sparking further caution as they aggressively drove interest rates higher following a prolonged period of near zero rates. Throughout the episode, they provide insight into how 7 Mile Advisors responded to these events and what they see on the horizon for the IT Services Industry in the M&A world.

Wayne Titus has been involved in the financial services industry since 1991. He served as the founding partner of AMDG Financial and AMDG Tax & Accounting from 2002 until it joined with Savant in 2021. Before founding AMDG Financial, Wayne was a senior manager for PwC, where he was responsible for developing and implementing the information technology and business process audit approach in support of both financial statement audit and consulting projects for various Fortune 50 clients. At the time of the Price Waterhouse and Coopers and Lybrand merger, he worked at integrating these approaches on the international team in London. Wayne also served as financial audit and systems control manager for Ernst & Young. Wayne is a member of Rotary International and served as the district governor and club president for Rotary District 6400. He volunteers as an accelerator coach for Entrepreneurs' Organization. Wayne authored the book, The Entrepreneur's Guide to Financial Well-Being, and loves to educate others on financial, tax and investment topics by writing columns and through public speaking.   Listen to this insightful RIA episode with Wayne Titus about facilitating a successful RIA sale. Here is what to expect on this week's show: - How it's important for financial planners to have a plan in place in case something happens to them. - Why it's smart to have a practice that integrates the tax, financial, and investment strategies. - How delegating tasks and trusting your team is vital when growing your practice. - Why financial planners should be focused on their clients' underlying emotions.  - How small businesses need to understand their processes and simply and improve things on a regular basis.   Connect with Wayne: Links Mentioned: https://savantwealth.com/ Twitter https://twitter.com/savantwealth?lang=en Facebook facebook.com/SevantWealthManagment LinkedIn linkedin.com/company/savant-wealth-management   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SUMMARY Bryan  Bennett is the Chief Leadership Innovation Officer for the Elite Leadership Academy Company and an adjunct professor at Northwestern University. He is the author of the Path to Elite Level Leadership, a philosophy of leadership based on the way athletes train.  Lawrence Brown and Bryan discussed the similarities between leadership and team sports, and Bryan shared his own origin story as a nerd before Nerds were cool. He believes that leadership should be approached in the same way that athletes approach their craft, with a continual focus on self-improvement.Bryan grew up with three brothers and had two parents who provided a great family environment. His mother was very educated and had graduated high school after two double promotions and was still valedictorian of the class. His father was more hands-on and they both worked hard to keep the family in private school. As a child, Bryan didn't participate in many extracurricular activities. However, this experience helped him to find himself and be brave enough to step out in front when he had to. Bryan was involved in nerdy activities like the science club, chess club, and National Honor Society.His father had an inspiring work ethic that he was exposed to from a young age. His mother also had a strong work ethic, and the family would often welcome any guests to join them for breakfast on Saturdays. Bennett went to Butler University for accounting and then worked for three years at Coopers and Lybrand in Cincinnati. He then moved back to Chicago to attend Northwestern's Kellogg Graduate School, majoring in marketing, finance, information systems, and management policy. Afterwards, he began working for Amoco in their financial analysis department. Bennett's journey demonstrates his strong work ethic and his drive to achieve success.Bryan  is a leadership expert who found his footing in his career when he became a database marketing executive. His job involved using his quantitative skills to analyze data and his strategic skills to consult clients on the strategies they should employ. His role required him to lead teams and this experience helped him transition into a leadership expert. Bryan attributes his leadership skills to his upbringing and his parents who led in different ways.TIMESTAMPS 00:01:58  Exploring Family Dynamics and Extracurricular Activities and Influence on Future Leadership 00:04:27   From Database Marketing Executive to Leadership Expert00:07:50  Leadership Development and Career Advancement00:12:00   Leadership Fundamentals: Vision, Living, Reflection, and Coaching00:14:21   Conversation on Leadership and Followership00:17:53   Leadership Assessment, Data Analysis, and Decision-making 00:20:31  Leadership Coaching and Managing Across and Upwards00:23:45  Generational Leadership Perspectives with Bryan Bennett00:25:10  Benefits of Having a Mentor and Sustained Relationships00:28:27  Message to Millennials and Gen Z on  Career Advancement and Finding an Advocate or SponsorMusic Credit: Music Credit: Music Credit: Maarten Schellekens - Riviera Follow us at: www.cascadingleadership.comlinkedin.com/in/drjimklinkedin.com/in/1lawrenceobrown

Leo believes moxie can benefit from solid financial planning and a long-term approach. Taking risks feels less risky when you know your big picture and are clear about your life and fiscal priorities.In this episode, Leo shares his financial planning, entrepreneurial, and life philosophy, all of which can be traced back to working in his parents' hardware store in Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania. Leo always knew he wanted to be in business for himself. He began his professional career in public accounting with Coopers & Lybrand. Gradually, his focus narrowed to personal financial planning, and along the way, he accumulated the credentials of CPA, CFA, and CFP®. When Leo couldn't find the right investment advisory firm to join, he started his own. That's when he and Milt Stern met and discovered they had similar visions. Leo and Milt agreed to team up for their next investment client and put their ideas into practice. The rest is Bridgewater Advisors, where he is co-founder and managing partner.Leo has served as an instructor in portfolio management at the New York Institute of Finance, has been a member of the Board of Governors at the University of Scranton Alumni Society, and has been a member of the AICPA Investment Committee and The Greenwich Roundtable.  Barron's magazine has recognized Leo as one of the country's Top 100 Independent Investment Advisors.This episode is proudly sponsored by Elyse Harney Real Estate and North East Ford.

Charles Jebran is a Franchise Accountant and a former multi-unit franchise owner of Dunkin Donuts and Baskin-Robbins. He has a keen understanding of running a franchise by the numbers. “After graduating from St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Charlie started his accounting career with Coopers and Lybrand, now PWC.  There, he gained valuable experience working with major companies in various areas.  However, he was always interested in working with smaller entrepreneurial companies and left his first job to work with two smaller CPA firms to further his knowledge of closely held companies.  During this time, Charlie researched many franchises by talking to franchises, attending conventions, and reading books and magazines.  In 2003, Charlie started his own accounting firm and, along with a partner, signed an agreement with Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins to become a franchisee.  After working through all the details and construction, the first store opened in 2005, with the second store following in 2007.  As a multi-unit operator, he learned every facet of successfully running two high-traffic stores while still running a growing accounting firm.  The stores were subsequently sold in 2012.  Having gained so much knowledge by running his two stores, Charlie began to provide advisory and tax services to operators of a variety of franchises.  He currently provides a variety of services to over 100 stores in the nation.”

Charlie Jebran is a highly accomplished individual, having graduated from St. Joseph's University before taking on four years of work with Coopers and Lybrand (now PwC). After that, he spent thirteen more years of his career at two regional firms where he was exposed to many different industries and sizes of clients. In 2003 Charlie put all this knowledge into practice when founding the current firm, which has been helping its clients achieve their financial targets ever since. Enjoy this great interview, in which Charlie unveils all the secrets about tax saving. Charlie Jebran Upcoming Book: https://www.franchisefortunebook.com/opt-in1666831378587 Need help finding the right franchise? Click here: https://www.vettedbiz.com/franchise-search/ 00:00 Introduction 00:15 About Charlie Jebran 03:36 Q&A – How Do You Juggle Running Two Dunkin' Donuts Together With The Accounting Work? 12:51 Q&A – What Should They Be Thinking About Running Out The Year To Mitigate The Taxes That They Are Going To Have To Pay? 18:16 Q&A – Why Do You Focus On Franchises? 19:58 Q&A – How Can You Help Prospective Franchisees? 22:46 Q&A – Do You Work With Any Franchise Brands? 26:38 Concluding Thoughts #CPATurnedDunkinFranchisee #FranchiseFindings

Past the corn fields and dirt roads of mid state South Carolina, Carter Lybrand found his love for country music through his musically gifted grandparents. While in Iraq, this defender of freedom became popular among his comrades for his natural singing ability. Destined to carve out his own musical journey, Carter began pursuing music professionally in 2019.

A few days ago, I posted a personal story from my childhood about how hard it was on me to change schools. Today, I had the opportunity to hear Cassie's story and an amazing effort that came from that experience. When Cassie Bishop's family moved from Nashville, Tennessee, to Dallas, Texas, it was a hard move for Cassie. Already feeling “different,” it lead to further isolation and depression. That is, until a moment in the high school cafeteria when one young man named Collin asked a simple question, “Do you want to sit with me?” Cassie's mom, Angela, said that simple question changed everything and, ultimately, led to a vision called, “Brewed Blessings” to provide opportunities to the special needs community to connect with others in a meaningful way through employment. Tonight, I have Angela Bishop to share about Brewed Blessings and how you can support this effort! After that, I'll have MDA National Ambassador Ethan LyBrand along with Sonic The Hedgehog Movie's Ben Schwartz to tell some jokes to raise awareness to MDA! I hope you will listen & share.

On today's Make A Difference Minute, we're turning it into the Muscular Dystrophy Association National Ambassador Ethan LyBrand & the Sonic The Hedgehog Movie's Ben Schwartz “Joke Minute!” Get a laugh and share! Sponsor: Green's Dependable Hardware Russellville, AL

Episode 90. In today's interview, "How Accountants Adapt to New Technology with Farooq Raja." Farooq Raja is an investor and architect of AIRPA, an integration and automation platform for accountants and their clients. The mission is to give accountants and business people time back to from routine processes to use their skills and experience to better serve their customers.. He trained as accountant in the National Health Service (NHS) and then moved to commerce with British Telecom (BT) as financial controller and Unilever as Head Office Accountant. He then worked with Coopers and Lybrand in management consulting before setting up a technology implementation consultancy called Mokum which later sold to PWC. For two decades, he started and ran multiple small businesses learning about different industries, processes and the fine line between success and failure in business. Key takeaways from this episode include: ➜ what early businesses looked like when technology entered the workplace and fell to accountants to master ➜ how the accounting game has changed over the years, even though the fundamentals have remained the same ➜ the most important changes in technology that are impacting accountants and their business clients ➜ why cloud software does so much more than enabling remote working for accountants and their clients ➜ how technology trends are shaping clients requirements for their professional advisors like accountants and CPAs ➜ the barriers facing accounting firms in change their technology mindset to adapt to the new environment ➜ who is leading the technology charge in business innovation and questions accountants are being asked as a result ➜ explaining the resistance to change in accounting and they can do better in adapting to new technology ➜ how the accounting marketplace is dividing into different cohorts or groups around ow they embrace cloud and technology ➜ what is on the horizon for accountants and accounting firms with future technology and how it will impact our working lives ➜ how the AIRPA integration helps accountants make better choices with technology suites and best of breed platforms ➜ why accountancy is a superpower and should be recognised by accountants themselves as genuinely valuable to business owners and clients Outside work, Farooq has four children and a large extended family. His hobbies are games and puzzles, reading autobiographies and painting. I have four children and a large extended family and my hobbies are games and puzzles , reading autobiographies and painting. https://www.linkedin.com/in/farooq-raja-5021b6/ (https://www.linkedin.com/in/farooq-raja-5021b6/) https://www.linkedin.com/company/airpa (https://www.linkedin.com/company/airpa) http://www.airpa.ai/ (www.airpa.ai) ◤━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◥ Follow Accounting Influencers on Linkedin - we'd love to keep you informed on latest interviews, episodes and behind the scenes goodies from the Accounting Influencers Podcast and events. Just go here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/accountinginfluencers (https://www.linkedin.com/company/accountinginfluencers) ◣━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◢ NOTE TO LISTENERS: The Accounting Influencers Podcast is a CPE-accredited daily radio-style show with four segments coming out every Monday which are repeated on the other 4 weekdays as standalone episodes, plus a bonus 'from the client's perspective' episode on Saturdays. On Sundays, listeners get a short min trailer for the coming week's episodes. Every Tuesday the show gives you a relevant news topic from the accounting and fintech world with a direct application to accountants, CPAs and bookkeepers. Great to stay informed and build your commercial acumen. Every Wednesday and Friday, we feature an uncut interview with top authors, leaders, thinkers and performers in the accounting and fintech world. Every Thursday the show gives you a practical 'here's what works' tips concerning a key challenge,...

Tune in as my friends, Ethan & Josh LyBrand, share about the Muscular Dystrophy Association and the upcoming shamrock campaign beginning tomorrow! Listen & share.

Today is the day! The MDA Shamrock Campaign is officially underway! On this MADM, MDA National Ambassador Ethan LyBrand is sharing about how MDA supports the over 300,000 people across the country affected by neuromuscular diseases and how you can help! Listen & share! Sponsor: BamaEstatePlanning.com

FINANCIAL WELL-BEING FOR ENTREPRENEURSFinancial well-being for entrepreneurs often means having a successful business that lets you draw a steady paycheck with benefits. But there is really more to it than that according to our guest, Wayne Titus III, who literally wrote a book on the subject. Let's find out what he means and what we can do to improve our own financial well-being. What You'll Discover About Financial Well-Being for Entrepreneurs (highlights & transcript):https://businessconfidentialradio.com/?p=184594&preview=true# (HIGHLIGHTSCLICK HERE FOR AUDIO TRANSCRIPT) * #1 Thing entrepreneurs need to achieve financial well-being [01:59] * 3 Types of financial advisors every entrepreneur needs to know about [04:41] * Most important thing to look for when selecting an advisor to achieve financial well-being [06:53] * Dangers of financial advice not being coordinated and integrated [07:59] * What entrepreneurs fail to take advantage of that can improve their financial well-being [11:56] * Why financial well-being for entrepreneurs requires a team of advisors [17:59] * And much MORE. ♥ Share this episode with someone you think will benefit from it. ♥ ♥ Leave a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/BusinessConfidential (Lovethepodcast.com/BusinessConfidential )♥ Guest: Wayne Titus III, CPAWayne Titus has been involved in the financial services industry since 1991. He served as the founding partner of AMDG Financial and AMDG Tax & Accounting from 2002 until it joined with http://savantwealth.com/ (Savant) in 2021. Before founding AMDG Financial, Wayne was a senior manager for PwC, where he was responsible for developing and implementing the information technology and business process audit approach in support of both financial statement audit and consulting projects for various Fortune 50 clients. At the time of the Price Waterhouse and Coopers and Lybrand merger, he worked at integrating these approaches on the international team in London. Wayne also served as financial audit and systems control manager for Ernst & Young. Wayne earned a bachelor of arts degree in business administration from Grove City College in PA, a bachelor of science degree in accounting from the University of South Florida, and a master of science degree with honors in employee benefits from John Marshall Law School (now University of Illinois Chicago School of Law). He is a Certified Public Accountant and earned the Personal Financial Specialist credential, and he is an Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst® (AIFA®). He is past chair and member of the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants' Financial Literacy Task Force. Wayne is a member of Rotary International and served as the district governor and club president for Rotary District 6400. He volunteers as an accelerator coach for Entrepreneurs' Organization. Wayne authored the book, https://www.amazon.com/Entrepreneurs-Guide-Financial-Well-Being/dp/1544512368/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1B9AFFDGCPG3F&keywords=wayne+titus&qid=1644185793&s=books&sprefix=wayne+titus%2Cstripbooks%2C68&sr=1-2 (The Entrepreneur's Guide to Financial Well-Being), and loves to educate others on financial, tax and investment topics by writing columns and through public speaking. Related Resources:Contact Wayne and connect with him on https://www.linkedin.com/in/wayne-b-titus-iii-5442971/ (LinkedIn) and https://twitter.com/wbtiii (Twitter.) Join, Rate and Review: Rating and reviewing the show helps us grow our audience and allows us to bring you more of the rich information you need to succeed from our high powered guests. Leave a review at https://lovethepodcast.com/BusinessConfidential (Lovethepodcast.com/BusinessConfidential) Joining the Business Confidential Now family is easy and lets you have instant access to the latest tactics, strategies and tips to make your business more successful....

 YES!  This episode begins with a snippet of President Eisenhower's farewell address warning the public of the corrupting influence of the Military Industrial Complex, and ends with his warning about squandering future generation's resources for present day comforts.  Strategic Institute refers to the mission statement of the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR 1.1) to illustrate how the acquisition system, at least for R&D, prototyping, and delivering new capability, utterly fails at its original purposes and is thus institutionally corrupt.  The Federal Acquisition Regulations, what Coopers and Lybrand called "a mass and maze of regulations", benefits government and industry insiders at the expense of the warfighter, taxpayer, a healthy industrial base, and innovation; decades of expert study and findings confirm this.   Due to the overly complex nature of the system which is inherently unfair, lacks transparency, and is largely closed off to outsiders, the results are chronically poor performance, ridiculous costs, lack luster solutions, destruction of creativity, and tremendous waste.  The arcane mass and maze of the rules has given rise to the preeminence of the contracting regime, which subordinates program managers, technical experts, developers, performers, creatives, producers, and doers.  In all other industries and business, contracting personnel support mission and goals.  Unfortunately, too often in the Federal Government, expertise and accomplishing goals is secondary to fulfilling the diktats of the acquisition system rules.  These rules grew in a willy-nilly fashion with the aid of undue influence of special interests. This has corrupted otherwise straight-forward common sense business processes, etiquette, and culture.      DoD and other federal agencies have been given authorities and a Congressional mandate to develop a 'preference' for using these to explore and conduct business in new and different ways.  Minus a few bright spots, business-as-usual thinking has been applied with the expected results - we are STILL having the exact same conversations today as we were 40 years ago and according to the 809 Panel has only gotten worse.     If you want resources and information on how this can be situation can be improved, visit: https://strategicinstitute.org/

In this episode we visit with singer-songwriter Carter Lybrand, country legend T. Graham Brown, and BBQ Hall-of-Famer Meathead Goldwyn. Singer-songwriter Carter Lybrand talks about the road it's taken him to get to this point in life - both personally and musically. We talk about his debut single "I'll Be Right Here" - plus what it's like getting feedback from that release. For more information about his tour dates, music, and more visit https://www.carterlybrandcountry.com Legendary country singer-songwriter T. Graham Brown tells us about his latest album "Bare Bones" - which is available now at https://www.tgrahambrown.com. T. also shares about his upcoming autobiography and upcoming soul album that he recorded with Sam Moore, Tanya Tucker, and more. Find out more about all his works and socials at https://www.tgrahambrown.com BBQ Hall-of-Famer and friend of the show Meathead Goldwyn shares a visit about some ideas for the upcoming St. Patrick's holiday. Meathead talks about techniques to make the perfect corned beef, and pastrami. We also talk about his new rubs and BBQ sauces that are available now. Find out more about recipes, meat thermometers and more at https://www.amazingribs.com --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/camerondole/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/camerondole/support

This show is sponsored by Leopard Solutions Legal Intelligence Suite of products, Firmscape, and Leopard BI. Push ahead of the pack with the power of Leopard. For a free demo, visit this link: https://www.leopardsolutions.com/index.php/request-a-demo/   Kevin Wheeler has been advising professional services firms on all aspects of strategy, marketing, business development, and client relationship management/key account management for more than thirty years. Before setting up Wheeler Associates in 1997, he had been Marketing Director with Nabarro Nathanson, the commercial law firm, and Cinven, the private equity house. He also held various senior in-house strategy and marketing positions with Coopers & Lybrand, now PricewaterhouseCoopers. As a consultant and coach, Kevin has provided services to more than one hundred firms drawn from the legal, accountancy, actuarial, real estate consultancy, tax, corporate finance, management consulting, and insolvency practitioner sectors. Wheeler Associates is also a leading provider of strategic and client insight solutions and thought leadership delivered through bespoke market research studies. As well as his consultancy and coaching activities, Kevin writes, blogs and lectures frequently on strategy, marketing, business development, and CRM/KAM issues facing professional services organizations. Links: http://wheelerassociates.co.uk/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinjwheeler/  

DN 242 - Sharon Lechter(Transcript of the podcast has been edited for clarity and brevity.)[00:00:00] Casanova Brooks: What's up family. Thank you for tuning into the Dream Nation Podcast. My name is Casanova. I'll be your host and I'm excited to be bringing to you, entrepreneurs, thought leaders and trailblazers from around the world. Stay locked in with us because we're about to go on a journey that will change your life.What's up DreamBuilder we are back again and today's episode, as you always know, I say that I'm excited to bring it to you, but this one I'm truly excited because we have a pioneer and we have a pioneer of someone who does not only talk the talk, but definitely walk the walk and taught thousands upon tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands through all of the books that you've wrote.And millions of people, I would say financial literacy, and so without further ado, please help me in welcoming my friend, Ms. Sharon Lechter to the show. Sharon, you want to go ahead and say what's up to Dream Nation?[00:01:01] Sharon Lechter: Thank you so much. I love Dream Nation. What's up Dream Nation, and thank you so much for having me. I'm delighted to be with you today.[00:01:03] Casanova Brooks: Yeah, absolutely. It's going to be a lot of fun. Now. I always love to start off these episodes and I compare us as entrepreneurs to superheroes, and the reason being is because we're constantly flying around the world, and I know throughout your career, you have been, and you're putting on your cape and you're trying to solve some of the world's biggest problems.And so from the outside, looking in, a lot of people, they see you as a superhero, as the wonder woman or the superwoman. But a lot of the times, what we can't describe is on the backside when there's no cameras on who is that Lois Lane, let's say, so take us back and tell us when it comes to Sharon Lechter, who is that Lois Lane?[00:01:45] Sharon Lechter: Thank you so much, and I, we can go dial back many years. I grew up in a very lower-middle-class home, neither one of my parents, even at high school degrees, and my dad ended up running the engineering school for the Navy. So, totally self-taught brilliant, man. But we live in a little tiny house between my mom's beauty shop, my dad's used car lot, I was embarrassed with where we lived. I wanted to be a professional. I wanted to have, my friends had parents who were CEOs or military officers, but we also own a lot of rental properties that I had to go scrub out bathrooms between tenants and orange groves. So, I grew up in an environment understanding the value of assets and expected that everybody else did too.And so I followed my dream. I got my degree in accounting. I started my career with Coopers & Lybrand where the very first women in public accounting many years ago, and I was very successful, but I thought at the ripe old age of 25, I was like, gosh, I'm working really crazy hours. I'm not in control of my own life. This is, and this is my future forever, and I had a client invite me to join him and buy in a company out of bankruptcy, and I still remember going back to my condo in Atlanta, Georgia, because I was having a great time, young, single, and yet not in control of my life. So, I did the old, yellow legal pad, because this was before PCs or cell phones, pros and cons, and it didn't help me a bit.I could argue both sides, but my hand took off and wrote across the top of the page. Why not? Why not do something different? Why not take that path less traveled? And that's still my philosophy today, and that's, I think ties in with true entrepreneurs. Why not solve a problem or serve a need? Why not do something, someone else hasn't done? And that's really still my mantra today. So, I left public accounting. It actually was a really bad business decision at the time, but had I not made that choice, I wouldn't have met a young man named Michael Lechter and we've just celebrated 41 years of marriage.And so continuing on, I started the children's talking book, industry books and had the sound strips down the side. I met the inventor of that and helped him build that. Understood the essence and learned so much about the power of association, cause we had the technology, the kids back then. I know dinosaur days, they didn't have screens, they didn't have no electronics, and so here I am with this thing, I said, how can we get parents to trust us while we aligned with little companies like Disney, Warner Brothers, Sesame Street, Marvel comics, and allowed us to explode that company around the world, and we sold that four years later, and then as my husband moved down to Arizona, and our oldest son went off to college and came home at Christmas time in credit card debt.And that was December of 1992, and that's when I dedicated the rest of my life to financial literacy, financial education, fast forward, a few years, working with the school systems, hence the white hair. My husband called me one day and this guy had come into his office in Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt with an idea for a board game, drawn-out with crayons on a piece of which a black paper, his name was Robert Kiyosaki. So, Mike brought us together for the first beta test of the cashflow game, and I'm the only one that got out of the rat race, and I volunteered to help Robert commercialize it because it agreed with my philosophy of investing your time and buying, building, creating assets, as opposed to chasing money, time for money instead of exchanging time for money, lets than invest your time to build the asset that will generate the money.During that process, he told me he wanted to charge $200 for the game. I said, its kinda pricey. We're talking in 1996, and I said maybe we should write a brochure that explains the philosophy that people will then be convinced to spend the $200, and that's when he asked me to become his partner, and we were equal partners in the company for 10 years, and we wrote 15 books together. But that little brochure that kind of started it all was named Rich Dad, Poor Dad. Most people don't know that, that it was written to sell the game, and we thought we were writing one and done one book and said, people wanted more so said we'll do a trilogy. Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Cashflow Quadrant, Rich Dad's Guide To Investing.But then over the 10 years that we worked together, we had 15 books and in 2007, the height of our success, we were no longer aligned with what we wanted. So, I made the decision to leave. People thought I was crazy, but sometimes, and I want your audience to hear this sometimes you have to close one door for other doors of opportunity to open and had I not made that decision to leave Rich Dad, I wouldn't have gotten the call from President Bush. I had the honor of serving on the first president's advisory council for financial literacy for both President Bush and President Obama, and in March of oh eight, I got the phone call from the Napoleon Hill Foundation, which has been an incredible relationship.They asked me to help reinvigorate Napoleon Hill's teachings during the financial collapse in 2008, and so I wrote Three Feet From Gold, Think And Grow Rich For Women, Outwitting The Devil, and Success and Something Greater with the foundation, and it's just been an incredible working relationship, and then I had incredible honor earlier this year to release the book, Exit Rich in cooperation with the Inc magazine to help people understand most people start a business new and say, do you want to start a business to work until the day you die? Or do you want to start a business to build financial freedom for yourself to get your time back?Everybody says B, but the vast majority of them do A cause they don't understand how to build the structure and the basic fundamentals of building a company, and so in Exit Rich, I go through that and help them, how to build the successful business into one that sustainable, scalable, and saleable, and that kind of brings you to here. I'd try to do my Cliff Notes version for ya.[00:07:44] Casanova Brooks: Yeah, no, you did a phenomenal job and there's so much to unpack there. I, hopefully I can do a lot of justice cause I know that there's a lot of people that's watching or listening at this, that they're ... They have a lot of questions. So, I'm going to try to go back in my mind, and first off, I guess I want to know, as a young girl, you said that your parents didn't have high school diplomas, but then you go off and you then start working as a CPA. For you, why did you not follow the path of entrepreneurship early on? Because your dad, you said he had rental properties and everything else. Why did you decide to take a different path? What did you not like about it in the beginning?[00:08:26] Sharon Lechter: We've heard the phrase, the grass is green on the other side, and that's my friends, their parents were CEOs, and I was the first generation to go to college and I wanted to become a sophisticated professional. I thought that was the path to take a higher level of financial success, and once I got into it, and it was a true gift to go into public accounting because all of my clients, I saw how companies did things correctly, and I also saw how companies did not do things correctly. So, even though it was not an entrepreneurial path itself, it allowed me a window into many hundreds of different entrepreneurs to see how they were doing things. So, it really helped me prepare for the next chapter of my life.[00:09:10] Casanova Brooks: Got it. No, that makes sense, and then you decide that you don't want to do this anymore at 25, and I can only imagine that your parents were probably up in arms because up until this point, you've been a golden child, right? It's your daughter. She's the only person to go to college. She now has a great job. Why, I guess what was the reaction when you told them, Hey, this isn't what I want to do anymore?[00:09:32] Sharon Lechter: I have an older sister, so she's the one that was following the pathway. She was in a corporate job, stayed in the same town. I was the wild child and I'm the one that left Florida and went to Atlanta, and then I went to New Hampshire, met my husband. So, they were not always sure what was happening in my world, and I tell them, but, my parents, every night growing up, my dad would ask me, Sharon, have you added value to someone's life today? And he's been gone 16 years, but I still ask myself that every single night and they were always supportive of whatever I chose to do. They were a little surprised when I left public accounting, but they were never judgmental. They were always there to support me and basically their message to me growing up as you can do or be anything you want to, if you just put enough effort and energy into it.[00:10:29] Casanova Brooks: Got it. I love that. I love that. Have you added value to someone else's life today? That's something that I'm going to start to implement into not only my life, but also to teach my son that and definitely to teach my daughter that as she gets older as well. Let me ask this as you, I think where a lot of people struggle, especially millennials is we understand the power of collaboration, but sometimes when you're talking about getting into partnerships with people, buying companies, as you said in the beginning, there was someone that said, Hey, this company is bankrupt.We can buy them out. How were you able to be comfortable with doing a partnership early on? Did you just not know any better? Or did you have certain rules and parameters that if we're going to partner, we're going to do this? What did that look like for you?[00:11:19] Sharon Lechter: I do a lot of counseling with people that are going into work together, and a lot of times their friends or their family, and that's that's a recipe, blood and money is a very difficult thing to mix, and so it's really important. I sit down and do a little counseling ahead of time when I go, plan the divorce before you plan the marriage, because when you're together and you're looking at what you're doing, you're all very excited about it. You respect each other and it's a good time for you to say so let's, maybe in five years, one of us isn't going to be as excited as the other. So, let's talk now about how we're going to separate while we are still excited about the future while we still love and respect each other, because when you have high emotion, you have low intelligence and what happens?I see so many times people go into business with somebody they're all excited about it, and then things one of them becomes disinterested and it causes a seizure in the family or in the friendship, and so it's always better to think about that upfront so that you can preserve the relationship and maintain that even after a business relationship is over.[00:12:23] Casanova Brooks: I love that plan, the plan divorce before you plan the marriage, but for somebody who's listening and especially for you, someone who's been profound when it comes to personal development in the law of attraction. What if someone says, isn't that really looking at you're attracting the plan B or the negative, because in the back of my mind, then I know that like, when I don't like something, I don't have to stick it out. It's hey, we already got this plan B over here, I can get to going.[00:12:54] Sharon Lechter: The plan B is a plan of respect. It's not negativity, it's not attracting negative results. It is saying we are so excited about working together, but let's be realistic. Our lives may not stay on the same path. One of us may have six kids and we want to do something different, or one of us may end up wanting, needing to move out of town, and so what if based on those things and our mutual respect for each other, how are we going to deal with that in a professional and adult way that will help us preserve the relationship, and so it's really not attracting the negative. It's actually creating an opportunity for maintaining the relationship, no matter what happens with the business, cause typically businesses can be hugely successful and then there are problems, and so people's expectations are all almost always different. So, it's better to clearly outline the relationship, the agreements and what those expectations are.So, for instance, you may go into business with somebody and they end up getting married and that spouse is somebody that you don't want to ever be in business with. If you put that in the agreement ahead of time. So, if one of us. Ha becomes incapacitated or heaven forbid one of us dies. That's not attracting the negative. That's just being prudent and planning out the business and preserving that business because that spouse may not know anything about the business and all of a sudden they're going to step in owning 50%. No, you want to put that in the agreement ahead of time and say, how this is going to work. How are you going to compensate that spouse for the value of the company, but maintain the ability to drive it forward.[00:14:36] Casanova Brooks: Hey, Dream Builder. If you are anything like me, you know the importance of setting goals and achieving those goals, and anytime you find something interferes with that, ultimately interferes with your happiness and if that's you, or if you're in a rut right now, I want to encourage you to check out betterhelp.com. Now Better Help is not a crisis line. It's not self-help, it's professional counseling, that's done securely online. Better help will assess your needs and they'll match you with your own licensed professional therapists. You can send a message to your counselor at any time, and you'll get timely and thoughtful responses back.Plus, you can schedule weekly video or even phone sessions all without having to sit in an uncomfortable waiting room, regardless of you're dealing with depression, grief. Anxiety or anything along those lines, there's a licensed professional, just waiting on the other side to help you, and of course, I want to help you as well. I want you to start living a happier life today and because you're a part of the dream nation tribe, and as a listener, you'll get 10% off your first month by visiting our sponsor, betterhelp.com/dreamnation.Again, that's betterhelp.com/dreamnation, and you can join over 1 million people who have taken the charge of bettering their mental health. Now let's get back to it.Yeah, no, it was phenomenal advice and a lot of wisdom there. I'm sure somebody is agreeing with me and saying, I never thought of it in that manner. And that could be for business. That could be for real estate. That could be for a lot of things, and I know a lot of our listeners, they are in real estate, so that's something hopefully they'll put in their back pocket. The next time that they're thinking about going into a partnership. Now let's let me ask, because you come in Florida, which is not, where are you from a small town?[00:16:22] Sharon Lechter: At the time I was, I grew up in Orlando. I left, I graduated from high school the year that Disney opened. So, it was very different city today than it was back then. But we moved there. My dad retired from the Navy. I was eight, so we moved to Florida and we lived in Orlando. I was there from eight to 18, and then I was in Tallahassee going to Florida State for four years. So, I was in Florida from eight to 20.[00:16:48] Casanova Brooks: Got it. Okay. So, not, I guess where I was going with this, because I wanted to see if you were a small town girl, because you've always had a big mind in everything that you've done. New York Times bestsellers and it seems like you've never said no to yourself. You always just thought the why not, and I know that you said that earlier, but I guess how did you get your mindset? Too early on in the beginning, since you didn't come from big businesses, how did you get that to saying, Hey, I have to focus on collaboration over competition.[00:17:24] Sharon Lechter: That is an excellent question. So, let me try and unravel the question a little bit, because we, as I said I grew up in very humble beginnings and both of my parents, families were from farms in Alabama, and so I didn't live in Alabama, but I spent summers there with my grandma. I had grandmother who did not have indoor plumbing. So, I, I understood coming from poverty, coming from not having anything, and I had this in inside hunger, as my friend Les Brown says, you gotta be hungry, and I knew I wanted something better. I knew I wanted to elevate myself, and I knew that I could not do that just simply by myself. I had to get the education.I had to meet the right people. I had to find the right mentor. All right. I had great mentorship with my parents. My dad was brilliant, my mom, but I needed that additional umph of getting to that. My eighth grade English teacher told me I'd be a famous writer. Now I was into math. I thought she was crazy. My house mother in college told me I'd be on stage speaking. I thought she was crazy, but again, always seeking that mentorship and challenging myself to step outside my comfort zone, and today with all my clients, I'm constantly challenging them, and I was asked the question. When was the last time you did something for the first time, cause what happens is we get comfortable in our lives doing the same thing and we don't find new associations. We don't expand our business. I have something called the personal success equation. You can find it a personalsuccessequation.com as a free download, and it's something that I released in the book Three Feet From Gold.And it talks about combining your passion and your talent. Now my passion came from anger because we're teaching kids about money, but your passion could be love what you do what you love, plus your talent, your education, your life experience, and we combine that, and most of us stop there, thinking we have to do everything on our own while the personal success equation takes up plus T and times A power of association. Do you have the right people on your team? Do you have people on your team who are strong, where you are weak? Do you have the right mentors? Business is a team sport, too many of us try to go it alone. So, your passion, your talent times A power of association, times A taking action.How many times do we know what we need to do? We just don't do it, and so we hold ourselves back, and then the last element is plus F and that is faith. Faith in yourself, faith in what you're doing, faith that is needed and necessary faith, that you will succeed. Successful businesses, solve problems and serve needs. I think we have a few of each today, and but many of us that F is fear, not faith, and it holds us back fear, paralyzes us, or motivates us. 99% of the people fear holds us back. We are paralyzed, and that's my goal. When I start working with people, when I write books is to address that power of association and that fear and turn that fear into energy, into faith for yourself.Okay. Make sure who you need to align with to help you go to the next level so that you can magnify your impact. I have something called the Play Big Movement, which has been number one in your field, live your legacy, which means every heart, every single day, every heart you touch every single day as part of your legacy and create maximum impact, and you do that with the right association.[00:21:09] Casanova Brooks: Wow. So much wisdom in that, and I would definitely agree so many people right now are living in fear rather than faith for you, how have you been able to continuously align yourself with bigger players that are in your field and your mentors, because for a lot of people that are watching or listening, they may say, Hey, but you know what? I don't necessarily know how do I get around the Les Browns? How do I get around the Robert Kiyosakis? How do I get around people like that? And because I listened to them, but at the same time, we also know that there's more than needs to be done in there in terms of actions. For you, how have you continuously, or I guess even from the start, how were you able to get around these people? Like Robert Kiyosaki, when these opportunities came your way?[00:21:58] Sharon Lechter: I helped create Robert Kiyosaki. When we first met, when he brought that game in to my husband, he was living in a small condo and had two small apartment complexes. He talks about it and retire young retire rich. So, we, I helped create the intellectual property with him and help build that business to get him to the point where he had a larger platform and a bigger voice. But I think each of us you want to focus on, who's been where you want to go. I had the experience to help shape that and create the rich dad company and help it scale. My husband helped us with the licensing strategy to go global, and so you want to seek out the people that can help you go to the next level, and too many times people just become fans and they want to glom on to somebody. You want to be in service. You want to have reciprocity. You want to support somebody. They want to see somebody like a Les Brown. If he sees that you've been there supporting them, you're showing up, you're sharing his stuff. It's going to be a lot easier to get into contact with them, but learn from our books. Learn from our programs. I have a Money Mastery Program. That's very inexpensive because I want people to get themselves out of financial distress. To where they can at least start thinking, because when you are distressed about something that impacts every aspect of your life, and you can go to mm.sharonlechter.com. Very inexpensive application to my money mastery program, which is on my website for $1,500. But I want people to have. $97 and it's something I want you to take control of your own life. You are the CEO of your own life. Too many people want to have the easy step one step from, I want this. I'm going to be there.You really have to earn the right. You have to put in the work. You have to be of service and show, be there share information study because all of us we've written books. We've got programs, take the time to invest in yourself, and as you do that, and you continue sharing information, you get closer and closer to the source, attend events where they are, take the time, wait patiently to be there, be of service, and it's very important for you to understand what you want and setting your goals. I'm in a new company, I just aligned with this year, Oola is something that I reached out to me and … Sharon Lectar. It helps people look at every aspect of their life, their family, their faith, their fitness, their finances, their community, as well as having fun and assess where you are and where you want to go.And then give you the tools to get there. The specifically designed for you. It's all AI driven, and I love this company. These two guys that put it together are just brilliant, and it's something that I've used. My husband and I have used, we each lost 30 pounds. It's something that allows you to have fun and being accountable to your own goals and dreams, particularly for millennials, they are loving it, and I think it's something that I want you to choose to put the stake in the ground and say, I am the CEO of my own life. I am in control. Don't say I can't do it unless I have somebody like a superstar. No, you are the superstar, you were born perfect, just the way you are.Just take the actions to get yourself to the next level, and the road to success is not a straight line. You're going to have some setbacks, but get back up and keep going.[00:25:36] Casanova Brooks: Yeah, and I think for a lot of people, when they first think about, hey, I can go invest into these programs or I can join this mastermind or whatever else. I think the first off they get very excited in the beginning. But then what starts to happen is they go back to their tribe or they go back to someone else, and I know that I've even had this happen to me when I've said, Hey, I'm investing into a retreat. At entrepreneurship retreat, and then we've ever, you're going to spend that amount of money to do that.And so I think that's what holds people off, but I think that's where it goes back to having faith. Understanding that something that I always say in the beginning, they'll ask you why you're doing it, but in the end, they'll ask you how you did it. So, you have to have faith of what you were talking about, and if you have that unbreakable faith or that unbreakable mindset, I think that will get you over the hump, at least in sticking with it in the beginning, as you build your foundation.[00:26:35] Sharon Lechter: Well, a lot of people say, take a leap of faith, and I was, I said let's change that word because when you take a leap of faith, you cross your fingers and close your eyes and jump. I want you to take a leap with faith, with your eyes wide open, having faith that you will succeed having faith of what you're doing, and when you do that confidence goes up. So, when I talk about my personal success equation is that power of association, of faith that usually my clients need the most help on, and they go hand in hand when you have the right people around you, your self-confidence goes up cause they won't let you have a bad day.And so, ask yourself, where do you need help? Passion, talent, association action, faith, and start focusing on how you can take that next level. Expand your association, go to the next level, find the right people that will support you through the process.[00:27:27] Casanova Brooks: Yeah, I would definitely agree. Let me ask it from the outside, looking in, it looks like you've been able to manage multiple businesses. Over the years, you've been able to have your hands in many different things, and I would love to hear your take and your opinion on, a lot of the times people say focused on one thing, for follow the one course until successful, which is the focus. But for someone like you, who it seems like, again from the outside, you've had your hands in a lot of things.Maybe you've just had teams in every single one. Do you follow that strategy of I gotta have my hand in one thing until it's going or are you. No, I'm going to do multiple things because I noted on my time is limited. So, that's my greatest asset. So, I'm going to do everything, but I'm just going to find more partners?[00:28:16] Sharon Lechter: It's a great question because and I think is a very valuable question. Yes, I'm involved in a lot of different things, but I didn't start that way, I think, but let's talk about real estate. When I have clients that come to me and they have money in storage money in three twos, money in multifamily, its like, whoa, let's get focused in one area and become an expert because that expertise is what allows you to get the best deals, and yes, my husband and I invest in lots of different kinds of real estate, but we've earned the right. We've been in it a long time. So, we understand where the opportunities are, but you do want to focus on getting that expertise so that you can become an authority in what you're doing, and it's very important to do that.Now. Yes, I'm involved in multiple companies where we have teams that help us. We have our guest ranch, cherrycreeklodge.com. I'm into cattle ranching, and hospitality. We have a guest that people can rent for retreats or for family reunion. I have a team that runs that I do very little related to that, except I just got back from hosting my own business retreat there, and so you want to make sure you have the expertise, but you can own a business, not be in the business. All right. I can work on my businesses without working in them, and from many years of experience and being able to do that. But when you're first starting out, you want to fine tune your skills and know that you are doing the best you can to accomplish success in the area that you are in, and then go to the next one.[00:29:52] Casanova Brooks: Hey, Dream Builder! Are your home and auto policies almost up for renewal? If so, and you're looking for a lower rate. I believe I have a solution for you, and it's called Policy Genius. 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Do you ever feel like that you had a point where you were lost on who exactly is your ideal customer? Because of the fact that you're in a lot of different areas, personal development, financial literacy just business and marketing, your phenomenal marketer. So, did you ever get to a point where you felt like you were having lack of clarity?[00:31:44] Sharon Lechter: Another great question. My goodness, actually, a few years ago, we retooled my website because it was like, I was… I have three major arenas. One is financial literacy for people who … in that there's two arenas. One is people that are financially distressed, and then there are people that truly want to take their business and scale to a much higher level and they're two completely different audiences, and then I have my mentoring clients who are high level high dollar clients, that we step into their world and help them build their business. Then I have my speaking business where people want to bring me in to speak. So, those are all very different audiences, and so you have to tailor your messaging and make sure that you are reaching the right audience with the right message.[00:32:20] Casanova Brooks: Okay, and do you feel like that was hard for you to grasp that concept in the beginning because you have been already doing all of the things with it. So, do you feel like you fought that for a while? Or do you feel like it was, you already knew this is what you needed to do? Do you understand the question? Am I explaining it the right way? Do you feel like that was a, I don't want to do this… Like I'm me, I'm Sharon.[00:32:46] Sharon Lechter: Yeah yeah, you can be a jack of all trades, and certainly another arena that I specialize in is women and money, and but that's all part of the financial literacy. I think it's really understanding I don't think I ever struggled with it. I always realized it was an issue and we had to be more real, more clarity, because you want to, and people use the word funnels. I talk, let's have a customer journey. You want people when they come to your site to find what they're looking for, and so you have to provide that environment when they get there as to, okay. I want her to speak. I'm looking for help. Financial I'm like, I really want a mentor. So, you want to create the ease of the customer journey.So whether you, yes, I can do all of those things, and sometimes you have too many too much expertise, and so you have to say, how can I create the message? That's the right messaging for the person coming to give them the ability to make the choices of your best for them.[00:33:51] Casanova Brooks: Yeah, I love that. You said that about the customer journey, and I think far too often, as we are coming up with all of our talents or our passions, and we're writing those down or putting them into Evernote or whatever we don't think about what is that customer journey, and at the end of the day, it doesn't really matter about you. It matters about how can you serve someone else. The more people that you help, obviously, the more people or the more that you'll get, it's like that Zig Ziglar quote that we've all heard before. So, yeah, I'm glad that you said that and hopefully somebody they write this out and they say, yeah, what is my customer journey, for whatever product or service that I'm trying to offer at this point.Let me ask for all of the books and especially you now being a part, like you said, of the Napoleon Hill foundation, and as I told you about a month ago, I read that Outwitting The Devil, and that was phenomenal. But for you when you were, or even now when you turn for inspiration or you're looking to read is there any books, now when you're mentoring your clients outside of the books that you've written, are there any books that you tell people, Hey, if you're starting out in your journey, make sure that you're reading or listening to X.[00:35:01] Sharon Lechter: There's lots and the list keeps growing. But I love How To Win Friends And Influence People by Dale Carnegie. I love Good To Great by Jim Collins. I love The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey. So, then those are classics, right? I also love The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stoval, and it's an incredible book about teaching young people about money. It was a great book, The Ultimate Gift.[00:35:37] Casanova Brooks: Yeah. What are your thoughts now being in financial literacy for so long and obviously, one of your co-authors is big on Bitcoin and everything like, have you started, are you on the Bitcoin train and the blockchain train?[00:35:52] Sharon Lechter: I have a lot of companies that come to me, wanting me to be a spokesperson for them as they have him, and I've chosen not to do that because my expertise right now, I'm focused on certain areas including overall business building, scaling as well as real estate, and so I have not chosen to become an expert in Bitcoin. I own Bitcoin. I've been part of it. I understand it probably more than most people, but I have not really. I'm not going to become a spokesperson for it anytime.[00:36:25] Casanova Brooks: Got it. Okay, cool. This has definitely been a phenomenal conversation. One last question that I have for you is for all of your success through everything that you've done to get yourself to this point to accelerate your journey and your dream of where you are today, if there was one thing that you wish that you would have implemented sooner to accelerate that process, what would that one thing be?[00:36:53] Sharon Lechter: Well, thank you. I get asked that question a lot and my response is always the same. I wouldn't be who I am today, if I hadn't experienced everything that I've experienced in my life. So, I don't like to look back. I don't want people to look back. I want people to know that your empowered to make different choices. We are all where we are today because of the choices we made before today, and if you want something different, something better in your life, just start making different choices. Don't waste time looking back, I have the definition of the word, worry to worry is to pray for what you don't want. It just wastes time and gives you, it makes you physically sick.So, when you find yourself worrying about something, just catch yourself and say, instead of focusing on what I don't want to have happen, let's focus on what I do want to have happen. It's magic because it does this full circle into the power of law of attraction. Instead of a attracting negative results, lets focus on positive, focus on what you do want, focus on the future, focus on what you can do today to make tomorrow better.[00:37:53] Casanova Brooks: Got it. I love it. I love it. So, to be clear on this, and that's the it's so funny and anybody who's watching it listening, I'm sure they're smiling. I just like I am, because I used to ask that question. If you could go back and you would have changed anything and people always say, I wouldn't change anything. It made me who I am today, and trust me, I've been through a lot of adversity. But there's still something, there's some things that I would change. I wouldn't lose my mom. I, and I think I could have still been to where I am today without losing my mom.[00:38:19] Sharon Lechter: I lost a son nine years ago. So, obviously if I could go back and change that I would do that too, but it also made me… I actually went into my world of numb and to neutral for several years and I stopped playing big, and in fact, almost retired. Got a lot of pushback from family and friends, and I actually think my son was in my ears saying, get over it, mom, there's more for you to do, and so it's really helped me crank up my message to play big again. I launched The Play Big Movement, the Facebook group, and it's because I want people. I said, okay I'm going to play big again. I want people to come along with me. I want you to be number one in your field. I want you to live your legacy.I want you to create maximum impact because people need to hear from you. Everybody watching and listening to this. You've had something that stopped you in your tracks. It could have been a death, a divorce, a financial setback and illness, but you're still here and you're still here for a reason, and what you've been through, you can help others going through it now. By turning that mess into your message, you have the opportunity to help other people and add value to other people's stuff.[00:39:28] Casanova Brooks: Love it. Love it. Again. This has been such a phenomenal conversation. I want to be the first one. If no one else has told you today to say thank you, and I appreciate you. We will make sure that we put all of the links to your courses, your Facebook group, and your website in the show notes, but for anybody who wants to know tell us where can they stay directly connected with.[00:39:51] Sharon Lechter: Please connect with me on Instagram at Sharon Lechter. I'm on my professional page for Facebook, Sharon Lechter, Author Sharon Lechter, and of course I'm also LinkedIn Sharon Lechter. My website is sharonlechter.com. So, it easy to find me if you can spell my name and then reach out to me directly info@sharonlechter.com, I would love to hear from you.[00:40:14] Casanova Brooks: You're not on tiktok yet.[00:40:17] Sharon Lechter: No, I haven't. I haven't actually, I am, people have put up fake accounts on tiktok, but I personally have not gone to tiktok yet.[00:40:25] Casanova Brooks: Yeah, no worries. Again, thank you so much for your time. This has been a wonderful conversation, and just as she said, Dream Nation, you have to take action because if you do not, as we all know that dream that you have, and we all have a dream without any action, that dream will only merely be a fantasy. That's all for this one. We'll catch you on the next. That's all we got for this episode.Thank you for sticking around. That truly means a lot to me, and hopefully that means that we delivered massive value on this one. If you haven't already, the way that you could say thank you to myself, and the team is just by heading over to iTunes and leaving a review. That's what iTunes loves to see. That's how we get out there even more, and I would definitely be grateful for it. I know the team would as well, do me a favor and head on over to dreamnationpodcast.com.That's where you're going to be able to find all of the resources that we talked about in today's episode, as well as more exclusive content, and you'll also be able to sign up to our email list, where we have more exclusive content. We always love to hear the feedback from you all, because you're our tribe. So, remember ‘in the dream we trust', we'll see you on the flip side. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Podcast Guest:  Paula AdlerPaula's website:  https://www.paulaadlercoaching.com/ Transcription:Kris Parsons00:01Welcome to changing the rules, a weekly podcast about people who are living their best life and how you can figure out how to do it too. Join us with your life, the host Ray Loewe, better known as the luckiest guy in the world.Ray Loewe00:21Good morning, everybody. And welcome to another exciting episode of changing the rules. And we have a great guest today, a great guest who has been successful all of her life, and then found out that even in a successful format, there was time to make a change, because it was time to make a change. We'll hear all about Paula Adler's story.  I can't talk this morning. So let me remind you, first of all, that changing the rules, it is about the fact that all through our lives, we get rules thrown at us, they're thrown at us first by our parents, then is our schools, our church, our employers, you know, everybody has a set of rules that they want us to obey. And all of these rules are given to us. Because they're good at a time, you know, they serve a need and, and they offer us direction and stability and, and a way to make decisions. But one of the problems with living life under somebody else's rules is that eventually, you're living your life. And it's not yours, it's somebody else's life. And in order to live your own life and build your own life, you have to be able to look at rules in a positive way, you have to be able to change them, you have to be able to find out for you what's really right for you. And every week we interview another one of the luckiest people in the world. And the luckiest people in the world. Let me remind you are people who take control of their lives. They personally design them to fit their needs and their wants. And then they live them to the fullest under their own terms. So Paula Adler, welcome to changing the rules.Paula Adler02:15Thank you for having me. And every time you say living life on your own terms, I also have heard you say tailor the rules. And that's the way I like to think about it. Thank you for having me. I'm so thrilled to be here, Ray. Ray Loewe02:25Well, I'm excited because you're again, another one of the perfect role models. And so you and I have something in common. And if we go back far enough, I have to go back a lot further than you.  We both worked for a firm called Price Waterhouse Coopers. And only when I was there, it wasn't Price Waterhouse Coopers it was Lybrand and Ross brothers in Montgomery. So I was there in the dark ages. But it was a great firm. For me, it served a really important need for me. But I came to a time when it was time for me to move on. So tell us a little bit about well, you know, before we get there you're not only a successful business lady, but you're a mom. Yeah, Tell us a little bit about who you are.Paula Adler03:14Yeah, I can. I uh, I have gotten very comfortable talking about that, because I encourage my clients to do the same. So thank you again for having me. So lets I always start with family. I am the mother of two amazing sons who live in New York City, ones in grad school right now. And one is an architect in New York who's getting married next year. So that is the thing that draws me the most my most proud. I don't want to say an accomplishment, because it's their accomplishment. But family is just really key to me. And so that's family. And so from a career perspective, I'll look at it in two pieces of my life, I am now a former never thought I'd say that managing director at one of the big four audit tax and consulting firms. You named it, it was Coopers and Lybrand, for me and then PWC. I spent over 33 years there in a variety of roles. I had a wonderful career primarily in the consulting practice and my roles crossed over human capital. I was in a strategy operations person, and then I spent my last, I guess, probably more than 10 years, I think it was 15 years in risk management, and had an amazing career. I would say other than my very first role for Coopers and Lybrand, pretty much every role that I had was one that was created. And so that was amazing. So the former managing director is the case today now and I smile every time I get to say this. I am a solopreneur. I'm a life and leadership coach. I own Paula Adler Coaching and Consulting and I market to women. My clients are men and women, but I market to women. My mission is to work with ambitious, outwardly successful women who have an inner knowing that there's more to life than the way they're currently living and here parenthetically I will say that was my story. So I work with my clients to create a vision for how they want their life to look, even if they feel like it's impossible, which is how I felt at the time. We gain clarity on what's standing in the way. And then we work on clearing the past so they can live a life and career that brings joy and where they feel valued and a sense of satisfaction without burning out in the process. So that's, that's who I am.Ray Loewe05:24Okay, so let's go back a little bit because obviously, you were very successful. You had the titles. You had the money. Okay, you add excitement in a career. Okay. You had prestige? And probably a lot more than that, but But what are the things that caused you to say, Okay, I need to make changes.Paula Adler05:49Yeah, I'm happy to share that. And, yeah, happy to share it. So how can I start with that a little history of what led up to my change, and then we can talk about the change itself. So as I said, I really had an amazing career, I spent the better part of my career in professional services, and I was operating in a really high pressure, high demand work environment, and I am a high performer, you know, and that's what I was always. And so I always strove to excel in every area of my life at home, with my kids, as a parent to, you know, my two amazing sons and then professionally, I say this humbly, I've got two CPA licenses, I spent over 33 years with my firm, I had outstanding roles, I valued my promotions and desirable income, as you said, and at the time, and today, I say this too, I describe myself as ambitious. I was definitely driven. I hopefully I was successful, I was really devoted to what I did, determined and resilient. So where things started to change for me is even though I long respected and appreciated my firm in my roles, it was often really hard to leave them at the door when I came home. And something I'm I want to share freely is I also walked the tightrope, tightrope of unexpected single parenthood, and then ultimately caring for my aging parents one right after the other. And so with all those things going on all those balls in the air, I was often left feeling, I really felt inadequate, I was juggling so many balls in the air that I felt like I kept dropping them all the time. And so what started to happen is, even though I described myself as I did, I also felt, I felt overwhelmed. I felt overworked, I felt anxious, I was stressed all the time, and I felt really stuck. You know, I look at it today. And with all those things happening. I know today that it's really that struggle, you know, the struggle that was inherent in that journey that I took, that has really most influenced where I am today. All those challenges that I went through it really they really prepared me and positioned me for what I'm doing today as a life and leadership coach. So I really do, I can still feel I understand what it means like the days are passing you by. And I felt like I was living every moment in a tunnel of responsibility. From the moment I woke up to the moment I went to sleep, I had trouble setting boundaries. So I really know the toll that an inability to set boundaries can have on someone. And I also got to a point where I had a desire to make a change. I did not know what it was, but I felt paralyzed by fear. And so you know, I know that experience of being fearful of making a change. What I did learn ultimately, is that with the right support, it's really possible to walk through your challenges. And so that was the history of what led up to me considering a change.Ray Loewe08:40You know, I see a lot of that going on, at least in thought today. So we're getting a lot of people that because of this COVID experience that we've had being home, all of a sudden have said, I don't want to go back to the office anymore. I kind of like the fact that I can spend some time with my children. I kind of liked that, I can get up in the morning and you know, dress up from the waist up and do a zoom call and not have to worry about things. So what are the reasons? Excuse me, I guess that are going to cause people to make changes like this. And then how do you get this unstuck? You put on your website? A bunch of one-word kinds of things. So let me go through them real quickly. Actually, there are two sets. One of them was positive, driven, successful, responsible, giving, devoted, resilient, and determined. Yeah, there's another set that we'll hold back for later. But I think those are the things that describe you. I think they describe a lot of the people that you're working with now. But how does somebody that's there all of a sudden deal with this impetus to change it? Make it happen?Paula Adler10:01Yeah, yeah, I was that person for some years. And I remember just not even knowing where to turn and how to take a step. And I think I ultimately learned, you know, I'm a, I'm a producer, I'll say I was tied to outcomes, I was looked at by PwC, as someone to drive projects and get to a conclusion, and then drive the next project. And I could do that with my eyes closed. But I couldn't figure out how to do that with my own life. I just as I said, I felt stuck and paralyzed. And I have great appreciation for having worked at PWC. It was my home. But I think people get to the point as I did and this speaks for the clients that I have today. Sometimes it's just one thing that drives it, they get to a point in something they read someone they talk to, they just get to a point and want to put a foot in the door and just say, I've got to make a change. I don't know what it is, which is a lot of the clients that I work with some come with goals, some come with, I don't know what it is, I'm feeling stuck. I don't want to live like this anymore. They also have a great appreciation for where they are. But they know they need to change because that like me, they would watch every day go by and one year goes by and the next year goes by, and they might not have even been focusing on their values or living their life joyfully. They just these are my clients today, they are middle to high-level leaders in organizations who get to a point and COVID Absolutely has driven some of them more quickly than others to say I don't know what it is, I need to make a change, and I need some help. And that's what happened to me, I got to a point where I just said, I know I've got to do something. I can't do it myself. And that's when I started to look for a coach.Ray Loewe11:47Okay, so there's another list on your website. I love reading your website over here. So let me go through this list. Because this I think describes a lot of the clients that you're looking for now and a lot of the people that are upset so we have overworked. Overwhelmed, anxious, inadequate. I want to go back to that one. Guilty. I want to spend a little time on that one. Stressed and lost.Paula Adler12:16Yeah. All the above? Yeah.Ray Loewe12:20So so how do you deal with this? I mean, because here you are, you're making good money. And all of a sudden, you're looking at a change that might take you into no money, less money. Let's say no money, you got to support a family. You know you got to deal with this. And how do you deal with this feeling of inadequacy and especially the feeling of guilt? Yeah, you're back on. Paula Adler12:46Yeah, thank you so much. I all the above at different points of my tenure and throw single parent unexpected single parenthood in there. And, and then my, my dad, and then my mom aging who needed some help. It was just overwhelming. And I didn't know, I didn't know I got to a point. I didn't know what to do. But I knew I had to take a step. And so that for me that happened first in about 2017 where I started thinking about, Okay, I've got to make a change. I don't know what it is. And then I think I got thrust back into things. My mom fell, she broke her hip, I was in the middle of some acquisitions at work. But that's where the thought process started. And, and my clients and similar to me sometimes sit on that for a while. I think if somebody had said to me, Hey, I'm here to help you, I might have put my arms up in the air, I just felt like I couldn't get through my day and add anything else to it. So I think that percolated for a little bit for me for a couple years. And it was from 2000 to 2019, where I just kept feeling that need. And all of those adjectives you described about taking making a change about the I'll I can talk about later, the coaching I had in order to move through my decision to resign from the firm because I had a lot of guilt with that. But I did get to a point in 2019. And I just said enough is enough. And I don't know what I want to do. So I just decided the way I look at it as I put a foot in the door of my life. And I decided I was going to make a change. I didn't know where it would lead. Although I didn't feel this way at the time. I look back now and I say that it was really okay. That I didn't know. It's really about trusting the process. So I made a decision to take one step at a time.Ray Loewe14:28So you're a gutsy lady, Paula, how's that? Paula Adler14:31Well, I think I reached a limit, Ray? Yeah, I don't know. Maybe I'm looking at it now as gutsy but back then it was just like survival. Again, so much love for my firm and I had so many amazing experiences but I felt like me as a person that I wasn't developing learning a lot but wasn't developing. So I took one step. As a start. As I always say to my client's real change and during change happens one step at a time. And I decided to enroll in a Life and Leadership potentials course, just by the title in the description it drew me, I didn't know where it was going to go ultimately was part of a coach certification program that was run by AIPAC, the Institute for professional excellence and coaching, where I ultimately got my coaching certification. I had no desire at the time to leave my firm, my objective was really put a foot in the door of my life and determine what was important to me, I didn't even know it was important to me. I got into that there's three-module program over the course of the year. And I got into that program and got two-thirds through the coach training program, again, doing this for myself, and to be a better leader at PwC. A better coach, I got two-thirds through the program, and I walked out that second module, and all of a sudden, like, boom, something hit me, I started thinking about my history in the firm and in my life and thinking about all the roles that I had in human capital and strategy and operations and risk management and two themes, just boom to the top for me, they just rose right up, then one was developing strong relationships. And the other one was coaching. So across all of my roles that I had, developing strong relationships was so key to me, I ran a risk workstream around acquisitions. And when we acquired a company, the leaders coming into our PwC, rather large firm, I develop relationships with them. With any project that I did, I develop relationships across the US and Mexico globally, relationships have always been important to me, and they always will be. So relationships was a focus for me and coaching. And whether it was formal coaching at PwC, where I was assigned as the coach, or informal coaching, or even coaching our leaders, those two things rose to the top. And I at that point said, Wait, something's coming up for me here. And I feel like I'm starting to think about my purpose and mission. And I decided it was time to hire a coach and explore what was coming up.Ray Loewe16:58Okay, so you hired a coach? I did. You did. Do you still have a coach?Paula Adler17:03God bless her. Yes, I still have the same coach. Yeah. God bless her for her patience. YeahRay Loewe17:07Actually, you and I agree on something. I mean, I am a incredible believer in the value that coaches bring to the table. And they're all different, and they're different at different times. But I have been in coaching programs over probably the last 25 years, in various ways. And there's just a tremendous value in helping you get a handle on things. So let's talk for a minute about how your coach helped you get a grip on this. And then we're going to go into how you as a coach can help people ease this transition if they have this anxiety and guilt, and inadequate feelings on all of these things and help them get a handle on things.Paula Adler17:51Yeah, absolutely. And one thing for me, and I see it with my clients as well, you really need to be ready to do the work. And there are points in my career that I knew I needed to change, but I just wasn't ready to move forward. And that distinguished for me when I hit that point in 2017. And 2019. I was ready. I just reached a point of saying, and it wasn't one thing like that was the tip. The it wasn't anything that tipped the scales. It was just I got to a point where I said, I'm ready. I have one client who's a senior exec in a large financial services institution. She was on LinkedIn one day, she happened to see a post that I did. She looked at that post and booked into my calendar. And she had been thinking for a while I need to do something it was for her that one messaging that happened for me, I just got to a point and I just said, I'm watching life pass me by I don't know where to go. And I need to take a step. So I think you have to be ready for coaching. I had at that time when I went through the AIPAC program. And I reached that point two-thirds through the program where I just felt like what was rising to the top for me was that whole focus on relationships and coaching. That was the point at which I decided I felt like I had something to explore. And so I hired a coach who very much resonated with me, I saw a video of her and it just I knew I go with my intuition. And so I had, I had an inner knowing at the time as the way I'll put it that it was time for me, as you say, to tailor the rules, to be able to take my life in a different direction. And so with her help, and as I say thank goodness for her never-ending patiences then and today. We really dug in and explored and I had never looked at my values before. Looking at my values. What were my core values? I didn't have time for that. Like I just went to work, you know, and raise my kids and care for my parents. So we really talked about purpose and mission. I could do that strategically at work anytime. But it as it related to myself. I really never spent the time doing that. So we dug in we talked about purpose and mission. As I said relationships and coaching were the theme for me. We explored my core values, one of my core values today is joy, the top value is joy. And I had not thought about that before. So we looked at my core values and, and then I decided to start making some shifts and exploring. We also looked at all the inner blocks that were coming up for me and keeping me from stepping into my fears to make a shift. In my career in my life, I had a lot of guilt about leaving PwC as I said, I had a great career wasn't really running from something. But I was looking to run to a life that I felt I wanted to step into. So that's what happened to me. So about six months after working with my coach, I made the decision to leave the firm, to become a I say, a solopreneur and establish myself as a life and leadership coach. And when I finally spoke to I was a managing director, I spoke to the partner whose team I was on. I wrote a love letter to PwC about what my experience was, but I had a knowing that it was time for me to do something else. So that's how I got to the decision about leaving and establishing my own business.Ray Loewe21:03Okay, so let's do two things here. First of all, let's let's give your website right now where people can reach you and explore coaching if they feel they need this. And we'll put this in our podcast notes so that people be able to find this in writing and linked to you, so ahead. Paula Adler21:25Yeah, my website is Paula Adler coaching.com. Paula with an A at the end and Adler with a at the beginning. So today's together so Paula Adler coaching.com. One word,Ray Loewe21:38Paula AdlerPaula Adler21:40Adler coaching.comRay Loewe21:45Okay, now Now, when you're looking for a coach, I mean, not every coach fits every person. And one of the things that you said in your comments here was that intuition drove you you just knew this was the right person. What were those things that that you would suggest to people when they're looking for a coach? How do they siphon through that and find people, because it is a very individualized thing is not?Paula Adler22:11Absolutely individualized. Yeah, and what I would, and I do say this to people who come my way, I suggest they speak to multiple people. As it turned out for me, I spoke to one person and I knew, I just really knew, I think I was watching her from afar. And what she said just resonated for me. So I had this inner knowing you know that she was the person that I was drawn to, but I do encourage people to speak with more than one person, get on, get on a call with that coach ask for their time I do what's called a discovery call with each person who reaches out to me. And I'm not tied to that outcome of where they go, I'm really I get on the call with them. And I advise people to do this, get on the call, talk about where you are now. Talk about where you'd like to be if you know, then talk about what's getting in your way. And then have a dialogue with that coach and see what feels right. I did those things well with my prospective coach at the time, and I knew that I wanted to work with her. When she and I first spoke, I wasn't ready to work. I was trying to figure out, I knew there were changes I wanted to make, I wasn't sure what they are. So it's not that you might sign up with somebody right away, you might need to work through some things first. So I knew after a few months that I was ready to make a change and I reached back out to her and story goes from there. So I'd say have a conversation be sure anyone you speak with gives you that time I call it a discovery call.Ray Loewe23:35Okay, so when you start with somebody, there's a discovery call. And that discovery call has to really get into what the issues are and to make sure that you feel comfortable with your coach. Is that correct?Paula Adler23:48Yeah, absolutely. I want to hear what's coming up for them. I certainly give a background but it's really all about that person. Where are they today? Where would they rather be if they know they don't always know, I didn't know. But I knew I wanted to make a change. I was at a point where I wanted to make a change. I didn't know what it was I wanted to explore. So make sure anyone you talk with as a coach gives you that time to hear you out and, and what's getting in the way of them taking things forward. And then after that, I share how I work with people in coaching. And then I really leave it up to them. Now I am not a high-pressure salesperson at all. I appreciated the fact that when I spoke to my what was my prospective coach at the time that she was not at all she got it she heard me say I'm not sure yet. And I knew a few months later that it was time to work with a coach. So I think you want to also find someone who is not going to try to push you into a corner to sell you a coaching package at the end that they're there to listen to you. And when you're ready, you're ready.Ray Loewe24:48Now we're unfortunately we're getting near the end of our time here and what I wanted you to do is to once you determine that the coach is right in other words once I decide that you're for me. Okay. What are you gonna do for me? Is there a process that you go through? Give us a quick idea of what happens.Paula Adler25:09How it is to work with me? You mean with me? yeah.Ray Loewe25:13what do we just sit and have conversations? Are there exercises that we do we, what, what are some of the things we do? Yeah, absolutelyPaula Adler25:21Yeah, absolutely, I tailor my program to each of my prospective clients. So the first thing I do is a discovery call. And we talk about, as I said, where they are today, where they'd rather be if they know they most often don't know and what they think they need to address or resolve to move forward. So make sure a coach, whoever you may work with gives you that time, without pressure. What I do right now is I'll say a six-month program where we meet bi-weekly, people really need the time in between the calls, coaching happens on and off the call, I can remember having calls with my coach, and then we're I live near the Delaware canal, walking in the canal and just having things come up for me. So I do bi-weekly calls over a six-month period, and I tailor it to that person, we start out with an energy leadership assessment, I won't go into the details here. But it's really to try to understand where that person is right now and what's coming up for them and what's getting in their way. And I also do a values assessment with them. And then from there, we tailor specific program to them, we meet bi-weekly, we talk about the goal they have for the session, why it's important to them. What could get in their way, and then we go from there. Often, what a client does is brings a certain issue to the table and we find out as we're working with each other that other things are getting in the way that we work on. And so yeah, that's how I work with clients.Ray Loewe26:49I think the biggest thing that I'm gathering from this conversation is that it requires a commitment to make changes. And that commitment means that you have to be willing to put some time into this thing, otherwise nothing's gonna happen.Paula Adler27:03Absolutely. Yeah, I held off looking for a coach, there were times in my life where I knew I needed support. I just didn't know what it was. And somebody approached me without I probably would have put my arms up and just said, I'm not ready. It does require commitment to dig in and do the work and be ready to move forward. Yeah, and so I with a client over six months.Ray Loewe27:25Okay, so since we're at the end, and there's no question that you're one of the luckiest people in the world because when you look at your career, you started successfully. There was no reason you had to change from you know, everybody else in the world would have looked at you and said, Wow, Paula has got it all together. But there was something in you that wasn't all together, right? And so you made the change, and being able to make that change, and redesign your life is what makes you truly one of the luckiest people in the world. So, welcome to the call.Paula Adler27:59Thank you so much, life offers so many opportunities. We just have to know which door to open and close. Ray Loewe28:05Yeah, why don't you? Is there one thing that you can give as a piece of advice to people who are thinking about this process? Before we sign off?Paula Adler28:13Yeah, and it's something I look up I have, I have it right on my monitor here. So it's actually a Ralph Waldo Emerson quote that I look at every day. That is the task ahead of you is never as great as the power behind you. And that's where I start with my clients. I really focus with my clients on what they bring to the table and how they could move forward. And yeah, as I said, life offers you so many doors, you just have to know which one to open and which one to close.Ray Loewe28:41Well, great. Well, Paula, thanks for sharing your wisdom with our listeners. And we'll have to have you back at some point in time do a sequel to this call and find out how many millions of people you've helped on escape. Okay. And, again, it's Paula Adler coaching.com. Is that correct? Exactly. Right. Yeah. And, you know, just have a great day. And thanks again for sharing your wisdom with everybody.Paula Adler29:09Thank you for having me Ray and thanks to Rebecca for introducing us.Kris Parsons29:14We'll get back to thank you for listening to changing the rules, a weekly podcast about people who are living their best life and how you can figure out how to do that too. Join us with your lively host Ray Loewe, better known as the luckiest guy in the world. 

On this episode, Ami Kassar interviews Dennis Najjar, co-founder of AccountingDepartment.com, to discuss how a business owner knows when they have the right level of accounting and bookkeeping support. As one of the two founding masterminds behind AccountingDepartment.com, Dennis Najjar, CPA, CGMA took his extensive expertise in public accounting and his process-driven approach to problem solving and transformed it into AccountingDepartment.com. Throughout his career, Dennis has worked exclusively with small, medium, and start-up businesses, giving him the knowledge and experience to oversee the AccountingDepartment.com team in helping clients with strategic business planning for future success and growth. In public accounting since 1982, Dennis joined Coopers & Lybrand after graduating from Rutgers University; in 1986, he started the public accounting firm Dennis M. Najjar, CPA; his practice has an emphasis on tax planning and preparation for corporations, partnerships and individuals. This background enabled Dennis to focus on developing an unparalleled solution for business owners to gain control over their accounting departments, which he brought to fruition when he co-founded AccountingDepartment.com in 2004. In addition to founding and managing AccountingDepartment.com, Dennis serves as a speaker for Vistage International, focusing on educating business owners on how to establish accountability in their accounting departments through best practices, processes, procedures, and the integrated use of accounting technology. He was the founding author of the About.com Accounting Channel (now TheBalance.com) and is a current contributor to Vistage Financial Management publications. He has served extensively as an expert source in various financial articles and journals, including Entrepreneur magazine and Lorman educational webinars. He holds an active membership in AICPA, NJCPA, and FICPA; and is also a member of Vistage International. Recorded 09/30/2021.

“The best leaders are those that get things done through other people." Nick Horney is the author of “VUCA Masters” and founder of Agility Consulting. In this episode, Nick shared his innovations in leadership agility that include AGILE Model® and Leadership Agility Fitness, which are the cornerstones for becoming inspiring leaders in the current VUCA world, i.e. the VUCA Masters. Nick also shared how we can extend his leadership agility concepts to improve organizational behavior, culture, and mindset in order to reach organizational agility. Towards the end, Nick shared some inspiring leadership lessons from his 23 years of experience serving the US Navy Special Operations, describing the true characteristic and hallmark of the best leaders. Listen out for: Career Journey - [00:05:48] AGILE Model® - [00:08:04] VUCA - [00:13:20] Leadership Agility Fitness - [00:19:46] Leadership Self-Agility Assessment - [00:24:14] VUCA Masters - [00:29:30] Leadership Agility and Agile - [00:32:10] Organizational Behavior - [00:34:26] Leadership Lessons From the Military - [00:40:35] 3 Tech Lead Wisdom - [00:43:55] _____ Nick Horney's Bio Dr. Nicholas Horney founded Agility Consulting in 2001 and has been recognized for innovations in organizational and leadership agility, including The AGILE Model®, VUCA Masters™, Leadership Agility Fitness™, After Action Agility™ and Talent Portfolio Agility™. His coaching, leadership agility and organizational agility management consulting experience spans over 30 years and includes the start-up and management of the Coopers & Lybrand (now Price Waterhouse Coopers) Change Management Practice. Representative clients include Turner Broadcasting, Coca-Cola, Navy SEALs, Lenovo, CIA, ARAMARK, and REI. Dr. Horney has written four books. The most recent is VUCA Masters: Developing Leadership Agility Fitness for the New World of Work (2021). Nick retired from the U.S. Navy (Special Operations) at the rank of Captain and has applied that experience to his work with high performance team agility. He serves as a coach for The Honor Foundation focusing on the successful transition of Navy SEALs to the business world. Follow Nick: LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/nickhorney Website – https://agilityconsulting.com/ VUCA Masters Academy – http://vucamasters.com/ Our Sponsor Are you looking for a new cool swag? Tech Lead Journal now offers you some swags that you can purchase online. These swags are printed on-demand based on your preference, and will be delivered safely to you all over the world where shipping is available. Check out all the cool swags by visiting https://techleadjournal.dev/shop. Like this episode? Subscribe on your favorite podcast app and submit your feedback. Follow @techleadjournal on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram. Pledge your support by becoming a patron. For more info about the episode (including quotes and transcript), visit techleadjournal.dev/episodes/65.

Beth Miller the CEO of Executive Velocity Inc. focusing on leadership development and succession planning.  Beth went to Babson and Harvard Business School and just published Replaceable: An Obsession with Succession. She had a successful 13-year role of a Vistage chair working with SME leaders.  Before the book and Executive Velocity Beth held leadership roles with organizations like Coopers & Lybrand, Comp u Staff and DEC.  Beth is that rare leader who can create, lead, deploy and execute at the right time to make everyone around her better.

Episode 9 Song on Repeat Jon Wolfe Connect with Jon Twitter @JonWolfe Facebook Instagram @JonWolfeCountry Youtube Spotify Apple Music Website Tour Merch Come to Texas Carter Lybrand Connect with Carter Facebook Instagram @CarterLybrandCountry Youtube Spotify Apple Music Website Tour Merch Rodeos Schoepf's Bull & BBQ Texas Tech Rodeo Festivals Autumn Daze Festival iHeart Country Music Fest Featured Concerts Cole Swindell Aaron Watson w/ The Eli Young Band Tanner Usrey Cannon Brand Jeff Martin Special thanks to Kate Martin for her contribution to this podcast. If you'd like a professional voice over for any of your projects, be sure to reach out to her via: Website Fiverr --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/texascountrytour/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/texascountrytour/support

Con ocasión de la conmemoración de los 450 años de la Batalla de Lepanto, entrevistamos a Alejandro Klecker de Elizalde, colaborador del Instituto de Historia y Cultura Naval, académico correspondiente de las academias navales y marítimas de Chile y Uruguay, oficial reservista del Cuerpo general de la Armada, ponente en diversas escuelas navales de Iberoamérica, y España patrón, buceador. Es autor de numerosos artículos y monografías del CESEDEN relacionadas con estrategia, inteligencia, seguridad marítima, política naval y editor de Ediciones Navalmil. Ha sido Editor de Ediciones Navalmil, Director de compañías como Clarke, Modet & Co., Coopers & Lybrand y Arthur Andersen.  Está en posesión de la Cruz al Mérito Naval. Diplomado en Fortificaciones y Poliorcética, Vexilología, Lcdo. en Ciencias Políticas y de la Administración.

On this MADM, Ethan LyBrand is sharing about his experience as the 2020-2021 Muscular Dystrophy Association Ambassador and the MDA Takes Vegas Stream-a-thon taking place today! Listen & share. Sponsor: Boutique Air

On Episode 27 of Serving Our Nation, I had the honor of bringing two gentlemen onto the show who both served in the US Army. Bill Kaemmer joined the United States Army in 1989 and attended basic training at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Upon graduation, he attended Advanced Individual Training to become a chaplain assistant at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Bob Thomas is a lifelong mentor and friend of mine. He joined East Stroudsburg University's (ESU) tenure-track faculty in 2019, with 26 years of college and university administration experience and four years of full-time faculty teaching experience. Bob served in public accounting with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) in their Philadelphia office for five years, prior to his career in higher education. Bob is a veteran who retired from the Pennsylvania Army National Guard in 2004 at the rank of Major after 23 years of service.

Intellectual property lawyer, branding expert and IP business advisor, Shireen Smith joins the show today to share her IP secrets that you can utilise to protect your business. Together they discuss the importance of understanding IP, how IP often acts as a container for your brand's values and why focusing on having unique branding will help separate you from your competitors.Shireen's latest book 'Brand Tuned the new rules of branding, strategy and intellectual property' is available on Amazon KEY TAKEAWAYS One of the big problems within branding is that people are not trained in IP which is of central relevance to brands because all the identifiers by which a brand is recognised are intellectual property. This intellectual property needs to be protected and the business can often be uniquely identified by a name or other identifiers. Intellectual Property (IP) acts as a container for the brand value. So using a name that is uniquely yours, helps contain the value of your brand. When you are using a name that other people can use, you have a colander rather than a container. Other competitors can use the name and customers may find other people when looking for you which will therefore lose your business. Don’t choose a name until you know the business is viable. Therefore you do not have to get into all the costs of trademarking. When you are ready, register a name and trademark it immediately. Understanding IP at the same time as creating a brand or when trying to grow your company will allow you to develop the right strategy. Instead of focusing so much on how you can be different to your competitors in terms of products you offer, designers should be looking at coloring, branding and how they can visually stand out. They cannot copy your distinctiveness. There is a tiny percentage of people who find themselves in a situation where another company begins using the same name as them and they are unable to fight back. You have to decide whether to take the risk of not trademarking your company name. Try to protect yourself within your home market and try not to worry about international companies unless you have a more substantial business. BEST MOMENTS “It is important to find a name that can be uniquely yours.” “In the 21st century we have the internet, which has changed everything.” “Distinctiveness is what you can protect.” ABOUT THE GUEST “Shireen Smith is an intellectual property lawyer and business advisor specialising in trademarks and brands, and founder of IP law firm Azrights. Her interest in business and entrepreneurship led her to in-house positions at Coopers & Lybrand and then Reuters. She briefly returned to private practice, working at the international law firm Eversheds while raising her two daughters. Shireen is also a trained journalist and writes extensively about brands, business and IP on her various blogs. She has a strong social media presence, including a YouTube channel, and has published articles in numerous journals. She has been a regular speaker at the British Library, LSE and conferences for the legal industry and entrepreneurs, and has written 2 books, Legally Branded and Intellectual Property Revolution, which focus on the impact of the internet on business IP. Intangible assets are more important than ever to businesses, yet many entrepreneurs are unaware of the IP implications of their work or their brand creation. Drawing on her own marketing experience with Azrights and her extensive work with clients, Shireen created Brandtuned as a unique combination of branding and IP that helps businesses position themselves for the 21st century.” Shireen's Contact Information Website: https://www.brandtuned.com/ IG: https://www.instagram.com/brandtuned/ FB: https://www.facebook.com/brandtuned/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/brand_tuned Shireen Smith Twitter: https://twitter.com/ShireenSmith Shireen Smith FB: https://www.facebook.com/shireensmith.4/ Shireen Smith IG: https://www.instagram.com/shireensmith/?hl=en ABOUT THE HOST Steve used to be a slave to his business but when he moved to Sweden in 2015, he was forced to change the way he worked. He switched to running his businesses remotely and after totally nailing this concept he decided to spend his time helping other small business owners do the same. Steve’s been investing in property since 2002, has a degree in Computing, and worked as a doctor in the NHS before quitting to focus full-time on sharing his systems and outsourcing Methodology with the world. He now lives in Sweden and runs his UK-based businesses remotely with the help of his team of Filipino and UK-based Virtual Assistants. Most business owners are overwhelmed because they don't know how to create systems or get the right help. Our systems and outsourcing Courses and coaching programme will help you automate your business and work effectively with affordable virtual assistants. That way, you will stop feeling overwhelmed and start making more money. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Imagine yourself standing smack in the middle of a busy city. You'd get dizzy just by looking at how fast people go about their daily lives. Everyone is so hyperactive and absorbed in getting things done. Amid all the chaos, we forget to take a pause, be still and breathe.  Remember, we can only evolve into our best selves if we take a moment and be present. And no one knows this more than the ultimate warrior, Mark Divine. He joins us in this episode to share his experiences in the military and how meditation helped him develop inner strength. Mark also teaches us how to use positive internal dialogue in visualising and attracting victory.  If you want to know more about the benefits of meditation through the experience of an ultimate warrior, then this episode is for you.   Get Customised Guidance for Your Genetic Make-Up For our epigenetics health program, all about optimising your fitness, lifestyle, nutrition and mind performance to your particular genes, go to  https://www.lisatamati.com/page/epigenetics-and-health-coaching/. You can also join their free live webinar on epigenetics.   Customised Online Coaching for Runners CUSTOMISED RUN COACHING PLANS — How to Run Faster, Be Stronger, Run Longer  Without Burnout & Injuries Have you struggled to fit in training in your busy life? Maybe you don't know where to start, or perhaps you have done a few races but keep having motivation or injury troubles? Do you want to beat last year's time or finish at the front of the pack? Want to run your first 5-km or run a 100-miler? ​​Do you want a holistic programme that is personalised & customised to your ability, goals, and lifestyle?  Go to www.runninghotcoaching.com for our online run training coaching.   Health Optimisation and Life Coaching If you are struggling with a health issue and need people who look outside the square and are connected to some of the greatest science and health minds in the world, then reach out to us at support@lisatamati.com, we can jump on a call to see if we are a good fit for you. If you have a big challenge ahead, are dealing with adversity, or want to take your performance to the next level and want to learn how to increase your mental toughness, emotional resilience, foundational health, and more, then contact us at support@lisatamati.com.   Order My Books My latest book Relentless chronicles the inspiring journey about how my mother and I defied the odds after an aneurysm left my mum Isobel with massive brain damage at age 74. The medical professionals told me there was absolutely no hope of any quality of life again, but I used every mindset tool, years of research and incredible tenacity to prove them wrong and bring my mother back to full health within three years. Get your copy here: https://shop.lisatamati.com/collections/books/products/relentless. For my other two best-selling books Running Hot and Running to Extremes, chronicling my ultrarunning adventures and expeditions all around the world, go to https://shop.lisatamati.com/collections/books.   Lisa's Anti-Ageing and Longevity Supplements  NMN: Nicotinamide Mononucleotide, an NAD+ precursor Feel Healthier and Younger* Researchers have found that Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide or NAD+, a master regulator of metabolism and a molecule essential for the functionality of all human cells, is being dramatically decreased over time. What is NMN? NMN Bio offers a cutting edge Vitamin B3 derivative named NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) that can boost the levels of NAD+ in muscle tissue and liver. Take charge of your energy levels, focus, metabolism and overall health so you can live a happy, fulfilling life. Founded by scientists, NMN Bio offers supplements of the highest purity and rigorously tested by an independent, third party lab. Start your cellular rejuvenation journey today. Support Your Healthy Ageing We offer powerful, third party tested, NAD+ boosting supplements so you can start your healthy ageing journey today. Shop now: https://nmnbio.nz/collections/all NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 250mg | 30 capsules NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 500mg | 30 capsules 6 Bottles | NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 250mg | 30 Capsules 6 Bottles | NMN (beta Nicotinamide Mononucleotide) 500mg | 30 Capsules Quality You Can Trust — NMN Our premium range of anti-ageing nutraceuticals (supplements that combine Mother Nature with cutting edge science) combats the effects of aging while designed to boost NAD+ levels. Manufactured in an ISO9001 certified facility Boost Your NAD+ Levels — Healthy Ageing: Redefined Cellular Health Energy & Focus Bone Density Skin Elasticity DNA Repair Cardiovascular Health Brain Health  Metabolic Health   My  ‘Fierce' Sports Jewellery Collection For my gorgeous and inspiring sports jewellery collection, 'Fierce', go to https://shop.lisatamati.com/collections/lisa-tamati-bespoke-jewellery-collection.   Here are three reasons why you should listen to the full episode:  Find out Mark's experience with meditation and how this made him into an ultimate warrior. Discover how a positive internal dialogue can train your brain to be focused. Know about recapitulation and how it can help in dealing with traumas.   Episode Highlights [05:34] Mark's Background Mark's experiences with his father forged his mental toughness and resilience. This laid the foundation for him to be an ultimate warrior. He grew up boating, hiking, and running trails through the mountains. Athletics was his escape, but he wasn't able to think about his future.  When Mark left college, he was fortunate enough to get a job in a big accounting firm; this allowed him to go to a top business school.  Despite school and work, Mark was determined to continue his athletic career. He then became interested in Seido karate. Meditation made him realise that he wasn't following his true path.  [15:13] Becoming an Ultimate Warrior Mark came across a Navy recruitment centre, saw their poster, and applied to be a SEAL. Mark graduated with his entire boat crew. He was number 1 in his class.   Mark credits this achievement to meditation training and the team building activities that compelled you to tame your ego. [19:59] The Importance of Meditation and Yoga Mark meditated and trained in yoga every day in the war zone. He felt stronger and more confident.  Yoga is the oldest science of mental and personal development.  Mark learned that training one's physical, mental, emotional, intuitional, and spiritual aspects mean you can access more of yourself and your potential. Yoga, in a sense, is integration; it is coming back to who we are and being whole.  Listen to the full episode to learn how Mark got into yoga and how this contributed to him becoming an ultimate warrior. [26:33] The Importance of Emotional Strength In SEAL training, most of those who quit were physically strong but lacked the emotional strength to handle extreme moments of crisis and doubt. The person subconsciously created the injury to quit.  Mark tried to be flexible and didn't let anything bother him during SEAL training.  Mark trains SEALs by teaching the Big Four: box breathing, positive internal dialogue, visualisation, and micro-goals.  [35:19] Examining Your Internal Dialogue Meditation is a critical part of examining one's internal dialogue.  How you talk to yourself has an incredible impact on your energy and motivation.  The term 'feeding the fear wolf' means to allow negative dialogue, imagery, and emotions to control and weaken you.  Positive thoughts, or ‘feeding the courage wolf', creates a higher vibration, bringing in more energy and access to creativity.  Controlling your breathing and adding a positive mantra can be very transformative; it helps you develop concentration and increase productivity.  [41:33] Imagining Victory Our belief systems are made out of statements that may or may not be true.  Pay attention to your thoughts and make them positive. Know that you are competent.  Although you may not feel it yet, continue meditating to get rid of that negative side.   When you understand your capabilities, you can project them into the future and have an image of your success.  When positive thoughts overcome negative ones, you can see your true self more clearly, and powerful thoughts start to spread.  [46:10] The Zen Process Meditation is challenging, especially for active people. We have to disconnect from various distractions and be still.  You can't evolve if you are constantly active; the only way to go inward is to slow down and be quiet.  The first step in meditation practice is box breathing. It releases stress and brings brain-body balance.  In the second step, the box pattern turns into concentration practice. The mantra is also added to train concentration and attention.  The third step allows you to put less energy into concentration and observe yourself from a witness perspective.  [53:00] The Importance of Doing Emotional Work Doing emotional work is the foundation of meditation.  Without this, you don't get the full benefits of meditation. Meditation requires patience.  The process is different for everyone.  [55:44] Going into the Witness Perspective In this part of the process, you empty your mind and allow any thought streams to come in. You experience a metacognitive split here.  You see the thoughts that come up from a perspective that's separate from them.  Through this, you realise you're not your thoughts and emotions. And so, you have the power to change your story. When you visualise from the witness perspective, you see what your spirit wants you to see. You realise your true purpose.  If you do this every day, you attract the future that's right for you, and you feel connected to the world. Through this, you eventually gain enlightenment. [01:02:43] How Meditation Can Help Athletes Meditation supports total health. Through it, you'll become more healthy, strong, and motivated. Awakened athletes and warriors who serve the world can change it. Athletes can do so because they are emotionally balanced. [01:05:25] What Is Recapitulation? Recapitulation is where we use imagery to go back into our past, relive traumatic events, recontextualise them, and forgive.  It is to see yourself forgiving your younger self and changing the image and energy associated with your traumas.  Awareness and identification of traumatic events is the first step to the recapitulation.  Recapitulation can be used to go back and overcome big traumas and to make sure you are not dragging past regrets.  Recapitulation then becomes a daily practice of letting go of regrets and resentments. Listen to the full episode and hear some examples of this!  [01:18:28] How to Be a Good Leader Show up as the best version of yourself. Be humble, authentic, trustworthy, courageous, and respectful.  It takes time to develop those qualities and work on them with your team.  Listen to the full episode to know how Mark does leadership training in his programs!   Resources Gain exclusive access and bonuses to Pushing the Limits Podcast by becoming a patron!  Harness the power of NAD and NMN for anti-aging and longevity with NMN Bio.  Listen to other Pushing the Limits episodes: #183: Sirtuins and NAD Supplements for Longevity with Dr Elena Seranova #189: Understanding Autophagy and Increasing Your Longevity with Dr Elena Seranova #199: Episode with Dr Don Wood Connect with Mark: Website | Instagram  The Unbeatable Mind Podcast with Mark Divine Bedros Keulian on Learning How to “Man Up” How to Deal with Trauma with Dr Don Wood Check out these books by Mark Divine!  Staring Down the Wolf  Unbeatable Mind  8 Weeks to SEALFIT The Way of the SEAL  KOKORO Yoga Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda 2021 Unbeatable Challenge   7 Powerful Quotes from This Episode ‘It was about physical, it was about mental, it was about emotional, it was about intuitional and spiritual aspects of our being. In that, I learned that if you train those together, then you will integrate, you'll become whole again.' ‘Human beings have not learned to be whole, and they don't recognise that we're all interconnected. And every one of our thoughts, every one of our emotions, every one of our actions has an implication or impact on the whole.' ‘How you talk to yourself has an incredible impact on your energy and your motivation. Literally, we use the terminology “feeding the courage wolf” versus “feeding the fear wolf.' ‘Understanding your capability as a human being, the potential that you have, the power that we have, you can then project that into the future and say, “What does victory look like for me?”' ‘I think that there's two reasons we're on this planet. One is to evolve to become the best version, highest and best version of yourself in this lifetime. The second is to align with our calling or our purpose.' ‘Ultimately, we create our own reality. It's all basically, it's all experienced with [the] mind. So that's powerful.' ‘You can do anything, one at a time.'   About Mark Mark Divine grew up in Upstate New York. He has a degree in economics from Colgate University and an MBA from NYU. He is a New York Times best-selling author, leadership expert, entrepreneur, motivational speaker.  Mark is also a retired U.S. Navy SEAL Commander. He spent nine years on active duty and 11 as a Reserve. With 20 years in service, he served in over 45 countries. During his time in the military, Mark created a nationwide mentoring program for SEAL trainees. Because of his success, he decided to start SEALFIT. This fitness company aims to prepare civilians for the physical and emotional demands of a SEAL-like lifestyle.  Mark knows the value of emotional strength in transforming lives. With this in mind, he published Unbeatable Mind in 2011, which includes an at-home study program. Mark also has several other entrepreneurial endeavours and books in his name. He's also the host of the Unbeatable Mind podcast. With all these ventures, Mark's ultimate aim is to create more resources to improve the lives of everyone he meets.  If you want to know more about Mark and his work, check out his website and Instagram.     Enjoyed This Podcast? If you did, be sure to subscribe and share it with your friends! Post a review and share it! If you enjoyed tuning in, then leave us a review. You can also share this with your family and friends so they can be motivated to be their real selves through meditation. Have any questions? You can contact me through email (support@lisatamati.com) or find me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. For more episode updates, visit my website. You may also tune in on Apple Podcasts. To pushing the limits, Lisa   Full Transcript Of The Podcast Welcome to Pushing the Limits, the show that helps you reach your full potential. With your host Lisa Tamati, brought to you by lisatamati.com. Lisa Tamati: Well, hey everyone, Lisa Tamati here. Fantastic to have you back at Pushing the Limits this week. Now I have a wonderful man who I've followed for a number of years. He's one of my heroes, I was a little bit of a fangirl in this interview I have to admit. But it was pretty crazy. I have Commander Mark Divine on the show. Mark is an ex-Navy SEAL. He was a Commander in the Navy Seal. He was there for 20 years, and he was a fantastic leader. He was deployed in over 45 countries around the world. He also trains, trains a lot of the SEALs who are going into BUD/S training. He was number one on his course when he went through BUD/S, and that's saying something. That's nine months of hell on earth, so if you get through that, you've got to be pretty cool, and to be number one in the end of the whole 190 that went on, that's pretty amazing.  He's the author of a number of books: Staring Down the Wolf, Unbeatable Mind, and SEALFIT, and runs a number of multi-million dollar companies. As a leadership consultant, he trains, not only does he train the military, he helps people prepare for SEAL training. He also now runs through his innovative SEALFIT and Unbeatable Mind training systems. Kokoro crucible is one of his programs. He shares the same secrets with entrepreneurs, executives, and teams through his book and through his book, and through his speaking, and through his award-winning podcast. He has his own, and I have the privilege of being on that one shortly. He runs world-renowned leadership and team events. Wonderful man to talk to, someone that I really, really look up to and respect. His discipline that he brings to everything that he does is quite amazing. So I hope you enjoy the show. Before we go, I just want to remind you to check out our epigenetics program, if you haven't already. Head over to lisatamati.com and hit the work with us button, and find out about our Peak Epigenetics program. This is all about understanding your genetics, and how to optimise them for your best performance. So everything from food, to exercise, what types of exercise to do, what times of the day you should be training, what times of the day you should be eating, and how often. What type of diet is right for you, right down to the nitty gritty. You know, eat almonds, don't eat cashew nuts, right specific to your genetics, so to speak. It also looks at your whole mood and behavior, what makes you tick, why do you think the way you do, what areas you may have problems with, your predispositions.  That's not to be all deterministic, and negative, that's all to be like this is what you're dealing with, and this is how we can hit things off at the pass. This is a really life-changing program, and we're really proud to bring it to you. We've been doing it for a number of years now. We've taken hundreds of people through this program, and we work with corporate teams. So if you're out there and you have a corporate team that might be interested in doing either this or our boost camp program, which is all about upgrading and learning all about how to manage stress, how to reduce the effects of stress, and be more resilient and bring a higher performance to your game, then please reach out to us. Go over to lisatamati.com. and check out all the programs that we have here.  Just a reminder too, I have a new book out called Relentless: How a Mother and Daughter Defied the Odds. If you've listened to this podcast for a while, you would hear me harp on about my amazing mum and the journey that we've been on back from a massive aneurysm that left her at the age of 74 with hardly any higher function, and a prognosis that said she would never ever do anything again. And they were very, very wrong. So I want to share this book, I want to share the story, because it's a very empowering story. So if you haven't read the book Relentless, I really encourage you to go and do that. I'm really keen to get this out there because this will empower and change lives, and already has, so make sure you read Relentless. Right, over to the show with Commander Mark Divine. Hi everyone, Lisa Tamati here. I'm super, super excited. I'm jumping out of my skin, I can't sit still. I have one of my great heroes that I've followed for such a long time, so I'm a little bit, being a bit of a fangirl right now. But I'm sure I'll calm down in a minute or two. Commander Mark Divine is with us. He has such a huge history. You are known, really, as the warrior man, Unbeatable Mind, SEALFIT. You've done a heck of a lot in your life. Mark, it's just, I can't wait to share some of your insights, because what you do and what you've done is just absolutely amazing. So, welcome to Pushing the Limits. Can you give us a little bit of background, Mark, on where you come from and what you've done and how you've, just to give us a little bit of, because you, obviously you've been in the SEALs, you're a commander in the SEALs, you're a trained SEAL. So let's start there. Let you come to it. Mark Divine: Oh, my God, where to start? Lisa: Maybe childhood. Mark: I was born at a very young age in a very small town in upstate New York, a province of the United States. I'll try to keep this short because sometimes I have a few run-on sentences. Go like 40 minutes, right? We don't want that to happen. That's when we have a good time. So yeah, I was a pretty normal kid growing up, running around the woods of upstate New York, crazy family, lots of alcohol and anger. The belt would come out pretty much every other night. My brother and I would literally just provoke my father just to do it, because we stopped taking him seriously after a while. In that regard, I feel pretty fortunate that my young spirit was like, ‘You can't break me'. I realise now that we all choose our parents, let's just say, from a spiritual perspective, I certainly believe that. For certain experiences, and for a while I played the victim, woe is me.  But now I look back and thank God, that really forged my mental toughness and resiliency. I had to unpack some crap from that, obviously, but it made me a Navy SEAL warrior, right? When I went through Navy SEAL training, you could not hurt me, because nothing was compared to my dad. Anyway, so that's a little aside. Upstate New York had a really— it's beautiful. I've been to your country in New Zealand. It's just absolutely gorgeous. I feel the same way about America in certain places, the much bigger. New York is one of those areas that, 6 million acres of unfettered, protected land in northern New York called the Adirondack Mountains, and that was my playground. And our summer home was on the west shore of a lake called Lake Placid where the Olympics were, you're probably familiar with that.  Lisa: Yeah.  Mark: There was no road access to my house. There was no TV, no internet. Still, there's finally internet after but no TV, and we would have to take a boat to get there. And so I grew up with boats and I grew up hiking in the Adirondacks and a lot of time alone in the wilderness, which is one of the reasons I became kind of an endurance athlete. I know you're an endurance lady. Because I was comfortable, being alone. I was comfortable running the trails in the mountains, and I used to have a friend, we would run up Whiteface Mountain, which is at the base or the foot of Lake Placid. Not a huge mountain, it's 4,000 feet, but you know it took a couple hours. If you're going to hike up there it takes a few hours. For us to run up there, took us 45 minutes. People used to think we were crazy. When we got to the top we would wrap our ankles and our knees and we would play tag on the way down. The trails are steep and just rocks and ruts and roots. It's amazing we didn't kill ourselves.  So that was my like early childhood upbringing, nature being in the woods and in the water were my solace away from the family dynamics. That led me to be a competitive athlete in high school, 12 varsity letters and then into college, I was recruited for swimming and I became a competitive rower. And then I started triathlon. So, I was an athlete, but the athletics really was my escape and kind of my grounding rod, like it is for so many athletes, right? When I— then I wasn't sure what was going to happen. I didn't really spend a lot of time in my youth thinking about my future, I kind of accepted a lot of the stories for my family that I was going to go back and be part of the family business. That business was really the place that Divines go, you know, we don't go into the military, we don't go into academia, we don't do those things. So anyways, it's as your listeners are hearing this, they're probably like, ‘Yep, check.' Lisa: They may have done that. Mark: That's the norm, right? That's not, I wasn't off, but it's certainly not what I teach today, right? Because, right, I think if we're— if we don't follow our passion and find our calling in life, then we're going to have discomfort later on, and discomfort is going to lead to existential crisis. So I was very fortunate, incredibly fortunate that when I left college, I got a job with a big accounting firm, consulting accounting firm called Coopers and Lybrand, which became accountant, became— Lisa: You were an accountant. I mean, that makes me laugh, really. Mark: I was an accountant. Lisa: I was on the way to being an accountant too. So because of what my dad wanted, and I'm about as far from an accountant, as you can get, you know.  Mark: I was too. Lisa: That's a good story. Mark: But I stuck with it long enough to become a certified public accountant, I had to pass the exam.  Lisa: I didn't. Mark: I got my— I tell you what, I would rather go back to BUD/S Navy SEAL training than try that darn exam again. That told me something right there. But you know, it is a great opportunity. Because here I am, you know, I got a degree from a pretty good university called Colgate. But I didn't really have any skills. And so this job opportunity gave me and sent me to a top business school in the United States called NYU, New York University. So I got my MBA in finance, and I became a certified public accountant for four years. I got to work on a lot of different companies as a consultant and auditor. So I saw a lot. But, so that was kind of formative, in a sense, like, I learned a lot. What was probably more formative, or more substantial for me was, once I got into that suit and tie, and I was working eight hours a day, mind you, they allowed me to work only 8 or 10 hours a day. Most people in those scenarios work 15 to 20. But because they were sponsoring this small group of us to go to business school at night, they had to let us off, and then we would go to school full-time during the summer, and just come in on Fridays. It was a really cool program. So I was working 8 to 10 hours a day, going to school at night. And it's— I was an athlete, right? And I was like, ‘How am I going to, how am I going to stay as an athlete?' Right? Most people don't. Because you know, in the corporate world, and I was like, ‘I've got to, I've got to continue my athletic career.' And so I would get up really early in the morning and go for a six mile run. And then at lunchtime when all my peers would go have a beer or martini and lunch, I would go to the gym and do like this, what I now know is a high intensity functional workout, which back then nobody talked about. Because I had to go fast, and I was wanting to do a lot of different variety, and I had to be in and out of there in 45 minutes. And then after, they let me go at five o'clock in the afternoon, and my first class wasn't till 7:30. So I'm looking at that saying, ‘Look, I got two and a half hours. I could do some training here.' So one night, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. But one night, I was walking down 23rd Street, I was living on 22nd in Manhattan, and I heard these screams coming out of this building. And I stopped and I looked up and I was standing under the flag of the World Seido Karate Headquarters.  ‘Oh, interesting. Maybe it's a martial art.' And I had been intrigued with the martial arts. But in Upstate New York, that just wasn't much. There's nothing as a matter of fact, in my time, and so I didn't really get a chance to study anything. So I went in there and I was floored. I was stunned by what I saw. It was an incredible art. This was the headquarters of a worldwide art called seido, they had three or 400,000 students. And the Grand Master, the founder was on the center of the floor, this Japanese man, 10th degree black belt, looked like a frickin' tank. And he was, his name was Nakamura, and he became my mentor, my first real mentor. Yeah. Now what's interesting, he says it wasn't really the karate that changed me. It was the zen training. And he is one of the few masters who kept the old ways of training the mind and the body and the spirit, and understood that they all had to be in balance, and they all were part of the package of developing these corrupted, these trainees.  I loved the zen part, and there was a zen class we had every Thursday night for an hour, we would sit on that little wooden zazen bench. And honestly, this studio is the headquarter, had well over a thousand students. There were ten of us in this class, most of them black belts, and I was a white belt, and I was like, ‘Where is everyone else?' I didn't get it. And then there wasn't a lot of understanding or talk about meditation back then. But boy, I did this thing to do meditation. I had all the usual kind of resistance to it, and my monkey mind going all over the place and wondering if it really worked. I trusted Nakamura and the way he acted and presented himself as a character, just who he was, was so different than any other human I've ever seen or experienced. And I was like, ‘There's got to be something to this, right?' So I stuck with it. And it literally changed almost every aspect of who I was and how I saw the world and what I perceived to be my calling and my purpose in life. And it was sitting on that bench that I realised that I was going down the wrong path with this MBA, CPA, working in the corporate world. Even if I went back to the family business, it just wasn't what I was meant to do. That was the first time in my life that I allowed myself to examine my core story that said, this is who I am, and to recognise it was built on a lie. Lisa: Yeah. And you weren't following your true path. Mark: I wasn't following my true path. But my true path wasn't exactly laid out for me, in those meditation sessions. It was more like the archetypal energy in the arc of my life was shown to me and that that art was to be a warrior, and then it would lead somewhere else that wasn't quite clear to me, but the warrior part was very strong. And it didn't— I didn't get messages while I was meditating, saying, ‘You're going to be a Navy SEAL.' What I got was ‘warrior' and, ‘You're going down the wrong path with this business stuff.' It was when I finally started to accept that, that I learned about the Navy SEALs, right. Remember, this is 1987, 88, there was no TV shows and movies, no famous names.  Lisa: They weren't famous back then.  Mark: Nobody knew them. In fact, the few people that did know them were like, crazy guys. So I— one day, I was walking home from work, and I came across a Navy recruiting station. I didn't even know it was that but I saw a poster in the window. I took a double take of this poster. I was like, well, the title of that poster was, ‘Be Someone Special'. And it had Navy SEALs doing really cool shit. Jumping out of airplanes, yeah, blocking out little mini submarines, sneaking through the water. It's just so cool for me. I just sat there kind of transfixed, looking at that, and I didn't say anything about the SEALs. They said, US Navy, and I was, ‘Huh, interesting.' So I went back and I talked to the recruiters so what, ‘Who are those people in that poster?' They said, ‘Oh, they're crazy Navy SEALs. You don't want to do that.' I said, ‘Yeah, I do. Tell me more.' So long story short. I started that whole CPA, MBA bullshit, 1985. In November of 1989, I got my black belt, I got my MBA, I got my CPA and I was on a bus. I was on a bus to Officer Candidate School. Lisa: That was the next mission. Mark: On to the next mission. I wandered away from, I walked away from probably what would today's dollars be $200,000 salary to get paid $500 a month?  Lisa: Wow. That takes— Mark: For heading off as a candidate. Lisa: That takes courage. That alone takes courage. Mark: But I didn't question that. You know, I knew it. I knew this is the right path. And when I got to SEAL training, what we called BUD/S, basic underwater demolition SEAL training. Man, I felt like I was home, and there was no way that they were going to get me to quit. I mean, other people said this, but I said this very clearly: ‘You have to kill me to get me out of here.' And I don't think they can legally do that. Although they sure do try. Lisa: It can get pretty close. Mark: It can get pretty close, yeah. I sailed through SEAL training. We had 185 in my class, hardcore, awesome guys. And 19 of us graduated. I graduated number one in my class and my entire team, my boat crew that we trained together from day one, graduated with me.  Lisa: Wow.  Mark: So there's something about that meditation training, Nakamura and the skills, and the values on team building and taking my eyes off myself and putting them on others, the taming of the ego, it really allowed me to help lead my team to success, right? We made it about the team and not about me, and everyone else was about them. And they— the team's, the instructors are, their job is to select the next crop of teammates that they will go to war with.  Lisa: Yeah.  Mark: So what they're looking for is not who's the toughest guy, not who's the best athlete—  Lisa: Not the coolest, yeah.  Mark: Yeah, exactly, not the best looking whatever. It's, ‘Are you a great teammate? Are you gonna have my back?' So that's something that I guess I demonstrated.  Lisa: Wow, that's a brilliant intro into your background. What fascinates me with you too is that you like— you know, because the SEALs are known for being hard asses. I mean, you know they are hard people, they have been through tough stuff, they go through tough stuff every single day that you're out there. But you've got this meditation side, you do a heck of a lot of yoga. You do, you talk about authenticity, and I know you don't like the word vulnerability, but you're quite, you're open about the stuff. That's quite the opposite of most, in the training that you get. I suppose this comes from Nakamura being your master, that he taught you that very early on, they're sort of the both sides of the coin.  I get that question quite a lot, too. When they— when people read what I've done and achieved and so on, they're like, ‘Wow, you must be a super hard ass.' And then they meet you and realise that you're actually very vulnerable or cry a lot. I'm very full of mistakes and problems and stuff that I'm working on at all times. But the difference is, I think, that you embrace both sides. And that you are always in pursuit of excellence, and you're always improving, and you're always developing. And I found that a really interesting combination in someone who's so physically tough and mentally tough to have had both sides. Was that a hard thing in the beginning with the SEALs? Mark: I think you're right. I did learn that initially from Nakamura and so every day, you know, I was so committed. Every day I would stretch and I would do my breathing practices and my visualisation while I was going through SEAL training. Every day in the SEALs, I do some version of that. It was you know, it's difficult for a military operator to keep a daily dedicated practice going if you're up 24 hours a day, and you're in combat. Honestly, when I went to Iraq and combat, I meditated and trained yoga every single day. And it had a profound effect on me, right? In the war zone, all my teammates are just getting frayed at the edges, and I felt strong and confident, and I knew I was going to survive, because I did, I had that vision. I was going to be home with my child, you know, my wife and son.  So it came first from Nakamura, and then I started into yoga. It's not my career, it's important people know, I did plus-20 years in the Navy SEAL, but about nine years active duty and 11 years reserve. So as reserve, so nine years after I joined, even while I was on active duty, I started to get into yoga. But when I got off active duty I had more time. I went full on in, and that was because— actually it is a blessing in disguise. I was living in San Diego and there was no seido karate out here. Otherwise I would have gotten back into seido karate. So first I got into something called goju karate, I got a black belt there. It was very similar to seido but it lacked the spirit and like the mental, the meditation, so I didn't really stick with that. And then I got into ninjutsu, thinking ninjutsu might be a little bit more spiritual. I really liked the teacher but he was a horrible business guy, so right on the cusp of getting my black belt, he shut his school down and ran out of money.  And then I found yoga kind of about the same time as ninjitsu. But I didn't really understand it until I read Patanjali's yoga sutras and also Paramahansa Yogananda's autobiography yoga. And those just absolutely shattered my paradigm of what was possible and what yoga was, as the oldest science of mental and personal development. So I fully went into yoga and I ended up getting 700 hours of certifications and started my own yoga program and wrote a book about it eventually, but, and started teaching it to SEALs. And so all this I was still a SEAL officer. Because I didn't retire from the SEALs in 2011, but I was able to do all this and build a business that started to teach Navy SEALs everything I would have been learning. And that's called SEALFIT. That was the business that everything I've been learning and applying in my own life, right? And this was this integrated model of development. It started with Nakamura where it wasn't just about the physical. It was about physical, it was about mental, it was about emotional, it was about intuitional and spiritual aspects of our being. In that, I learned that if you train those together, then you will integrate, you'll become whole again. What that means is you'll become more, you have access to more of yourself. You have to put more potential. You can maintain peak performance, you can serve more profoundly, you can do more, you've got way more energy, way more enthusiasm, way more motivation, way more peace of mind, way more clarity.  It's extraordinary. In a sense, it's like coming back to who we are. That's why I call it integration. In fact, the word ‘yoga' means union or integration, and so does is zen, believe it or not. Those practices and traditions are really all about becoming whole as a human again, as opposed to fragments and separate, separate from yourself and separated from others. So I stumbled upon this, and created my own path or my own model. And then when I had started to teach it to SEALs and special operators, and other military operators, a ton of people, even from New Zealand, some of your listeners might have been to my training. Then I started to recognise that, ‘Wow, this is necessary in our culture.' Because most Westerners have no connection to this, this way of living of, taking care of the internal while you are working in the external, the yin and the yang, the balance between being and doing, becoming whole again, so you can do your work from a whole perspective as opposed to a fragmented, separated self. Which leads to suboptimal results, at a minimum, in at least a flat out crisis or destruction at the maximum level. And that's, we're seeing that both in from the investment in violence, military build-up, conflict, as well as environmental degradation is because human beings have not learned to be whole, and they don't recognise that we're all interconnected. And every one of our thoughts, every one of our emotions, every one of our actions has an implication or impact on the whole. Lisa: Yep. This is really good. Because I think, we live our lives very much in the doing. We're busy all day, we're busy with a billion million things, we're running businesses, we're— we've got families and so on. And it's really hard to find that stillness. And I know that even as an athlete who, I think for years, I was just headed through the wall, you know, taking— Mark: Most people are, that's how they learn, until they hit the wall, right?  Lisa: Yeah, no, I hit the wall a couple of dozen times before, because I was a bit thick. I didn't wake up, said, ‘Hang on, this stuff isn't working anymore.' And it works when you're 20. And it works when you're 25. And it works when you're 30. And but when you start hitting your 40s, and you're still smashing the crap out of your body, and you're not really not refilling the tank, and you're not re-examining what the hell are you doing, I think that's when the wheel started, when the wheel started to fall off for me. And I'm like, ‘Hang on a minute, this— why isn't my body doing like, it wasn't what it was supposed to do?' And when you've grown up, though, with that expectation of, you have to be tough, you have to be hard. And I grew up different to you. But I had a dad who was very, he was an awesome father, but he was a hard ass. And he expected you to be tough and mentally tough, physically tough. He didn't really tolerate a lot of weakness or sickness or anything like that. And he was an amazing dad, but he pushed really hard. And that sort of makes you think, well, you have to be hard all the time. And then when you break down, then it's you being weak. Instead of looking at the whole picture, and quieting the mind and doing these things like meditation was for me. Yeah, I know, I hear it's really important, but I can't sit still. I need it twice as much. Mark: Yeah, well, there's a reason for that. It'd be fun to talk about. But think about, when I reflect back, and my SEAL training and all these other guys were trying to be hard, and they had the same thinking, because America has a real soft side to it. But there's a lot of freakin' warriors in America. And we have that same kind of what your dad's talking about. Gotta be hard. Like, there's no room for weakness. It's got to be tough. You think about the metaphor, the guys who quit were just bad asses. Yeah, why did they quit? They quit because they didn't— they lacked the emotional strength to understand what was happening to them in their either most extreme moments of crisis or moments of just doubt, right? And then they're like, so they let uncertainty in, let doubt creep in and corrupt their decision making and then, one mistake leads to an injury we call, quinjury. And you've probably seen this in endurance athletes' is when all of a sudden the injury kind of crops up and then the person's out. And then really, reality is they created that injury to quit.  Lisa: Yeah, because they wanted a way out.  Mark: Because they wanted a way out. It's very subconscious. It's not prepared. It's not preparing properly. It's not recovering properly. It's not understanding that this is a long game and getting your ego out of the way. Lisa: It used to prop up for me every— before any big race, that in the week ahead of that race, I would get sick. And I would, I'm sure that that was my subconscious trying to stop me do it. Mark: Yeah, I've given you an out, right. And so— Lisa: You've got a cold, you've got the flu. Mark: Think about the metaphor between, if you got a tsunami coming, like, consider tsunami a metaphor for a crisis, or a big challenge, like BUD/S or a 50 mile or 100 mile race or something like that. There's a tsunami coming. Would you rather be a mighty oak facing that tsunami, or would you rather be like a reed?  Lisa: A reed, definitely. Mark: Yeah, if so, when I went to SEAL training, I tried to be the reed, right? I tried to be really flexible. I didn't let anything bother me. You know, structures would come up and, during Hell Week for us, which week seven back then. But now it's more like week three or four, seven days non-stop training around the clock, no sleep. Everyone's heard about that. Like a day, Thursday, like the day before, we're over it most of it, we're down to 60, 35, maybe 45 or 50, actually, in our class from 185 already. And instructor evil comes over and he's like, ‘Mark, I don't like you, I'm gonna make you quit.' And in my mind, I was like, ‘Good luck.' And I even think I started— Lisa: That confidence! Mark: I don't know, it was just my spiritual strength saying, ‘No, you're not going to get me to quit, you can't.' And so I actually was challenging him in my mind, and it must come through on my face. And he goes, ‘I'm gonna wipe that smirk right out that effing face.' And he just made me start doing 8-count bodybuilders, which are like a burpee, basically. And I remember in my mind thinking, ‘Okay, all right. Let's do this.' Right? All I got to do is one 8-count bodybuilder at a time, until he gets tired. Lisa: Until he gets tired. Mark: Exactly! So that's what I did. I just did one. I just want, did one 8-count bodybuilder. And then I just did one 8-count bodybuilder. And then I just did one 8-count bodybuilder. And when we got up to like— Lisa: You broke him. Mark: 800.  Lisa: Holy heck.  Mark: Which is nothing, right? I did 24 hours of burpees last, a couple of years ago, as part of our challenge. We did, check this out: we did 22 million burpees as a tribe to raise money for veterans. And part of that was to break a world record where our six-person team, you would love this, three men and three women, we did 36,000 burpees in 24 hours, so I did 7,500 or something like that. So 700 is nothing. Back then I didn't know if it was going to be 700 or 7,000 or 70,000. But he got bored, and he walked away at about 700, and I have to say, that worked. That's a good strategy.  Lisa: What about the burning in the muscles and the exhaustion and the running out of glycogen—  Mark: You can do anything, one at a time.  Lisa: Wow.  Mark: It's just like in a race, I'm sure you get to a point where all you have to do all you are saying to yourself is, ‘Just one more step.'  Lisa: One more step. Yep, absolutely.  Mark: Same thing. We call them micro goals. And so we teach— I started teaching these to SEALs, and the best guys already did this. But now we teach it, the SEALs are teaching what I call the Big Four. And they're teaching box breathing for controlling their stress, they're teaching positive internal dialogue, and mantras. And they're teaching visualisation, visualise every event and visualise what the end state looks like for you and then visualise the mission and whatnot. And then micro goals. Like go to BUD/S thinking about eight months of training, you go to BUD/S thinking about, ‘What do I got to do today to win this?' And then when today gets hard, you just collapse. ‘What do I need to do to win this evolution or event that I'm in?' And then when that gets harder, you know, it's like, ‘What do I got to do to get to the next five minutes?' Anytime you quit, or you have the thought, ‘Well, this sucks. I think I want to quit.' You just say, ‘Well, let me just push through to another— let me just push through another five minutes.' Or, ‘Let me just get to that berm up there,' if it's a run, or Log-Pt could go on forever. ‘Let me just finish this evolution, then I'll make a decision.' And so you just keep kicking the can down the road of the pain and the quit decision and the suffering and eventually the suffering goes away, because that's a temporary state. Lisa: And this is like that you just dropped so much golden inside of two minutes. Take a couple of those because these are things that I've took me 20 years to learn. Mark: Play it back in slow motion. Lisa: You know, like this. That's how that's how I break down. You know, every mess of the like, I remember and my listeners have heard me tell the story. But I ran 2,250 kilometers from New Zealand for charity.  Mark: Wow. Good for you. Holy cow.  Lisa: Yeah, no, it's like, but I've been so busy in the build-up doing— I've been at other races around the world, done Badwater in the States, just come back from that, just launched a book and then I'm standing at the start line. I've been so busy in the thing that I actually hadn't thought about actually running the— because I was just like, ‘Yeah, I got everything, sweet.' And then I'm starting at the start line and I just had a panic attack, like the first real big panic attack. And I'm not, because you're staring down the barrel of this—  Mark: Like, holy shit, this is too high to climb. What the heck have I done? Lisa: What the frick was I thinking? And I went home, we had media, we had all my crew and everybody there and I just went away behind the one of the cars and got my mum, my mummy ‘cuz she's my safe place, went to my mummy and I just bawled my eyes out. And said, ‘Mum I can't do this, I don't know what the frick I was thinking. I can't, and there's no way out.' And mum's just like, ‘Hey,' as she hugged me, as mums do. And she said, ‘You don't need to do 2,250 today. All I want you to focus on is that little box up there,' you know, that was a couple of hundred meters up the road. ‘That's what you got to do right now. And then you're going to, you're going to get through to lunchtime, and then you're gonna have lunch. And then we're going to get through to this and that.'  She just broke it down into pieces, and she took all of that load that I was just like, ‘Oh my God, this is huge,' and she broke it into one step at a time, basically. And that was some of the greatest learnings that I've taken away for every event that I've done when— and there have been times when I've broken and I've just crashed on the ground. I don't know how to get up and people have come along and they've got me up and walked me through the next few steps. Or the next— and that has gotten you over that hump, you know? And I just wait, you know, that's so much gold, right there, what you've just said. I think if we can do that in daily life so when we're faced with some big scary thing coming at us, how do I just get through this moment? And we're very— if you can get through these impulses, you know, like there's 30 seconds, through the 30 seconds almost, sometimes you can get to a place where you can cope again. And then you can sort of get back up. Mark: And this goes back to like the internal dialogue. Most people don't examine their internal dialogue. And this is where meditation is so critical. And you can also consider, like running or swimming or biking, endurance sports generally, are also very good for examining internal dialogue, because you're going to meet resistance. How you talk to yourself has an incredible impact on your energy and your motivation. Literally, we use the terminology ‘feeding the courage wolf' versus ‘feeding the fear wolf'. Feeding fear is allowing negative dialogue and negative imagery and negative emotions to kind of run the rule the roost of your psychology, and that weakens you. Negative thoughts demonstrably weaken you as a human being.  Lisa: Yeah, because—  Mark: They're gonna not just weaken your motivation but literally musculature-wise you get weaker, and that's been proven through kinesiology. So positive thoughts create a higher vibration, which bring more energy, more access to more creativity and motivation. And so you got to train positive thoughts. That's what I mean by feeding the courage wolf. And the more you feed the courage wolf by training positive mantras and positive thoughts, then the more you starve the fear wolf until he goes away, until he just doesn't have the food anymore. And those patterns dry up and blow away. So I created a bunch of positive mantras that I would say in the SEAL training, and they're still with me today.  As soon as I start a hard workout, they kick back in. ‘Feeling good, I'm looking good, ought to be in Hollywood. Feeling good, I'm looking good, ought to be in Hollywood. I can get out of me in Hollywood. I've got this easy day, piece of cake. Boo yeah, hey, got this. Easy day, piece of cake. Boo yeah, hey.' And then I'll synchronise that with my breathing. So, hardcore, run three steps and inhale 1, 2, 3, ‘I've got this. Easy day. Piece of cake.' Exhale 1, 2, 3. Right.  Lisa: And the rhythm is good too, hey. Mark: Yeah, exactly. So I was synchronising those before, the big four. The first skill I said, box breathing, it's really breath control. Running, anything you're doing, always breathing through your nose as best as possible, and controlling the breathing and creating a nice rhythmic pattern with the breathing. It's going to be different depending upon what you're doing. If you're lifting weights, gonna be one thing, if you're running another, swimming another. Swimming creates its own little breathing patterns, because head in the water versus out of the water. But just starting there, controlling your breathing and adding a positive mantra, or a positive internal statement that's linked to the breath is transformative. Not only does it keep you in the game athletically or whatever, but when you do this during your regular day, day in and day out, you're training your mind to be really positive and to be very concentrated. So you're developing concentration power. So you're turning your mind from like a scattered floodlight, which is flickering on and off, the monkey mind, to a very, very concentrated laser beam that you can point that laser beam on anything, any task, any project, and it deeply improves your productivity, the ability to get things done, you know, significantly.  Lisa: Wow.  Just interrupting the program briefly to let you know that we have a new Patron program for the podcast. Now, if you enjoy Pushing the Limits, if you get great value out of it, we would love you to come and join our Patron membership program. We've been doing this now for five and a half years and we need your help to keep it on air. It's been a public service free for everybody, and we want to keep it that way. But to do that we need like-minded souls who are on this mission with us to help us out. So if you're interested in becoming a patron for Pushing the Limits podcast, then check out everything on www.patron.lisatamati.com. That's P-A-T-R-O-N dot lisatamati.com. We have two Patron levels to choose from. You can do it for as little as $7 a month, New Zealand, or $15 a month if you really want to support us. So we are grateful if you do. There are so many membership benefits you're going to get if you join us. Everything from workbooks for all the podcasts, the strength guide for runners, the power to vote on future episodes, webinars that we're going to be holding, all of my documentaries and much, much more. So check out all the details: patron.lisatamati.com. And thanks very much for joining us. Mark: And then the imagery, right, the imagery. Well, let me backup. The other thing that that process of paying attention to the quality of your thoughts and changing them to positive thoughts, and increasing your concentration power, as you start to look at the dialogue too, in your head. What is actually going on? And you recognise that typically what's going on in your head is a series of statements that are also based upon belief systems, but it can be framed as questions. When people say, ‘I don't think I can do this,' what they're really saying is, ‘Am I worthy? Am I competent?'  We can begin to recognise that our belief systems are based upon questions and statements that may or may not be true. And so you want to take a look at the ones that are questionable, especially if they have a negative quality, and say, ‘Is that true?' And you realise, ‘It's not true. I am worthy. I am competent.' Now, I may not feel that yet. But the more I tell myself that and the more I can see that in myself, and the more that I meditate and actually feel into my worthiness and my confidence, and the more I work to eradicate the emotional side or shadow that may have, be tied to related to that — for me, it was because of the childhood abuse, I kind of felt a little unworthiness and whatnot, even though I was capable as a SEAL, it's still kind of plagued me for a while, until I had to stare down that wolf of fear and be like, ‘Yeah, that's all bullshit. That's just a story that I'm holding on to and I was able to release all that energy and feel that worthiness now.' Then that leads to a whole nother set of questions, which are extraordinarily empowering, right. So when I— understanding your capability as a human being, the potential that you have, the power that we have, you can then project that into the future and say, ‘What does victory look like for me?' Right? ‘If I'm going to run this 2,000 meter, or 2,000 kilometer race, and I'm going to raise money for charity, what is that for? What's my ‘why'? And what does victory look like?'  You get a clear sense of what victory looks like. And then you can even do that with the micro parts. So you chunked it down into 100 kilometer segments, let's just say. What does victory look like for that segment for the next five days? What does it look like for today? What does it look like— this is, in a sense, what your mom was doing, but she was doing it from the other way around. What does it look like for the next six hours? What does it look like for the next three hours? You get a clear picture because you're asking the right questions, and you're winning in your mind before you step foot into the battlefield. So asking really powerful questions like, what does victory look like? Who is on my team? Who's got my back? Why am I doing this? How is it related to my purpose in my life? These are the questions that we start asking, because now we've drowned out the negative incessant chatter, which is just holding us back and distracting us. We've created this space, and I use the metaphor still water pond. We've taken our mind and we've created it instead of this choppy, you know, bouncing all over the place, turbulent thought stream, largely negative, we've calmed down. And it's now this still water, and on this still water, you can look at it, you can really see a reflection clearly. So that's kind of a nice thing, you get to see your true self more clearly, but also, what you drop into that water in terms of the thought is going to ripple out and affect everything. So you end up dropping thought seeds that are really powerful, instead of chaotic and negative. Lisa: Because there's this whole, these automatic negative thoughts and if we think about how we evolved that was there for our survival. Because we needed to be aware of dangers and things in our environment, so we were always looking for the bad thing that was going to come at us. But in our world now, where we just, we have this constant chatter in our head. And it's, you know, I've certainly dealt with this for a long time, and I and I fought against the whole sitting still thing, and focusing inwards. Because it's very unpleasant, when you having— when you want to move, you just want to move. Give me a hard ass workout, any day, over meditation, you know, because it's just like this energy, this agitation, but that's why I need to do it. So that I can break through that piece of the puzzle. And then you can tap into strengths that you didn't know you had, and quietness, and then you start to really reflect and like, for me, it has only really been, even in the last few months where I've been— My dad passed away, and it was one hell of a battle for his life. And I, yeah, it was a real— I was fighting against the system. And it was a mess of battle. It's all good when you win, but it's also good when you don't win. And so this one, just been— I was a bit of an existential crisis after that, because I'd lost this battle for my dad, who I loved dearly. And it made me go inward. It made me start to really question some of the biggest things because you start realising that life's short, shorter than I think it's gonna be. You want to understand why, and then going inside and doing some deep work and doing some trauma work and doing all that sort of hard stuff has been great. There's always good that comes out of shit. You never ever want to go through things like that, but when you do, you can always turn them into something, a learning curve of some sort. And having that, I was listening to you with Bedros Keulian, who's also is another one that I— Mark: Yeah, he's an awesome guy. Lisa: Yeah, he's just a rock star. in you, when you were talking about how you went through the zen process where you were, for a start, you started meditating, but you're just learning to quiet the mind. And then after a few months, that became then mindfulness. Where you're starting to observe yourself from outside in splitting the mind or somehow you put this and you're actually observing yourself as this higher self, if you like. Can you explain that a little bit? And how does that— Mark: Yeah, so glad you brought that up. Because I wanted to talk about that. Because you're right. It's— meditation is hard, especially for active people, which everybody, everybody listening, everybody in the Western world is pretty much hyperactive. Yep, that's what we're taught; it's reality. Like, ‘Go, go, go. Do, do, do.' We get over-committed. Now we have, you know, constant distraction with our iPhones and social media, and it's just gonna get worse, worse, worse. Wait until we get plugged in with a neural link, you know, like, wow. So we got to push back against that. The only way to push back against that is to disconnect from all that and to sit still, or stand still, or take a walk. But don't do anything, right. Don't do it for a goal. Don't do it to check it off a box. Don't do it to be the best meditator you know. Lisa: Tick that box.  Mark: It doesn't work, right? Lisa: That was what I was going to— Max: There's no goals here. Right? It's about becoming still, getting that clarity and this still water mind back, if you ever had it, but we had it when we were kids, of course, but in a different sense. So that you can evolve. You know, let me start there. I think that there's two reasons we're on this planet. One is to evolve to become the best version, highest and best version of yourself in this lifetime. The second is to align with our calling or our purpose. And those two really kind of go hand-in-hand or hand-in-glove. You can't evolve if you're constantly doing. You actually will stay stuck. You'll keep getting your ass handed to you. You'll keep suffering. You'll keep feeling victimised. And you'll keep looking outward for the solutions. And you'll keep blaming other people, or society, or taxes, or the government, or God. Lisa: A lot of fingers are turned. Mark: The answers lie within, right? And so the only way to go inward is to slow down and just be quiet. Right? So it's imperative. Now, why do most people fail? A) Because everything I've just talked about, they haven't been taught this. And B) because they're body mind, their body brain is very, very agitated. It's amped up because you've been taking all this stress on throughout your life. So what I teach is that the first step in meditation practice isn't mindfulness. It isn't a mantra practice. It's just a box breathe, which is a pattern breathe, five-count in, five-count hold, and five-count out, five-count hold, or four, or three, if you have trouble with that. And just let that nostril breathing in that massaging that the vagus nerve, stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system. And it's bleeding off stress and bringing your body brain back into my balance.  Lisa: Yep.  Mark: When your body brain is back into balance, your brain is going to experience that as a lower frequency rate. Lower frequency means fewer thoughts, right? If you're in gamma, it's like tick-tick, popcorn brain. But if you're in alpha, like listening to beautiful music, classical music, or you're maybe doing some journaling, your mind stops racing. It starts to get into— Lisa: A lovely alpha state of focus.  Mark: Yeah, and so the box breathing practice trains your mind to get back into alpha, trains your body to de-stress, and you do this. It might take you months, usually about three months. I— my clients have this extraordinary calming that comes over them. And they're already changed. But this is, you know, just the preparatory work, right? This also, for those who are working on their physical structure in their health and their weight, this also has enormous benefits because you begin to feel a lot better. And you begin, you know, you're starting to breathe in that life force again. You're getting more oxygen with every breath, and you're retraining the breathing patterns so this becomes your more natural state. If you, let me just pause here, if you train for 20 minutes a day, have a five-count box breath, that's three breaths per minute, over time, and might take a year or more, you're gonna eventually settle into a natural breath pattern of six breaths per minute, which is now proven to the optimal. Lisa: Exactly.  Mark: I've been doing this for years, I never knew that, it just settled out there to where six breaths per minute through the nose was standard for me, or a standard, and that's what will happen to you.  Lisa: Yep.  Mark: Yeah. But those are full breaths, full exhales, getting all the toxins out there.  Lisa: Basically the exhale. Mark: It's enormously beneficial for your body, and everything starts to come back into balance: you start losing weight, you start eating better. Because you want to eat better, you start sleeping b

Join our conversation with two Trinity moms, Meg Lybrand and Emily Merryweather. They discuss how the educational philosophy of Charlotte Mason fosters a rich and unhurried learning environment. Trinity School has a long-standing tradition of reading and growing together as a community. Over the past two decades, we've explored a range of works from the Bible to Tolstoy to Hans Christian Anderson and Andy Crouch. Join us as we take a deeper dive into the distinctive mission of Trinity School through reading For the Children's Sake, by Susan Schaeffer Macaulay.

In this episode I chat to Paula Higgleton who shares her inspiring career journey, her people management success and money and life wisdom. Paula left school at 16 to a job in the VAT office in Southend, where she grew up. A discerning manager noticed her talent and encouraged her to join the Civil Service Day Release scheme to study for a BTEC in Business Studies. From there she joined the Inland Revenue in the then newly formed Self-Assessment team. Her desire to learn more took her to a local accountancy practice where she started her professional qualifications, then to a mid-tier firm before being approached by PWC (then Coopers and Lybrand) and five years later Deloitte where she rose from Partner to Senior Partner and Vice Chair before she retired in May 2020. We discuss the hard work principles she learned from her parents, her money values, how to have a good night out on a fiver, how she has helped ultra-wealthy families deal with tax and legacy, embracing retirement, her passion for education and social mobility and desire to visit as many countries in the word as possible. At the end of our conversation Paula shares her guilty money secret and her Money Pearls of Wisdom. Sit back, grab yourself an espresso (or drink of your choice!) and enjoy the conversation. Paula can be found on LinkedIn here - https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-higgleton-6425a610

Prior to knowing and walking with Jesus, Danny was a renowned pool shark. He would travel across the country playing pool with anyone willing to make a bet with him. Danny heard the Gospel for the first time in 1976 in Missouri when a man showed up at his hotel room, gave him a copy of the Gospel of John, and planted the seed that would eventually grow into Danny accepting the gift of salvation and forgiveness from Jesus Christ on May 3, 1978 while dealing cards and playing pool in Las Vegas. Danny retired in 2016 from the largest professional services firm in the world, Deloitte & Touche'. He spent about 15 years in the financial services industry then with Arthur Anderson followed by Coopers & Lybrand. During his 20-year stint with Deloitte, Danny worked with the Federal practice and spent about 75% of that time on engagements that required travel to one degree or another. His areas of expertise were overall Project Management and Banking and/or government insured Loan Portfolio compliance. Danny has been married to his wonderful wife Barbara for the past forty-two years and they live in Oklahoma City. They have two grown adopted sons that are both married. Danny and Barbara have been blessed with three grandchildren that provide a considerable amount of entertainment and joy.

The Compliance Life details the journey to and in the role of a Chief Compliance Officer. How does one come to sit in the CCO chair? What are some of the skills a CCO needs to success navigate the compliance waters in any company? What are some of the top challenges CCOs have faced and how did they meet them? These questions and many others will be explored in this new podcast series. Over four episodes each month on The Compliance Life, I visit with one current or former CCO to explore their journey to the CCO chair. This month, my guest is Jonathan Kellerman, Partner at StoneTurn and former CCO at Allergan.  Kellerman grew up in a family of doctors. In college he realized he did not want to practice medicine. After college, he took a job in a consulting practice focusing on health care. There he learned about how the health care delivery model works and focused his professional work in this area ever since, moving to Coopers & Lybrand. Resources  Jonathan Kellerman LinkedIn Profile Jonathan Kellerman StoneTurn Profile StoneTurn Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With more than 25 years of experience advising businesses, Leroy Davis knows the sweet spot for selling a company. While many entrepreneurs have heard of the $20 million valuation rule, he shares there’s much more to it than numbers and forecasting. “We don’t put a hard line on 20 [million of revenue], we try to dig on some of these more intangible factors,” Leroy says. “And we get surprised regularly with some of the revenue multiples that we see, particularly in today’s market.” According to Leroy, entrepreneurs, particularly those in tech, must consider many financial factors when determining when to sell — and having a team of experts by their side can provide a complete picture of their options. This team is also invaluable to forecasting, one of the most important areas that potential buyers look for. Not hitting numbers is the number one reason why deals go sour, Leroy says. He also talks about how to set yourself up to attract the right buyer at the right time. On this episode of Deal Talk with 7MA, Leroy provides invaluable insights for entrepreneurs who want to sell, particularly when intellectual property assets are part of the deal. He also shares about how to prepare yourself mentally to pass the torch on to someone else. “As an owner, are you ready to hand the keys to somebody else and give up control? That’s a big deal.”  

Maccs Pescatore joined the Montessori Group as Finance Director and is now the Chief Operating Officer. Maccs is the CEO of Montessori Centre International (MCI), a leading provider of and facilitator in the provision of Montessori training to meet the needs of the Early Years communities in the UK and around the world. It provides the sector’s marker of quality assurance through its Standards, Training and Accreditation Review (STAR) Framework. Resources are made available to parents and carers through its online hub, the Montessori Network. Maccs trained as a Chartered Accountant with Coopers & Lybrand before moving into industry. She spent 13 years with Tate & Lyle Plc and ASR Group in the FMCG sector where she held a variety of senior finance positions in divisions in the UK and Europe. In recent years, working alongside commercial and operational colleagues, she has combined her passion for business with her affinity for working in changing environments, being instrumental in turning around underperforming businesses, repositioning and moving organisation into new markets. https://www.montessoritraining.org.uk/ (https://www.montessoritraining.org.uk/) Social Media Information Twitter: @Maccs_Pesc www.linkedin.com/in/maccspescatore/ £50,000 for the first year of a scholarship supporting Leeds Beckett Montessori degree students  The International Montessori Institute, a centre within the Carnegie School of Education at Leeds Beckett University (LBU), has launched a scholarship programme to support the next generation of Montessori educators. The Institute was established in August 2020 and will provide the UK’s first dedicated undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Montessori education.  Funded by the Montessori Group, the first scholarships of £2,000 each will be awarded to 25 students who are studying on the BA (Hons) Primary Education Accelerated Degree (Montessori) in the 2021/22 academic year. The relationship between the Carnegie School of Education and the Montessori Group means that further scholarships will be awarded in the future years of the partnership.  This scholarship will be first awarded in the next academic year, with applicants to LBU able to apply for the scholarship as part of their application to the university.  Leonor Stjepic, Chief Executive Officer of the Montessori Group said: “We are so pleased that the Montessori St Nicholas charity is able to support new teachers in this way. We hope that this funding will broaden access to higher education study for a significant number of students and in doing so, enhance the experiences of the children who will be guided and supported by the next generation of high-quality teachers. The experiences of trainees as they prepare to work in the education sector can be greatly affected by financial constraints; we want to ensure that students taking the Montessori pathway will have the best possible start to their experience with the International Montessori Institute.” The Montessori model of education is unique in encouraging young children to learn through curiosity with an emphasis on individual progress and giving children opportunities to engage with the learning environment.   Centre Director of the International Montessori Institute, James Archer said: “We are delighted that these scholarships will be available to support people as they study the Montessori Method at degree level. Education for opportunity, social inclusion and reconstruction is one of the four key strands of our work and we are therefore thrilled to offer these unique scholarships. The opportunities provided by these scholarships will be truly transformational to people choosing to come and study at the International Montessori Institute, and in turn they will help to transform the lives of the children they work with through their careers.  “The BA (Hons) Education (Accelerated Degree) Montessori, gives students the... Support this podcast

In this episode of "Keen On", Andrew is joined by Ben Pring, the author of "Monster", to discuss the impact of Big Tech on the fundamental aspects of society such as politics, work, the wider economy and surveillance. Ben Pring co-founded and leads Cognizant's Center for the Future of Work. Ben is a co-author of the best-selling and award-winning books, What To Do When Machines Do Everything (2017) and Code Halos; How the Digital Lives of People, Things, and Organizations are Changing the Rules of Business (2014). Ben sits on the advisory board of the Labor and Work Life program at Harvard Law School. In 2018 Ben was a Bilderberg Meeting participant. Ben was named as one of 30 management thinkers to watch in 2020 by Thinkers 50. He was recently named a leading influencer on the future of work by Onalytica. Ben joined Cognizant in 2011, from Gartner, where he spent 15 years researching and advising on areas such as Cloud Computing and Global Sourcing. Prior to Gartner Ben worked for a number of consulting companies including Coopers and Lybrand. At Gartner Ben was the lead analyst on all things "Cloud" he wrote the industry's first research notes on Cloud Computing (in 1997!), and Salesforce.com (in 2001), and became well known for providing provocative but accurate predictions about the future of IT. In 2007, Ben won Gartner's prestigious Thought Leader Award. Ben's expertise in helping clients see around corners, think the unthinkable, and calculate the compound annual growth rate of unintended consequences has made him an internationally recognized expert on leading edge technology and its intersection with business and society. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, the London Times, the Drucker Forum Report, Business Insider, Forbes, Fortune, The Sun, the MIT Review, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, Parade, the Times of India, Quartz, Inc., Axios, the Australian, and the Economic Times. Based near Boston since 2000, Ben graduated with a degree in Philosophy from Manchester University in the UK where he grew up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tune in to this conversation with the overall winners of the Snowbird Challenge! Brady won the marathon and Jen won the ultra marathon. Listen as they describe their race strategy that carried them to an overall win! *Disclaimer. After listening to this podcast, no one can ever, EVER, complain about a double loop marathon.*

Dr. Lewis Pinault is an Airbus Ventures Partner based in Tokyo, managing Airbus Ventures’ activities in the Asia Pacific region. Advising and supporting Airbus innovation projects for over a decade, Lewis also designed and led incubator and innovation centers for the UK Government’s Digital Catapult, EDS, Shell, and others, building from his own mid-career experiences as a NASA researcher trying to link startups to large corporates. Previously, Lewis was a Financial Institutions Partner at Coopers & Lybrand in Singapore and Hong Kong, beginning his early consulting career at The Boston Consulting Group in Tokyo. His lifelong passions for exploring the oceans and space seeking the most advanced technologies available first brought him to Asia as an engineer and corporate planning analyst with Nihon Kokan. Lewis earned his Bachelor of Science degree at MIT, completed an MSc at London School of Economics as a Fulbright Scholar, and was a NASA Space Grant Fellow at the University of Hawaii, where he completed his juris doctorate in international law and planetary geophysics. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lewispinault/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/lewispinault Astra's Launch: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/02/rocket-startup-astra-to-go-public-astr-via-spac-at-2point1b-valuation.html

On February 4 , 2021, University of Texas San Antonio neuroscientists sat down with Zane Lybrand for an episode of Neuroscientists Talk Shop. Jenny Hsieh, Chris Navara, and Salma Quraishi chatted with him about new work describing aberrant migration of adult born granule cells following pilocarpine insult, and its contribution to generation of spontaneous seizure. Zane Lybrand PhD is Assistant Professor of Biology at Texas Womens University.https://apps.twu.edu/my1cv/profile.as...​Jenny Hsieh PhD is Semmes Foundation Chair in Cell Biology at UTSA & Director of the UTSA Brain Health Consortium. https://hsiehlab.org​Chris Navara PhD is Associate Professor of Research in Biology at UTSA and Director of the Stem Cell Core. https://www.utsa.edu/bhc/core/stem-ce...​Salma Quraishi PhD is Associate Director of the UTSA Neurosciences Institute & Assistant Professor of Research at UTSA https://neuroscience.utsa.edu​Neuroscientists Talk Shop podcast: https://tinyurl.com/yxatz6fq​​UTSA Neurosciences Institute: https://neuroscience.utsa.edu​​The University of Texas San Antonio: https://www.utsa.edu​

On February 4 , 2021, University of Texas San Antonio neuroscientists sat down with Zane Lybrand for an episode of Neuroscientists Talk Shop. Jenny Hsieh, Chris Navara, and Salma Quraishi chatted with him about new work describing aberrant migration of adult born granule cells following pilocarpine insult, and its contribution to generation of spontaneous seizure. Zane Lybrand PhD is Assistant Professor of Biology at Texas Womens University. https://apps.twu.edu/my1cv/profile.as...​ Jenny Hsieh PhD is Semmes Foundation Chair in Cell Biology at UTSA & Director of the UTSA Brain Health Consortium. https://hsiehlab.org​ Chris Navara PhD is Associate Professor of Research in Biology at UTSA and Director of the Stem Cell Core. https://www.utsa.edu/bhc/core/stem-ce...​ Salma Quraishi PhD is Associate Director of the UTSA Neurosciences Institute & Assistant Professor of Research at UTSA https://neuroscience.utsa.edu​

Mom writes in asking for advice on making Saxon Math worth with a child who has dyscalculia.

In this episode of Supply Chain Now, Scott welcomes Karl Fillhouer & Joe Donnell with Circle Logistics to the podcast. Karl Fillhouer started his career in logistics in 1983 just as the effects deregulation were kicking in. He worked in both sales and operations for most of his career. His first employer was an Air Freight Forwarder and an LTL consolidator. After a merger and/or buyout or two, he found himself working for a truckload carrier, and then started his own brokerage in 1987. By 1991 his business suffered a couple of financial hits and he left the industry. By 1994 he was back in the logistics industry (The logistics industry is like a virus, once it's in your blood you'll never get rid of it) working for the first two gentlemen that hired him right out of college. Karl worked for them until 1999, and then joined a privately held trucking company to help build their 3PL division. He worked with that company for 19 years before joining Circle Logistics in 2018. Joe Donnell graduated with a Music/Business Degree from DePauw University in 1982. He went on to work for Arthur Andersen & Co in Chicago for 3 years. From there he moved back to his hometown of Fort Wayne, In with Coopers & Lybrand for a year. Then he had a stint with Tokheim Corporation as their Internal Audit Manager and then Manager of Finance during which time he became a Certified Public Accountant. After a short 3 years at Alfe Heat Treating and then on to Transportation with L & L Transportation in Waterloo, IN that was acquired by Inergy LP and then Crestwood LP. Joe ran that trucking operation for those companies for 19 years as they went from $8 million in sales to $230 million in annual sales. Once that was done he went to Circle Logistics in FW where he has been for over 3 years as their Senior Director of Operations. Upcoming Events & Resources Mentioned in this Episode: Subscribe to Supply Chain Now and ALL Supply Chain Now Programming Here: https://supplychainnowradio.com/subscribe Leave a review for Supply Chain Now: https://ratethispodcast.com/supplychainnow Connect with Scott on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/scottwindonluton/  Connect with Karl on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/karl-fillhouer-68092b3/ Connect with Joe on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joedonnell/ Supply Chain Now Ranked #3 Supply Chain YouTube Channel: https://tinyurl.com/yazfegov Download the Q3 2020 U.S. Bank Freight Payment Index: freight.usbank.com/?es=a229&a=20 Watch the Replay of The Connected IoT Supply Chain: https://supplychainnow.com/the-connected-iot-supply-chain Check Out News From Our Sponsors: U.S. Bank: www.usbpayment.com/transportation-solutions Capgemini: www.capgemini.com/us-en/ Vector Global Logistics: vectorgl.com/ Verusen: www.verusen.com/ This episode was hosted by Scott Luton. For additional information, please visit our dedicated show page at: https://supplychainnow.com/episode-544.

After homeschooling 5 children into adulthood, what is Dr. Lybrand's best advice for homeschoolers?

After homeschooling 5 children into adulthood, what is Dr. Lybrand's best advice for homeschoolers?

In today's episode, Tom and Phil are joined by Butch Rogers, Certified Public Accountant. They discuss possible tax benefits that may be helpful to oil producers when filing taxes this year. They also cover some of the tax changes we may see under the new administration, along with the most recent updates on the Paycheck Protection Loan.Highlights:2:47   Butch's motivation to stay in school to get a “sit down” job5:57   Changes in law, IRS rulings, and court cases impacting the oil and gas industry13:54 Potential Tax Benefits for oil producers after the downturn in the oil and gas industry18:50 The latest updates on PPP loan forgiveness25:37 Impact of tax legislation under the Biden Administration31:07 How increased tax rates could actually drive more investments into the industryAbout Butch Rogers:Robert “Butch” Rogers is a Certified Public Accountant with a Master's Degree in Taxation from Texas Tech University. He is a CPA in Wooster, Ohio and is a partner in the CPA firm MBR Partners, Inc.Butch has over 35 years experience working in and with clients in the oil and gas industry. As a college student he worked as a roustabout in West Texas. Upon graduating from college he worked for Gulf Oil as a business administration trainee, working in the Midland, Texas district office and the Monahans, Texas field office. He gained valuable oil and gas tax experience working with Coopers and Lybrand in Lubbock, Texas. During his time as a practicing CPA, Butch served a number of small independent producers as a trusted tax and business advisor.His speaking experience includes conducting continuing education seminars and webinars for various state societies of CPAs, Ohio Oil and Gas Association, COPAS, and Bisk Education.Connect with Butch:butch@mbrpartnerscpa.comwww.mbrpartnerscpa.comAbout SherWare, Inc.If you're enjoying this episode, please subscribe to our podcast and share with a friend! We also love ratings and reviews on Apple podcasts.SherWare creates software to simplify your accounting needs so you have more time to do the things that matter. We serve independent oil and gas operators, accountants and investors with a platform to manage their distributions and joint-interest billings on a platform -- and we're the only software on the market that can integrate with your QuickBooks company. Click here to watch a demo of the software in action right now.About COPAS:COPAS provides expertise for the oil and gas industry through the development of Model Form Accounting Procedures, publications, and education. We are a forum for the active exchange of ideas which result in innovative business and accounting solutions.Find a society near you.

Strong Families Survive Tough Times What you'll learn: Strong families major in the majors.  What are the majors? Why family meetings are a necessity and how to conduct a meaningful meeting. How to create a family entrepreneurial mindset and why most entrepreneurs fail at doing it. This week's guests: Tom Rogerson* Founder, GenLeg, Co. Tom is a recognized leader and pioneer in family governance and legacy planning. He had the privilege of meeting Jay Hughes 25 years ago who inspired him to transform his practice from “Preparing the Money for the Family” to “Preparing the Family for the Money.” Using his Six Steps to Healthy Family Governance, Tom has worked with over 250 families facilitating transparent communication, entrepreneurial motivation, philanthropic vision, legacy planning, succession development and then endowing the process for the future, all to create a life-long bond to last generationally. A few years ago Tom teamed up with his wife, a certified relationship coach, and started GenLeg Co., Inc. Together they provide guidance and education to families and their advisors, helping them transition significant capital, both financial (tangible) and human (intangible), from one generation to the next. Prior to starting a private practice, Tom was with Wilmington Trust, bringing his family governance and wealth management expertise as both a speaker and motivator to not only families but to Wilmington's client facing teams, helping them integrate Family Governance into the fabric of the client relationship. Previously, Tom was Managing Director of Family Wealth Services for BNY Mellon, National Director of Estate Tax Planning with State Street Global Advisors, and Director of Financial and Estate Tax Planning with Coopers and Lybrand. He holds a bachelor's in Economics from Ithaca College. Tom has spoken for The World Presidents Organization, Harvard University Business School, Tiger 21, The Lincoln Center, Yale University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Vistage, Museum of Modern Art, The Nature Conservancy, New York Botanical Garden, The Dallas Foundation, The New York Community Trust, The Boston Foundation, Heckerling, numerous estate planning councils, as well as many other organizations. Shawn Barberis* Founder, Aspida Advisory For over a decade, Mr. Barberis has served families and small businesses. Though he is astute, exacting and detail-obsessed, don't let him fool you. Shawn is a visionary, thriving on enthusiasm, humor and the company of like-minded individuals dedicated to hard work and financial ingenuity. Aspida Advisory is an independent financial advisory firm through our Registered Investment Advisory Firm, Aspida360. We work with you to determine what is in you and your family's best interests. The retirement Income Survival Kit (R.I.S.K.) analyzes the risks we face in retirement, and provides recommendations of income solutions that address each of your personal retirement risks. A+LIFE maintains the granite pillars of financial and estate planning while integrating the unquantifiable values of legacy and one's life's experiences. *Not affiliated with Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp.  You don't want to miss it! ------ CRN-3330151-111320  The content presented is for informational and educational purposes.  The information covered and posted are views and opinions of the guests and not necessarily those of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp.  Michael Palumbos is a registered representative of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. Securities and investment advisory services offered through Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp., a broker/dealer (member SIPC) and registered investment advisor. Insurance offered through Lincoln affiliates and other fine companies. Family Wealth & Legacy, LLC is not an affiliate of Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and its representatives do not provide legal or tax advice. You may want to consult a legal or tax advisor regarding any legal or tax information as it relates to your personal circumstances.

COVID-19 update with Dr. Howard Leibrand Skagit County public health officer. He talks about the increasing numbers of infections deaths and how I see the ICUs are being overwhelmed. Free influenza shots for the uninsured are going to be available at the Skagit Valley College testing site.

Our guest today in the Go4Leadership Podcast is Federico Casas-Alatriste. Federico is a sought-after speaker, legendary it executive, and father of many impressive profitable growth strategies. Federico was born in Mexico and after studying Business Administration and Industrial Relations he kicked off his career within the family business.Since 1992 he holds several Executive Positions for example in IBM, PWC and Coopers & Lybrand before he became Managing Director of T-Systems.Federico's role as Managing Director of a global IT company with more than 1000 people making more than 50m€ in revenue was outstanding. He was the mastermind behind one of the biggest outsourcing deals of the last century in Mexico. He works with existing clients and cultivates new clients to help them develop new commercially viable solutions, innovate, and transform digitally. He is a visionary leader and oversees the development of the and market and future solutions that clients desperately need.While traveling the world he helped build several businesses, inspired thousands of young leaders all over the world. I feel personally very privileged to have worked closely with Federico for many years.

Link to bioRxiv paper: http://biorxiv.org/cgi/content/short/2020.09.02.273649v1?rss=1 Authors: Bao, H., Hu, Z., Lee, S.-h., Kolagani, R., Chao, T.-H. H., Luo, Y.-J., Ban, W., Sullivan, H. A., Gamero-Alameda, S., Lybrand, Z. R., Yu, Y., Hsieh, J., Wickersham, I. R., Brenner, S. E., Shih, Y.-Y. I., Song, J. Abstract: Mounting evidence suggests that cognitive deficits associated with various neurological disorders may arise in part from a small population of dysregulated adult-born neurons in the dentate gyrus (DG). How these dysregulated adult-born neurons contribute to brain-wide network maladaptation and subsequent cognitive deficits remains unknown. Using an established mouse model with a small number of time-stamped dysregulated adult-born immature neurons and spatial memory deficits, we performed resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging and found that approximately 500 deficient immature neurons (

Siobhan McHale is a culture transformer with a track record of making workplaces better. She's helped thousands of leaders create more agile and productive workplaces and written the best-selling book, The Insider's Guide to Culture Change. What we can learn from Siobhan today: What Culture really is The importance of looking at Culture through a commercial lens The value of “Reframing Culture” for people, their roles and organization Collective patterns of relatedness with Culture The four elements of the Culture descriptor   Follow us and explore our social media tribe from our Website: https://leadership-hacker.com Music: " Upbeat Party " by Scott Holmes courtesy of the Free Music Archive FMA Transcript: Thanks to Jermaine Pinto at JRP Transcribing for being our Partner. Contact Jermaine via LinkedIn or via his site JRP Transcribing Services Siobhan McHale You can learn more from Siobhan below: Siobhan on Twitter Siobhan on LinkedIn Book: The Insider's Guide to Culture Change Find out more from the Barrett Values Centre here: www.valuescentre.com Full Transcript Below: ----more---- Steve Rush: Some call me Steve, dad, husband or friend. Others might call me boss, coach or mentor. Today you can call me The Leadership Hacker. Thanks for listening in. I really appreciate it. My job as the leadership hacker is to hack into the minds, experiences, habits and learning of great leaders, C-Suite executives, authors and development experts so that I can assist you developing your understanding and awareness of leadership. I am Steve Rush and I am your host today. I am the author of Leadership Cake. I am a transformation consultant and leadership coach. I cannot wait to start sharing all things leadership with you. On today's show, we have Siobhan McHale. She has written the ground-breaking book, The Insider's Guide to Culture Change. It is a global bestseller. She is also a culture transformer and people expert. But before we get a chance to speak with Siobhan. It is The Leadership Hacker News.   The Leadership Hacker News Steve Rush: The Barrett Values Centre has completed some extensive research on the impact of culture and values around COVID-19. The Centre sought to answer questions that are useful and helping supporting leaders in their stakeholders address the challenges that they may face in interviewing 2,500, people worldwide, including 300 C-Suite executives. The pandemic has been referred to as the “great pause”, and it appears to have forced individuals and organizations to stop, look internally and consider what they may need to do to operate in the future and how their approach may also need to shift now. There have been global crises before, but never one that has affected so many people, and so directly in all our lifetime. The research compared personal values, pre COVID-19 to that we are experiencing now. And we've seen four new values emerge in the top priority during the pandemic, they are: making a difference, adaptability wellbeing and caring. The values of continuous learning and family were already present pre COVID, but have since increased in their priority. There has been a real shift in values, moving towards more care and wellbeing amidst the crisis. Some interesting statistics that the report has shared is: wellbeing shifted from its position of 26 to 5, due to the importance placed on people during COVID-19. A traditional process focus has been replaced by focus on people, agility and communication. During COVID-19 results, orientation as an organizational value shifted from its number 2, position down to number 25 and achievement shifted from 6 to 50. Which leaves a question in leaders of how do you then drive results in parallel with wellbeing and people focus to maintain that positive culture? Not surprisingly, values such as agility had moved up from 43 to 8 and Digital connectivity had moved up from 50 to 2 and employee health had moved from 61 to now 5. One stark statement in the research was that employees are placing 15 times more emphasis than their leaders on the need for continued direction and communication going forward. So as you look to thrive, following this pandemic, first take a look at your current state. Don't make assumptions about the values and culture of your organizations, but really evaluate them and learn from what the real landscape looks and feels like in your organization today. If we fail to really diagnosis the situation effectively now, it could mean that we deploy the wrong strategy, the wrong approach and the wrong energy and our next wave of planning. That has been The Leadership Hacker News. If you have any insights, information or stories, please get in touch.   Start of Podcast Steve Rush: Our special guest on today's show is Siobhan McHale. She is a culture transformer, and selected as a member of Thinkers50 radar for tackling the big issues of our time with rigor and energy, and she's also the author of the bestselling book, The Insider's Guide to Culture Change, Siobhan welcome to the show. Siobhan McHale: Thank you, Steve. Great to be with you today. Steve Rush: So before we get into the theme of culture and culture change, it would be really interesting just to explore how you become so fascinated by the theme of culture. Tell us a bit, about how you arrived here. Siobhan McHale: Yeah, I suppose I started off studying psychology and as my classmates were revering down a path to become clinical psychologists, I was really much more interested in the world of work and in particular, what makes people perform at their best and their highest, rather than maybe looking at people who were more struggling with perhaps mental health issues in a clinical setting. I was much more interested in becoming an organizational psychologist, so that really started me on the path to exploring a workplace culture in particular. Steve Rush: During your time in your management-consulting career, you travelled extensively across the world and you saw lots of different cultures. What was the, maybe the one or two things that you identified at that time, that really kind of drew you into the whole premise of culture and what culture is? Siobhan McHale: Yeah, I travelled and worked across four continents, and during that time, I advised hundreds of leaders about how to create more productive and constructive work environments. But I work into some places where there were toxic cultures that really drained the energy from the organization and led to bismel customer service. And then on the other side of the spectrum, I work into some organizations that had amazing cultures that really delighted customers and had very engaged workforces, so I started to over a period of 30 years, started to research what made workplaces deliver, grow and adapt more easily. And really that is the subject of my book. How do you create workplaces that can deliver, grow and adapt? Steve Rush: And it is really interesting in my experience of culture, you can almost walk into an organization and you might not be able to physically see it, but you can get that vibe. You can feel it very, very quickly, whether it is good or, less good, right? Siobhan McHale: Absolutely. Steve Rush: What causes that? Siobhan McHale: I think culture is, one of those commonly used terms, but it really is the ways of relating. The ways of operating within the organization and it is not so much about, what happens at the individual behavioural level. It is more about how the organization functions at a collective level and sometimes those ways of relating are functional and sometimes they are quite destructive. And as I said, they can leak value, financial value included from the organization dropped by corrosive dropped. Steve Rush: And I wonder how organizations apply a different lens versus I have a business strategy over here,  here is my financials; here is my strategy, lots of hard and fast measures. But as you just rightly said, this could leak huge amounts of financial leakage. Organizations can lose a significant amount of revenue by just having the wrong culture and I wonder what causes organizations to look at culture differently to maybe other parts or tenants of that business? Siobhan McHale: Yes, a great question. It is one of the big myths about, what is culture? And how we framed culture has been largely in many organizations in terms of employee experience. So we talk about culture as if it's just about employee satisfaction, employee engagement, inclusion, diversity. And of course, they're really important to aspects of culture, but they're not the I aspects. Culture relates to every part of your business, including how you manufacture, how you design, how you manufacture, how you sell, how you serve as your products. And this is the area that I think we've got to look at culture through a much more commercial lens, because you really need to have the right culture in order to deliver on your strategy. I think that is the question for management teams. What culture do we need to enable and fast track our business strategy? Steve Rush: Is there something there about organizations and indeed leaders within an organization, or having a different perspective of what culture is? Siobhan McHale: Yeah, I often say culture is one of the most talked about, but least understood concepts and workplaces today, and you need to have a common frame and a common language. And I think many leaders have been taught that in order to shape the culture, you simply document the values and the behaviours that you want to see, and you roll out those values and behaviour statements, and then you get a change in the culture. Now, we all know that's nonsense, but leaders haven't been given any other tools or many other tools in order to create the right culture that will deliver on their strategic intent and produce the financial results that they're looking for. So we've got to get leaders away from this notion that it's just about values and behaviours, and start to see that culture is about the collective patterns of relatedness that sit at the more systemic or collective level, Steve Rush: Right, so over the 30 years of research that you have undertaken and extensive study around culture. Is there a simplified way in which you describe what culture is? Siobhan McHale: Yeah, I would say, the ways of relating in the organization and it is the distinction I think, between the dancers and the dance. So the dancers are the behaviours but the dance is the ways of operating. The way that the organization functions and often we focusing just on the behaviours, but we don't, you know, the dancers, but we don't necessarily see the dance. And those are the patterns are what I call the agreements between the parts. Steve Rush: That is a lovely way of describing it. I actually quite like that. Siobhan McHale I did some work at the ANZ bank, which is one of the big four banks in Australia. And this was in the early two thousands, when the bank was really getting a lot of bad press about how it's customer satisfaction and its closure of rural branches and the CEO at the time, John McFarlane knew he had to turn around the organization and create better returns to shareholders and increase customer satisfaction. But when I walked into the bank, I could see that there was a passion that was very dysfunctional, that was keeping it stuck in the old ways and delivering very poor customer satisfaction. And the head office was taking up the role of order giver and the branches, the 700 branches were taking up the role of order takers, so the head office was giving the orders and saying, do this, do that. And the branches were just stepping into the role of the order taker and each part both the head office and the branches were blaming each other for the poor customer satisfaction. And this pattern of blame was going around and round and actually leaking energy from the organization. So we had to see that passion first, before we could start to shift the culture and we put in a new operating model, we reframe the role of the head office from order giver to support provider to the branches. And we reframe the role of the 700 branches from order taker to service provider, to the customer and that new operating model and the reframing change the pattern of blame to a different passion between head office and branches, which was, we worked together to meet the needs of our customers. Steve Rush: And sometimes it is just as simple as reframing, isn't it for people in the mix of that moment, so that they can see things in a different way and get a different behaviour, I guess? Siobhan McHale: Exactly reframing is a very powerful tool that is often overlooked. Sometimes when we think about change, we think we have to change people's personality, but I often think that is the hard way, you know, personalities very hard wired and what right do we have to ask people to change who they are? And instead we can reframe, reframe people's role, reframe the role of a department, reframe the role of the team. You can even reframe the role of a whole organization, and get it pivoting, get it moving very quickly in a different direction. Steve Rush: Now I am sure, you won't mind me mentioning this, but your work aim at. Not only was it instrumental in changing the fortunes, a failing Australian bank to becoming a number one performer globally at one stage, but also that John Kotter or Professor John Kotter. Which many of our listeners will be familiar with as one of the four runners in the world of leading change. Actually, contacted you and is using this as part of the Harvard Business MBA work, am I right? Siobhan McHale: Yeah, so yeah, I was sitting at my desk one day when reception patched through a call from Professor John Kotter. And you can imagine I almost fell off my chair because I'd read all of his books and he was still is a guru in the space and he was my idol. And yeah, he was looking for a global case studies for successful transformation and successful culture change. And he selected the one that I'd written up as the case study that he was teaching Harvard MBA students about. So teaching people how you manage change and how you accelerate change more quickly. So, yeah, that was quite a pivotal moment for me because what it taught me was that my work could be beneficial beyond the bounds of the organization that I was working in. And that was one of the key moments when I also had this realization that I could share the findings of my research with a broader audience which also led me to, write the book. Steve Rush: Awesome, and therefore The Insider's Guide was born? Siobhan McHale: Yes, yes, indeed. The Insider's Guide to Culture Change. Steve Rush: So, we are getting to the book in a little bit more detail in the moment, and there is a couple of things in there that when I read that were really insightful. I would love to explore those with you, but before we do, what is the reason that most leaders often struggle to get culture, right? Siobhan McHale: Yeah, I think you know, it does relate back to how leaders see their role. And one of the things that I've noticed over the past 30 years is leaders tend to frame their role in terms of their running the business. So their operational role, their role is to run the business, but they don't necessarily see or take up their culture change role or that culture role. They don't necessarily see themselves as the chief culture officer and often in organizations, culture has been delegated to HR to, take up the mantle. And whenever that occurs in my experience, it's problematic because then culture becomes something that HR has to fix, and line managers tend to take a step back in those organizations and then culture doesn't get embedded truly in my experience. Steve Rush: It is a neat reframe as well. Having that chief culture officer, I wonder how many organizations actually have one of these days? I am not familiar with many, if any. Siobhan McHale: Yes. Well, I think the chief culture officer needs to be the CEO and HR has to reframe its role to be a critical leader, but in an enabling, function. So providing the tools, the support, the advice, the processes in order to embed the culture that is going to deliver on the organization's strategic imperatives and going to meet the business goals. And I think that's the work that HR has to do to start seeing its role, not just around employee experience, but how can you help managers at all levels to create a culture that might be a growth oriented or performance driven culture or commercial culture, customer driven culture, quality culture, and innovative culture. These are old things that managers are calling out for. How do I have an, a more adaptive culture in these disruptive times? And what I'm saying to HR folk is where is your toolkit for that? How can you walk up to those questions and have solutions for managers and leaders who are looking for that type of help? Steve Rush: Got it, so your book now, The Insider's Guide to Culture Change is available and it is doing really, really well. and I'm delighted to see that is the case for you, so well done. Siobhan McHale: Thank you. Steve Rush: Tell us a little bit about the inspiration for the book and what it was that caused you to finally get all that research together and put pen to paper. Siobhan McHale: Yeah, I really did want to, my parents did teach us their children to keep learning and to make a positive difference in the world. And one of the things I noticed was that there were a lot of people writing about culture, who had a brilliant lens. They were outsiders though, so they were either consultants or academics or journalists, and they were writing about workplace culture, a fantastic lens, but I had a different lens and that was an insider lens. So I had been the executive in charge of transformation in a series of multinational organizations, as well as being an external outsider. I have been a management consultant, but when I became an insider as the executive in charge of change, I just had a different experience, and I started to test and really see what tools can help accelerate culture change and what tools don't and I thought, well, where is that voice? Where is that voice of the insider? And it wasn't really there. And I had to stop asking and start picking up, you know, my responsibility in sharing what I knew rather than looking for somebody else to do that. So I decided, yeah, it needs to be told. These stories, these tools need to be shared and yeah. Decided to step into that role, Steve Rush: Brilliant stuff. There was one thing that really intrigued me when I read the book, it was around activating the culture disruptor from an inside out perspective. Tell us a little bit about that? Siobhan McHale: Yeah, so the culture disruptor is my four steps solution to creating the right culture for your business and it really is. It starts with step number one, which is you must diagnose what is really going on in your organization and in the external environment, too many people stepping to culture change in the wrong place. They start thinking about what type of culture do we need, and that is the wrong place to start. You need to start back at what is going on in the business environment and what are the external forces? What are the deeply embedded and often hidden patterns that are running us that we really maybe need to say goodbye to in the future. Sometimes the patterns that served you very well in the past and not the same patterns that are going to serve you in the future. So yeah, it is a four-step process to get to and continue to create a culture that is going to meet your business needs, starting with them analysing what is going on for you within your workplace, as well as the external environment.   The second step then is to reframe. Reframing is a very powerful tool, and you can reframe the role of the different parts of your business in order to create faster change with less noise. So it gives a lot of examples of how you do that, reframing in the book. And then the third step is to break the pattern. It sounds easy, but it is much harder than it sounds. And there's different tools to break some patterns that are may no longer be serving you. And then the fourth one is to consolidate your gains and this is where a lot of leadership teams and management teams, they lose puff. They run out of steam on the journey. So how do you keep going? How do you keep your foot on the change accelerator over the longer term? Steve Rush: And momentum is probably the biggest key here. Isn't it? Because it is like rolling a big Boulder up a Hill. Siobhan McHale: It is. Steve Rush: You get so far and so far, and the energy starts to wane. What would be the one thing if I was a leader listening to this, that you'd say that would be helpful for me to maintain that momentum on any culture change? Siobhan McHale: Yeah, I would say your leadership team form a, you know, give them the role of leading the change effort, the culture change effort, and have regular meetings with your management or leadership team. About how is the change going? I talk about seeing yourselves as captains of a ship, and instead of spending all of your time on deck. You need to get back onto the bridge and have a look at what is going on in relation to our change journey. How we tracking? What are some of the things that we are experiencing? We might have put something into the organization. How did that go? Often leaders do interventions, but they don't check how it went. You know, what was the reaction? What was the response? What was the feedback? Do we need to ahead in a different direction? So I would say having that management team and meeting regularly and diagnosing how's the change going and how do we need to move and adjust on the journey? Steve Rush: It is a constant evaluation as well. Isn't it? It's just not one of those things you can set off and run and then think, right. Okay. We will keep going. It is a constant evaluation to pivot and to change and to modify, right?   Siobhan McHale: Absolutely, many leaders have been taught. You just spend months defining the values of the organization. You produce a glossy document and some posters; you roll out some workshops and that is it, and that isn't it. As we know, seldom works, so we've got to try a different way. And that's why I think it's important for leaders to understand that they have a culture role and giving them the tools to take up this culture role at all levels. So it is not just senior executives, managers. At all levels need to be able to step into their role, to shape the type of culture that is going to deliver the business results that they need. Steve Rush: You just spiked a thought in my thinking actually, because you are absolutely right. Culture, is not about a certain level of hierarchy leading this. This is a leadership responsibility for everybody in whatever role they do in the organization. I wonder how many organizations actually feature culture and the role that we have to play in leading culture as part of induction programs. Siobhan McHale: I think it is really a great point. I think most organizations would talk to their new employees about their organizational values, but I doubt that many would frame people's role as a cultural leader. I think it is becoming more common, but you know, your role is to lead to the culture and bring it to life every single day. That is a very powerful reframe compared to here are the values and here is your mug or mouse pad with the values on it. Steve Rush: Right. Siobhan McHale: And that was one of the keys at ANZ bank. Every person was told, and one of our five values was that you will lead and inspire each other. So the reframe there was leadership will not come from the top. Each of you will lead and inspire each other and that was a powerful mobilizer on our change journey. That reframe for the 32,000 employees. Steve Rush: I love that. I think that is really powerful, really powerful. So in your book, you also talk about there being a number of big myths about workplace culture. What is the biggest myth that you encountered? Siobhan McHale: I think there are many, many big myths, but I think one of the biggest ones is that culture is somehow fixed and a one size fits all. So there is this myth that, you know, we have to keep the same culture as we have always had. It is like a mountain or a rock, whereas culture needs to adapt, needs to keep on being something that you examine and that you refine as needed. And it's not a one size fits all, you know, there's this thing, Oh, you must, we almost aspire to X culture. Well, you know, what about if you are in a military department, you might want to create a discipline culture to ensure that soldiers and civilians are safe in war torn regions. Whereas if you are a leader in a marketing company, you might want to create an innovative culture. So you can really impress and wow clients with your innovative ideas, so no two organizations will need a want the exact same culture, so it's not a one-size fits all state. Steve Rush: I think you are right, super stuff. The one thing that intrigued me quite often, when I have conversations with my clients and their teams around culture and setting them up for success is the whole principle about how do we measure it. So there is lots of judicial outcomes that we can look forward in terms of behaviours and results, but how would you suggest is the best or the most effective way of measuring culture change? Siobhan McHale: Yeah. Culture itself is, you know, I think if you go back to the ANZ example, what you've got to be able to see in your diagnosis of your culture are the passions of relating between the parts. So you've got to be able to see, for example, that the head office is in role of order giver and the branches are enrolled of order taker. And there's a pattern of blame between them. Now, that is not something you can measure. You've got to be able to go in there and diagnose that. If you don't get that diagnostic, right, the risk is that you go in and you say, Oh, we've got for customer satisfaction. Let's put in some training courses so that the branch staff know how to deliver better customer service to our customers. And that intervention could actually fuel the passion of blame in the organization, as you can imagine, because the branch staff might say, well, they don't even trust us to provide service. Steve Rush: Sure. Siobhan McHale: And it is not our fault. It is the head office. We don't have the authority to make decisions. So that diagnosis is not something that you can measure, but you can measure the outcomes of seeing the pattern and intervening to shift the pattern by for example, a customer satisfaction survey. So if you're aiming to have a culture of customer centricity, you can measure that by getting feedback from your customers about how they seeing your service, but the diagnostic is different to the outcome of the culture, if you know what I'm saying. The passion you can't measure as easily, you've got to be able to see that and it's not necessarily something that a survey will tell you, Steve Rush: Of course and if you don't get that diagnostic, right, your outcomes and your measures of any kind will be incorrect in the first place, Siobhan McHale: Correct, Absolutely and many times leaders rush off and they put in interventions that don't actually create any change. And sometimes it takes them backwards, which was happening at the ANZ. They were doing restructure after restructure, trying to train people and get them to increase the customer satisfaction. And it was having no impact until we went in and did a proper diagnostic. Steve Rush: Yeah, it makes a lot of sense. So as part of your journey as well, and becoming renowned now for culture and leading cultural change, you've also been a leader of others. My job, as part, this show is to hack into the minds of great leaders. And I'm really keen to get into your leadership thinking now, and to find out what would be some of your top hacks. So tell us, what your top leadership hacks could be Siobhan? Siobhan McHale: I would say for me, it is don't try to change somebody as a person. Modify the role, not the person. So for me, I found that that is an amazing way of allowing people to be their true, authentic selves but reframing their role. And I've had so many examples of them, just people seeing their role. In one way, for example, I was coaching somebody who was having real problems with their team, and getting people on board and there was just a lot of noise from her team. She drew a map of her role with seeing herself as an individual achiever and achiever rather than, and she was running up the hill on her own rather than galvanizer or mobilizer of her team. So just that awareness that she was involved with individual achiever and she needed to be enrolled of mobilizer shifted her whole way of interacting with her team. So that would be one of my big ones, reframe the roll rather than trying to modify or change the person. Steve Rush: Fascinating. I have never thought of it that way before, because most people will try and coach cajole, encourage behavioural shift, where actually it might just be a simple reframe of the role. Right? Siobhan McHale: Yeah. Steve Rush: Which is a lot easier to fix of course, than someone's behaviours. Siobhan McHale: Yeah, absolutely and sometimes we, have lots of…another guy, he came to me and he was looking for a job, but he'd been looking for a job for nine months and had cv, that was seven pages long with lots and lots of detail. And I flicked through it and he said, I just can't get a break Siobhan. And I flipped through it and I said, you know what? You are a problem solver. You are a fixer. He went, yeah, that is everything that I have done in my career. I have fixed problems. I solve problems. Anyway, within three months, he had landed a senior job in a very big organization in Australia. And I didn't even know about this, but my boss met his boss, two CEOs meeting each other. And she talked about the fact that she just hired this guy as the CFO. And he said, why did you hire him? She said, oh, he is a problem solver. He is a fixer, just that simple reframe of what he actually did and the value that he brought, allowed him to go into the marketplace and sort of frame his role in a very different way. And it landed him a job so the power of reframing. How you and others see you and your role is incredibly powerful. My other leadership hacks and it is something that we help. We have talked about is don't rush too quickly to solutions. You know, I see a lot of leaders under a lot of pressure to deliver the results very quickly, take the time to diagnose the underlying issues and the patterns that are of relatedness between the parts. And the other one I would say is don't delegate your culture to HR to fix. Make sure you and your other leaders are actually leading culture and HR is in its role to enable that to happen with great tools and great solutions, but don't delegate culture. Steve Rush: Super advice, thank you. We affectionately call this part of the show Hack to Attack. And this is where we explore with our guests times in their career or their lives, where things haven't worked out well, perhaps it's been adversity, but as a result of that, we're now using that experience as a positive in our life and our work. What would be your Hack to Attack? Siobhan McHale: Yeah. When I was first, hired as a management consultant in London at Coopers and Lybrand, which is now PricewaterhouseCoopers. I took on board two big assignments at the same time. I was very keen I was ambitious, so I took on board. Work for two different partners and they were both full time jobs. And I went to one of the partners at the time and I said, listen, I'm really in a double bind here because I've got two massive assignments. And you know, I don't think I can deliver both of them. And he said, well, you've taken them on board now and you've committed. So you've got to deliver them and I stayed up for three weeks working, you know, burning the candle at both ends, but I did deliver both of them. And it was a big lesson for me about, you know, you make a commitment and you deliver on that commitment and no matter what it takes. So it was a really big lesson. It was hard one, but it stayed with me until this day. Whatever you promise, you deliver on that promise. Steve Rush: Sets you up for success. Siobhan McHale: Yeah, absolutely Steve. Steve Rush: So Siobhan, if we were able to do a bit of time travel now and you were able to bump into yourself at 21, what would be the best bit of advice you would give Siobhan Then? Siobhan McHale: At 21, I was still a student in Galway on the West coast of Ireland studying psychology. And I suppose I was wondering at that stage, what would my future look like? And I probably tell myself, don't be fried, follow your passions, travel the world, and yeah. Pursue your dreams and don't be afraid of being your true, authentic self in that as well. Just be who you are and follow your passions, follow your dreams. And that's sort of what I did, but looking back on it, it was probably with some trepidation, I was wondering what's going to emerge in the future. So don't be afraid to be your true self and follow your dreams. Steve Rush: Awesome and of course it's not time bound to age, is it? And that's still probably holds true today, right? Siobhan McHale: Absolutely, same lesson. True, Steve. Steve Rush: So what is next for you then Siobhan? Siobhan McHale: And in terms of what is next for me, I mean, I love my job. I'm the head of HR at DuluxGroup and I love my job and I'm also in my role as an educator. So I love being the head of HR at DuluxGroup and I also love being an educator and which is one of the reasons I wrote the book. So I'm leaning into both of those roles and really loving it, Steve, Steve Rush: And more education and more supporting and helping other people's thinking, which today has definitely been part of too. Siobhan McHale: Oh, thank you. I hope that it will help people to create better workplaces, which is always been my passion. Steve Rush:  So from my perspective, I just want to say, I am delighted that you are on the show and thanks ever so much for sharing some of your great insights. If folks wanted to get to know a little bit more about your work. Where is the best place they could find out a bit more? Siobhan McHale: Yeah I would say LinkedIn is probably the best place to find me. And yeah, Siobhan McHale. It is S-I-O-B-H-A-N, Siobhan a very unusual Gaelic name, but yeah, that is the best place to define me, Steve. Steve Rush:  Brilliant and we will make sure we put your LinkedIn profile in our show notes, and we will also put a copy of the link into your book as well. So folks can find it when they've listened to you today. Siobhan McHale: Great, thanks you Steve. Steve Rush: Siobhan thanks ever so much for taking time out of your busy schedule and speaking to us from the other side of the planet. So our first Australian connection on our show. So thanks ever so much for being part of The Leadership Hacker Podcast. Siobhan McHale: It has been a pleasure.   Closing Steve Rush: I genuinely want to say heartfelt thanks for taking time out of your day to listen in too. We do this in the service of helping others, and spreading the word of leadership. Without you listening in, there would be no show. So please subscribe now if you have not done so already. Share this podcast with your communities, network, and help us develop a community and a tribe of leadership hackers. Finally, if you would like me to work with your senior team, your leadership community, keynote an event, or you would like to sponsor an episode. Please connect with us, by our social media. And you can do that by following and liking our pages on Twitter and Facebook our handler their @leadershiphacker. Instagram you can find us there @the_leadership_hacker and at YouTube, we are just Leadership Hacker, so that is me signing off. I am Steve Rush and I have been the leadership hacker.  

How did a Princeton and Harvard MBA Grad end up in Supply Chain? Listen as Chris interviews Ken Ackerman, founder and lead consultant of K.B. Ackerman Company, to learn about Ken's long career in logistics and warehouse management, the inception of WERC (Warehouse Education and Research Council), and so much more. *** Ken Ackerman has been active in logistics and warehousing management for his entire career. Before entering the consulting field, he was chief executive of Distribution Centers, Inc., a public warehousing company which is now part of Exel Logistics USA. In 1980, Ackerman sold the company and joined the management consulting division of Coopers & Lybrand. In 1981, he formed the Ackerman Company, a management advisory service. Ken is editor and publisher of Warehousing Forum, a monthly subscription newsletter. His newest books are Lean Warehousing and Fundamentals of Supply Chain Management, both published in 2007. His other recent publications include Auditing Warehouse Performance and Warehousing Tips. Harvard Business Review published “Making Warehousing More Efficient,” co-authored with Professor Bernard J. LaLonde. The New York Times published his bylined article “Just In Time, Right For Retail.” He is the author of numerous other articles dealing with warehousing and management. He has the following educational and professional credentials: B.A., Princeton University M.B.A., Harvard University Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals - Past President Warehousing Education and Research Council - Founder Ken Ackerman has provided management advisory services to companies throughout the world. These clients include manufacturers, wholesale distributors, retailers, warehousing firms, carriers and trade associations. He has provided advisory support to several consulting firms. In addition to advisory services, he has conducted training seminars on warehousing. He has served as a speaker at many conferences. His fluency in Spanish enables him to lecture and consult in that language. In 2002, Ken Ackerman was honored by Warehousing Education and Research Council (WERC) with a lifetime membership. He is the first person ever to receive similar recognition from three different organizations: CLM, IWLA and WERC. He received the Distinguished Service and Leadership Award in 1999 from International Warehouse Logistics Association and had earlier received the Distinguished Service Award from Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals. He is an honorary life member of the Ohio Warehousemen's Association and a former director of American Warehouse Association. In civic activities, he was chapter chairman for Young Presidents Organization. He is past president and founder of the Wellington School, former officer of Columbus Association for the Performing Arts and past president of Opera Columbus. In addition to logistics activities, Ken Ackerman serves as a chair in Columbus for Vistage International, the world's leading chief executive organization.

Sir Peter Estlin - Leaders Giving Back to SocietyHe is the 691st Lord Mayor of London an Alderman of the City of London, Sheriff for 2016–17. Peter is an advisor to Barclays plc. Educated at King Edward's School, Witley & the University of Bristol. Accountant & Partner with Coopers & Lybrand. He was CFO for Salomon Brothers Asia, & Citigroup. Joined Barclays bank & was Group CFO. Peter was knighted in the 2020 New Year Honours for services to international business, inclusion & skills.Peter Estlin's 4 Life pillars: family, civic, business career & inclusion. Key roles in Trust for London & Future.now. His pace of life is accelerating. Mother died when he was young & at boarding school met the Lord Mayor of London Sir Kenneth Cork. At 17 had a burning ambition to follow his footsteps - Accountant then Lord Mayor. Mistakes - we don’t stop learning & continue to make mistakes. Ian McCluskey inspired him as Partner - beware too much ambition - risk of not taking people with you. Develop EQ Tip - Ask for forgiveness not permission. Appropriate risk & push boundaries for yourself & others. Nurture & encourage. Balance - not too cavalier nor too cautious.#InspiringLeadership #leadership #CEOs #MotivationalSpeaker #teamcoach #Boards See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On today’s show we will be talking to Tom Rogerson. Tom is the CEO of the GenLeg Company, a company dedicated to helping to create generational legacy and co-founder of The Family Legacy Council.  As a recognized leader and pioneer in family governance throughout the world, Tom uses his “6 Steps to Healthy Family Governance” to assist families with communication, philanthropic vision, legacy planning, succession, and education. During this episode you’ll hear: Why family wealth as well as family businesses that have their advent in the first generation often don’t last to and through the third generation and beyond Primary factors that cause these failures Why family culture isn’t addressed and why the 2nd and 3rd generations are often excluded in family wealth planning and legacy discussions Six steps to healthy family governance Jonathan Krueger is an Investment Advisor Representative with Lion Street Advisors, LLC, a Registered Investment Representative and a Registered Representative with Lion Street Advisors, LLC member SIPC. Opinions expressed on this program do not necessarily reflect those of Lion Street Advisors, LLC or LionsGate Advisors. The topics discussed, and opinions given are not intended to address the specific needs of any listener. Neither Lion Street Advisors, LLC nor LionsGate Advisors offer legal or tax advice; listeners are encouraged to discuss their financial needs with the appropriate professional regarding your individual circumstance. Resources: As a recognized leader and pioneer in family governance throughout the world, Tom uses his “6 Steps to Healthy Family Governance” to assist families with communication, philanthropic vision, legacy planning, succession, and education. Tom incorporates these critical issues into a client’s comprehensive wealth management plan, not only helping to prepare the money for the family, but to also prepare the family for the money. He brings more than three decades of experience to the wealth management industry where he has provided guidance and education to families, helping them transition significant capital, both tangible and intangible, from one generation to the next. Prior to starting his private practice, Tom was with Wilmington Trust, bringing his wealth management expertise as both a speaker and motivator to not only families but to Wilmington’s client-facing teams. He helped Wilmington integrate Family Governance into the fabric of the client relationship, from introduction to full implementation. He created unique messaging utilizing both the Challenger Sale and the SPIN model to motivate prospects, centers of influence, clients, and internal teams towards his integrated approach in managing family wealth. Previously, Tom was Managing Director of Family Wealth Services for BNY Mellon, National Director of Estate Tax Planning with State Street Global Advisors in Boston, and Director of Financial and Estate Tax Planning with Coopers and Lybrand. He holds a bachelor’s in Economics from Ithaca College. Tom is a much sought after international speaker on the topic of family governance, family education and family philanthropy for wealthy individuals, family offices and entrepreneurs. Engagements include: The Young Presidents Organization, The World Presidents Organization, Harvard University Business School, Tiger 21, The Lincoln Center, Yale University, Dallas Theological Seminary, Vistage, Museum of Modern Art, The Nature Conservancy, New York Botanical Garden, The Dallas Foundation, The New York Community Trust, The Boston Foundation, as well as many other organizations.

In a series of discussions at the University of California Los Angeles Anderson School of Management, hosted by Originate and BCG Digital Ventures, experts comment on "Tomorrow's Technologies." For one on social good, I was invited to moderate. The panelists were: Margret Trilli: President & Chief Investment Officer of Impact Assets Rebecca Masisak: CEO of TechSoup Gunnar Lovelace: Founder, Thrive Market & Founder & CEO, GoodMoney Peter Felix: Director of Inventory Control, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank About Margret Trilli: Margret's 25-year career includes executive leadership, investment and operating roles for large and small companies including Barclays Global Investors/Blackrock and Charles Schwab. Currently, Margret is the President and Chief Investment Officer of ImpactAssets where she recently led the firm through the $1B AUM milestone. ImpactAssets advises philanthropists on their impact investing across the spectrum of asset classes and impact themes. The firm specializes in helping families and foundations set impact and investment strategies and realize them through their donor-advised fund, which is the only donor-advised fund dedicated to the catalyzation of impact investing. Margret graduated from Stanford Graduate School of Business and holds a degree in Economics from University of California Santa Barbara. About Rebecca Masisak: Rebecca sets the strategic direction for TechSoup and provides executive oversight of all aspects of the organization and its global operations. She joined TechSoup in 2001 to launch its e-commerce donation platform, moving the organization from a local Bay Area focus to a national reach. In 2006, she founded the TechSoup Global Network to scale the program’s impact globally. Ms. Masisak became CEO of the organization in 2012, after having served the prior six years as co-CEO. She previously worked as a strategy consultant with Coopers & Lybrand and in leadership roles at several Internet businesses. She holds an M.B.A. from the Columbia University Business School. Ms. Masisak was named one of the Most Influential Women of the Bay Area 2017 by San Francisco Business Times and co-leads the Bay Area Social Enterprise Leadership Forum. About Gunnar Lovelace: Lovelace is an active impact investor and operator focused on creating scalable examples of business as a force for good. His last company Thrive Market has competed successfully in the massive trillion-dollar US grocery market against the likes of Amazon and many others, has millions of users, 700+ employees, raised over 200m and is the first e-commerce company to go zero waste from distribution center to landfill. His new company Good Money is conscious mobile banking where every customer becomes an owner over time. About Peter Felix: Peter Felix is the Director of Inventory Control for the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, a leading Southern California Non-Profit. He has championed the use of technology in supply chain management, finance and constituent relationship management (CRM) to effectively manage the over 85 millions pounds of food received and distributed annually to the food insecure in Los Angeles County. About Originate: Originate designs and builds custom software products that solve complex problems for organizations of all sizes and verticals. Originate is the behind-the-scenes innovation partner behind some of the world’s most recognized blue-chip brands and transformative startups. The company works across diverse sectors including real estate, financial services, retail, consumer goods and more to turn disruptive ideas into business opportunities for clients. Headquartered in Los Angeles, Originate has global presence with offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Newport Beach and Berlin. Visit us at www.originate.com, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or Instagram. About BCG Digital Ventures: BCG Digital Ventures is a corporate innovation, incubation, and investment firm. They invent, launch, scale, and invest in industry-changing new businesses with the world’s most influential companies. Their diverse, multidisciplinary team of entrepreneurs, operators, and investors work cross-functionally, rapidly moving from paper to product to business in less than 12 months. Founded in 2014 as a subsidiary of Boston Consulting Group, they have Innovation Centers and satellite locations in four continents and continue to expand their footprint across the globe.

Entrevista con Ovidio Peñalver Ovidio es psicólogo, coach y conferenciante especializado en el ámbito organizativo y empresarial, es uno de los máximos exponentes españoles en la formación y desarrollo de habilidades directivas, especialmente en áreas de liderazgo, comunicaciones y emociones. En este podcast hablamos de su vida personal y profesional, sus conocimientos y experiencias. Habla también del proyecto en el que esta trabajando y de sus futuros proyectos. Si quieres saber mas, escúchanos!! También nos podéis escuchar en las plataformas de podcast de itunes, ivoox, spotify y spreaker. Sobre Ovidio Peñalver: Ovidio Peñalver es uno de los máximos exponentes españoles en la formación y desarrollo de habilidades directivas, especialmente en áreas de liderazgo, comunicaciones y emociones. Idealista e inconformista, su misión personal y profesional es conseguir una sociedad mejor, más humanizada, satisfecha y eficiente. Mediante conferencias, programas formativos, talleres y sesiones de coaching aporta su granito de arena para liberar el talento y apasionar a los directivos y profesionales de empresas y organizaciones. Su carrera profesional comenzó primero como becario y como consultor después en Andersen Consulting. Posteriormente ocupó el puesto de responsable de formación en Bankinter durante dos años y desde 1991 se ha centrado en el área de Consultoría en Recursos Humanos como consultor senior y gerente en Coopers & Lybrand y posteriormente como senior manager en Ernst & Young. Entre 1999 y 2004, Ovidio Peñalver fue director en la práctica de Management Consulting de Soluziona (Grupo Unión Fenosa), responsabilizándose del área de Consultoría en Recursos Humanos. Desde su incorporación en la compañía trabajó y lideró proyectos de organización y recursos humanos, siendo especialista en el diseño, desarrollo, implantación y seguimiento de programas de liderazgo, así como en el desarrollo de habilidades directivas y coaching para directivos. Tras más de 16 años de experiencia en empresas multinacionales, actualmente es Socio Director General de ISAVIA Consultores, una empresa fundada en Noviembre de 2005, dedicada al coaching, desarrollo y formación de habilidades directivas. Ovidio Peñalver busca en sus conferencias el compromiso y la acción en el ámbito más profesional, tanto en la dimensión individual, como para el equipo y organización a la que pertenezcamos y desde un enfoque humanista y sistémico articula sus conferencias en torno a varios principios básicos: Uno no puede ser mejor líder que persona; cuanto más plenos y satisfechos nos sintamos mejor desempeño obtendremos y profesionales seremos; para conseguir influir e impactar en los demás, debemos empezar por conocernos mejor y auto liderarnos a nosotros mismos; para que un cambio de comportamiento sea eficaz y duradero es necesario previamente un análisis y quizá cambio de creencias, valores e incluso de identidad o sentido de uno mismo; ya somos todos líderes. Profesor colaborador de algunos masters y programas (APD, IDDI de la UFV, Euroforum y Facultad de Psicología de la UAM), en las áreas de Liderazgo, Comunicación, Emociones, Estrés y Coaching, Ovidio Peñalver es autor de varios libros, entre los que destacan: “Emociones colectivas: la inteligencia emocional de los equipos” o “Coaching Hoy: Teoría General del Coaching”.   Recomendaciones de libros: -Emociones colectivas: La inteligencia emocional de los equipos "Narrativa Empresarial" (Ovidio Peñalver) -La venganza de la tierra.la teoría de gaia y el futuro de la humanidad (J. Lovelock)    Recomendaciones de películas: -La misión -Avatar -Braveheart   Donde podemos conectar y conocer mejor a Ovidio Peñalver: -Pagina web: isavia.com   Pagina web Siempre Motivados: Web : Siempremotivados.com Instagram: @siempre.motivados

Sports Director Jake Wallace discusses high school football as the race for playoff spots heats up.  Beaufort head coach Bryce Lybrand joins the pod to discuss the Eagles' turnaround this year. 

During this episode we recap last week’s win against Tuskegee and look ahead to North Greenville. We talk with a very special guest - Ethan LyBrand who was our honorary captain and visitor last weekend for our Coach To Cure Muscular Dystrophy Game. You won’t stop smiling as you listen to Ethan and his dad reflect on his first ever college football game!

The evolution of Beaufort High football continues with the Eagles' entering a second consecutive season with a new head coach, and after a rare losing campaign a year ago, first-time head coach Bryce Lybrand has made it a focal point to incentivize giving maximum effort. Lybrand noticed an improved work ethic during the offseason — an observation his players confirmed — and hopes to see if pay off in the form of more victories in 2019. “The kids have really bought into what we're doing and why we're doing it that way,” Lybrand said. “They've kind of bought into the concept of earning everything you get, and I'm really pleased with the effort.” After a 3-0 start a year ago, Beaufort lost five straight during a brutal stretch that included games against two Georgia powerhouses. The Eagles believe they are better prepared to face that difficult schedule this year, and they hope to do a better job of limiting the damage when things go wrong. “It's all about weathering the storm,” Lybrand said. “Sometimes those games that we lost last year were because we didn't handle adversity well. The biggest thing for us is making sure that when something bad happens it doesn't affect us the next two or three plays down the line.” The Eagles have loads of talent back on offense, including most of their offensive line and standout running back James Dagin, but the defense is a work in progress as players adjust to new and expanded roles. BEAUFORT HIGH EAGLES FOOTBALL (click for team page) Coach: Bryce LybrandRecord at BHS: 0-0 (1st season)2018 record: 5-6 overall, 2-1 region (lost in first round of Class 4A playoffs)Returning starters: 6 offense, 3 defenseOffensive scheme: SpreadDefensive scheme: 4-2-5Top returners: RB James Dagin, WR Matt Haley, OL Toby Strawderman, OL, Henry Manley, OL Terrance Wilson, OL Caleb Hagood, LB/TE William Winburn, LB George Williams, S Kaedin GrissomNotable losses: LB Will Kelley, QB/S Jeffrey Smyth, OL/DL Chase Guynup, DL Dexter Ratliff, WR Reed Reichel, WR Trae Heyward PLAYER TO WATCH Tyler Haley, QB: The Eagles made it a point to get Haley playing time behind center in meaningful situations last season, and they hope to see the growing pains he experienced a year ago pay off now that he has fully taken the reins of the offense. The southpaw signal-caller has the potential to be a difference-maker, and his continued development could be the key to the Eagles' success. BURNING QUESTION Who will step up on defense? The Eagles have a handful of starters back on defense, but they also have some gaping holes to fill, including the one previously occupied by All-Lowco Defensive Player of the Year Will Kelley. Stefan Wechsler steps into Kelley's spot, while massive freshman defensive tackle Eamon Smalls figures to be an effective run-stopper at some point but will need to adjust to the Class 4A schedule after playing 8-man football at Beaufort Academy last season. The Eagles have plenty of talent to plug the holes, but it might take a few games for the defense to hit its stride. REGION AND BEYOND In a region without a clear-cut favorite, the Eagles believe they have as much claim to being the frontrunner as anyone. With an experienced offensive line

On today’s episode of the podcast, Phil is joined by his friend and business mentor, Robert “Butch” Rogers. Butch is a CPA who has his own accounting business and also works as a consultant for other CPA’s and producers in the oil and gas industry and as a contract CFO for a few oil and gas companies. Phil and Butch share how they got to know one another, how they both ended up living in Ohio and how Phil got started with his business, SherWare software 25 years ago. They chat about how Butch helped Phil with accounting items to include in his software and how SherWare software continually evolves according to the customers’ needs.    Here are some of the things you can look forward to in this episode:   How Phil and Butch met each other Why Butch left Texas and started his own CPA business How Butch convinced Phil to move to Ohio The story of how Phil started SherWare and how Butch mentored him How SherWare has grown and evolved with the help of its customers   Highlights: 3:35 How Phil and Butch got to know each other 4:07 Leaving Texas and starting his own CPA business 5:37 Finding his niche as a CPA 7:38 Butch noticing that oil and gas clients didn’t have great accounting software 9:06 How Butch helped Phil with writing the SherWare software 11:50 Phil figuring out that he needed to focus on oil and gas 13:40 How SherWare has grown organically and been tailored to customers  16:10 The ease of reporting that comes with SherWare 19:56 What smaller, independent producers are currently facing in the oil and gas industry 24:01 Working as a contract CFO and a consultant for other CPA’s and smaller producers 25:11 What Butch’s accounting firm will be doing next 26:33 How the numbers tell a story in accounting   About Robert Rogers: Robert “Butch” Rogers is a Certified Public Accountant with a Master’s Degree in Taxation from Texas Tech University. He is a CPA in Wooster, Ohio and is a partner in the CPA firm Rogers Accounting Solutions, Inc.    Butch has over 35 years of experience working in and with clients in the oil and gas industry. As a college student, he worked as a roustabout in West Texas. Upon graduating from college he worked for Gulf Oil as a business administration trainee, working in the Midland, Texas district office and the Monahans, Texas field office. He gained valuable oil and gas tax experience working with Coopers and Lybrand in Lubbock, Texas. During his time as a practicing CPA, Butch served a number of small independent producers as a trusted tax and business advisor.    His speaking experience includes conducting continuing education seminars and webinars for various state societies of CPAs, Ohio Oil and Gas Association, COPAS, and Bisk Education.    Connect with Robert: LinkedIn | butchrogerscpa@gmail.com   Link to Websites: Head over to our website to set up a free account with SherWare software. Please make sure to subscribe and leave a rating and review on Apple podcasts.

Veronica Reeves lowered the orb to the bottom of the shaft, and now the orb is about to fulfill its ancient purpose — the Rocktopi will not be taken alive. Connell is trying to escape the tunnels. O’Doyle and Lybrand are farther up the Linus Highway. They are badly wounded, and just stripped Angus Kool of his Koolsuit so that Lybrand could continue on. Meanwhile, Sonny McGuiness watches Funeral Mountain from a safe distance. But he is about to learn there is no such thing.

The silverbugs just attacked Bertha Lybrand and Patrick O’Doyle. He destroyed them, but not before they slashed Lybrand, cutting her bad, slicing off fingers. Angus Kool could have helped, but instead he fled into the underground river and was swept away into the ancient, ruined rocktopi ship. The horde of monsters is still outside the Dense Mass Cavern, held at bay only by ancient superstitions, but how long can that last?

I don't think there's a homeschool parent out there who would say that getting their kids to enjoy writing is easy. Today I am talking with Dr. Fred Lybrand who has been teaching writing for well over two decades (along with countless other pursuits).  He is ALSO a homeschool dad of 5 grown kids and has a unique and sensible approach to helping our kids with writing. He shares several basic principles in this podcast that will make you shake your head and say, "Why didn't I think of that? It makes so much more sense now!" (Hint: simpler really is better!) If you are looking for a writing resource, this may just be a good fit for you.  I invite you to listen and find out! (durendawilson.com)

In the last episode, Connell, Veronica, Sanji, O’Doyle, and Lybrand barely escaped with their lives, rescued by Angus and Randy. But Mack Hendricks wasn’t so lucky. The survivors are holed up in a cave, trying to figure out their next move. Meanwhile, Kayla Meyers has entered the tunnel system, trying to track down those same survivors … and kill them. Will she find Angus?

Connell, Veronica, Mack, Lybrand, Sanji, and  O’Doyle are under attack, trapped on a ledge. On one side, a sheer cliff and certain death. On the other, a crawling army of monsters, steadily closing in. But there is a way out — Angus Kool and Randy Wright just dropped down from a place higher up the cliff face. Can they get Connell and the others off the ledge before it’s too late?

Connell, O’Doyle, Lybrand and the others just endured a grueling, savage fight for life against the original occupants of the Picture Cavern. Deep in another part of the tunnel complex, Angus Kool and Randy Wright were dissecting a silverbug, trying to learn what technological secrets might be inside. And up on the surface, Kayla Meyers is ready to parlay the unimaginable discovery of the Funeral Mountain horrors into a shot at redemption, a shot at getting back her position in the National Security Agency. Will she once again represent the USA?

Fifteen thousand feet below Funeral Mountain, Connell, Veronica, Mack, Lybrand, Sanji, and O’Doyle are heading even deeper, trying to reach the Dense Mass Cavern and find a way out of their living tomb. They have found strange signs that say Killroy Was Here, but who made them? In this episode, the crew hits an obstacle they never expected. Up on the surface, Kayla Meyers has discovered that Angus Kool and Randy Wright are alive and in the hospital. They are two more loose ends; ends that she is about to eliminate.

Coach Lybrand talks about his journey to becoming an Eagle and gives an in depth view of his offense and what we are trying to accomplish.

Coach Lybrand talks about his journey to becoming an Eagle and gives an in depth view of his offense and what we are trying to accomplish.

In this episode of Life In Accounting: The Where Accountants Go podcast,  Donny Shimamoto, CPA, CITP, CGMA shares his career journey, which is unique as it has been heavily focused on technology and business intelligence. Additionally, Donny also reveals what his life is like as a business owner, consultant, and public speaker! Formal Education Donny's track in college was influenced by one of his early supervisors in an internship opportunity. That individual had a double major in Accounting & Management Information Systems and encouraged Donny to look into a similar path.  After college, his first job was with Coopers & Lybrand and the double major paid off in that he worked in a dual track handling jobs in both financial and information technology audit. If after listening to this podcast you find Donny's career path interesting, consider Donny's advice… take an accounting information systems course, a database course, and one basic programming course. A Glimpse Inside of Donny's World Donny spends his days removing obstacles for his clients and team, and working to understand his client's goals for their businesses. This breaks down into a few primary tasks: Facilitating discovery meetings Reviewing documents for his clients and his own enterprise Educating and teaching Traveling to consult with clients – about 75% of the time! The Role of Artificial Intelligence Artificial Intelligence (AI) is fantastic! When you break it down it is basically automation compiled with a little bit of learning. It is a great analysis tool and pattern detection system. But at the end of the day, you still need an accountant to create the action plan. Find out more about Donny Shimamoto & his business Intraprise Techknowlogies here: http://www.intraprise.us/ Other podcasts referenced in this podcast: Interview with Sheila Enriquez, JD, CPA, CFF To listen in on this interview with Donny Shimamoto, please use the player below:  

Is it possible to completely change careers and built a successful new career in accounting? What is the difference between working for a public accounting firm and the public-sector? What certifications are most desirable? In this episode of Life In Accounting: The Where Accountants Go podcast, Amy Barrett, CPA shares her expertise on these topics as well as her experiences transitioning from Macy's to public accounting with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) to the public-sector with the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Auditing in a Public Accounting Firm Public accounting and auditing allows you to learn about different industries and company performance styles. You can see what works well and what may need improvement. Amy focused on higher education while she was with Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC) in the Boston office. She got her first experience with investment auditing there. She moved to Austin later and decided to leave public accounting at that point. Auditing with the Public Sector Amy accepted a position in Internal Audit with the University of Texas after leaving public accounting. It was a challenging transition because she moved from a large organization with a strong culture that was for-profit to a not-for-profit government organization. For the past ten years now though Amy has served as the Chief Audit Executive at the Teacher Retirement System (TRS). TRS manages assets into the billions. The role has changed during her tenure, which she enjoys.  She encourages her team to pursue and maintain the CIA certification. Other certifications that are helpful include the Certified Government Auditing Professional (CGAP), Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). Internal Auditing: A Collaborative Endeavor Internal audit is auditing done within an organization, which allows you to work with the same people every day in a collaborative environment. Focused on strategy, compliance, and improvement ideas, internal auditors use recent information to determine if things are operating the way the team envisioned. This provides great value to the organization. Good auditors ask a lot of questions to understand the environment fully. To listen in on this interview with Amy Barrett, please click below:  

Mr. Prow has more than 30 years of information technology and federal services experience, including leadership positions at IBM Corporation, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Coopers & Lybrand. During his career, he has run large global government services organizations, delivering solutions to a wide array of Department of Defense and other government customers.

Sylvester ‘Sly' Johnson, joined us for this week's episode of Life In Accounting: The Where Accountants Go podcast. Career Growth After receiving his Bachelor's Degree from Notre Dame University, Sly went into public accounting as a staff auditor for Coopers & Lybrand (now PwC), which gave him exposure to several industries.  He felt that the public accounting background would give him a good start to later transition into industry, which he did – but only after reaching the Senior Manager level with PwC. After several discussions about a few roles, PepsiCo offered Sly a corporate auditor role in Dallas on a two-to-three-year job rotation plan, which would allow him to learn more about other aspects of their industry. After this he accepted a finance manager role with the Food Systems, which eventually spun off and became Yum Brands. During this time, he became responsible for supply chain and he noticed that many of his peers had their MBAs and thus began pursuing his MBA as well. After completing his MBA, Sly began looking for opportunities that were more aligned with CFO specifications and requirements. He found a role with the Dallas Morning News which allowed him to bring his family to Dallas.  A while later he was recruited to assume the role of Comptroller for 7-Eleven. After 7-Eleven, Sly worked with a start-up as well as another organization going through bankruptcy proceedings before joining Bob Evans, a national restaurant chain based out of Ohio. More recently though, Sly was recruited to join the well-known, privately held restaurant chain of close to 800 locations – Whataburger in San Antonio. Sly's Management Philosophy Be a good listener. This skill builds credibility, accountability, & decision-making skills. Take the time to get to know your team. Learning about team members holistically will build camaraderie and strengthen their commitment to each other. Provide opportunities that will result in success. Have fun, recognize team members, and celebrate successes. . Career Advice Apply critical thinking skills, Bring new ideas to the table, Network inside the firm, Be a team player, Take risks, Assume accountability for your actions, Never stop learning, …And always remember to enjoy the opportunities and the moment!

Bob Diamond is a practicing real estate attorney and investor with years of experience in real estate law, investment, development and is the author of three books on real estate investing. You may be familiar with Bob from his appearances on FOX, NBC, CNBC, NPR, or the Flip That House television show on TLC. Bob graduated from Villanova University with a degree in Finance in 1987 and from Temple University School of Law in 1993. He became a Pennsylvania licensed attorney in 1993. During his career outside of real estate and law, Bob worked for Meridian Mortgage in their default and REO department, for Arthur Anderson and Coopers and Lybrand as a business consultant, and for the international law firm Cozen O’Connor as a real estate attorney. For his own account, Bob has been investing in real estate for over twenty years and has participated as the buyer, seller, or attorney in over one hundred million dollars in real estate transactions over the past twenty years. Bob has been teaching real estate investing since 1999 so you have probably heard of Bob in the investor world where he is known as the ‘guru’s guru.’ Because of his legal expertise and experience as a real estate attorney, Bob is sought after for his advice and counsel. What you’ll learn about in this episode: The breakdown of what a tax sale is and how a tax sale overage works How you can find real estate tax overages How real estate tax overages can provide strong cash-flow The benefits of tax sale overages The number of properties that are being sold every day in tax sales The hardest thing about the tax sale overage business Bob’s new book “Overages Overdrive” What a typical deal costs to put together and process Having a legal structure in place to ensure that the money made from a tax sale overage passes through a business account Resources: REInvestorsummit.com/BobDiamond REInvestorSummit.com/mypodcast REInvestorSummit.com/grow REInvestorSummit.com/100 REInvestorSummit.com/101

www.success101podcast.com/161 Mark Divine is from Upstate New York with a degree in economics from Colgate University and an MBA in finance from New York University Stern School of Business. Mark’s first career was with Coopers & Lybrand (now PriceWaterhouse Coopers) as a Certified Public Accountant. Four years after joining Coopers, Mark left behind the corporate world to…

Kelly Coughlin is interviwed by Chris Carlson. Chris is a lawyer and actor in Minneapolis and applies his Socratic method to extract from Kelly what the heck he is doing with BankBosun. Kelly Coughlin is CEO of BankBosun, a management consulting firm helping bank C-Level Officers navigate risk and discover reward. He is the host of the syndicated audio podcast, BankBosun.com. Kelly brings over 25 years of experience with companies like PWC, Lloyds Bank, and Merrill Lynch. On the podcast Kelly interviews key executives in the banking ecosystem to provide bank C-Suite officers, risk management, technology, and investment ideas and solutions to help them navigate risks and discover rewards. And now your host, Kelly Coughlin. Kelly: Hi, this is Kelly Coughlin. I’ve got my long-time friend Chris Carlson on the line. He’s CEO of Narrative Pros. Chris, are you there? Chris: I am. Kelly: Great. How are you doing? Chris: I’m pretty good. How about you? Kelly: I’m terrific. Chris and I were catching up. We haven’t talked with each other in a while, and we were catching up on what’s going on. Chris had a bunch of questions about what we’re doing at the Bank Bosun, and we thought, “Well, let’s turn this into a podcast.” Rather than me talking to Chris about what I’m doing, he’s going to ask me some questions so it will help him and the audience better understand what we’ve got going on. Chris I’m going to turn it over to you. Chris: All right. Well, I think first up on the order of business is letting everyone else know a little bit more about who you are. I’ve known you for a while, but why don’t you let people know a little bit more about yourself. Kelly: I’m 58, 4 daughters, 4 granddaughters, and I don’t know if you knew this, I have one grandson. Finally a male in the family. Chris: Oh, congratulations! Finally! Kelly: CPA. Went to Gonzaga University. My uncle is Father Bernard J. Coughlin who is President. Go Barney! He’s 92 now, and I always give him a shout-out when given the opportunity. I also got my MBA from Babson. Let’s see, I worked for PWC when it was Coopers and Lybrand, and then Lloyd’s Bank, CEO of an investment and financial technology company that I founded, managed, and sold. I don’t if I’ve touched base with you since I’ve started working with Equias Alliance as a risk consultant. They do bank-owned life insurance (BOLI) and non-qualified plan programs for banks. I don’t think we’ve really touched base since I started with them. Chris: No. It’s interesting. Kelly: Yes, it is. Chris: Speaking of which, explain to me this BankBosun. Am I saying that right? I take it it’s a nautical term. Kelly: Yeah. Technically, it’s spelled B-O-S-U-N on the website, BankBosun, but Bosun is actually spelled B-O-A-T-S-W-A-I-N, like boat swain, but it’s pronounced Bosun. Chris: Okay. Kelly: BankBosun, it’s a syndicated audio program, really, that’s designed to bring together executives all throughout the U.S. who are participating in what I call the bank ecosystem. Chris: Wait. I’m not going to let off the hook here. What does a boatswain do? Kelly: The captain of a ship needs help and guidance and support, so the boatswain helps the skipper, the captain of the ship, achieve its mission and purpose. Chris: All right. Yeah, that’s a segue because I’m connecting the dots as we speak as I listen to you. BankBosun helps C-level execs in the way. Is that right? Kelly: Yeah. That’s correct. We’re not dealing with ship captains. We’re dealing with bank officers, chief officers. It’s a clever play on the words C-officers, sea-level officers. Chris: It is clever. It’s very punny. A lot of puns. That’s good though. It keeps the interest. I’m not going to let off the hook with the other fancy term which is banking ecosystem. An ecosystem, if I remember it, that’s like the jungle. Right? What do you mean by banking ecosystem? Kelly: The jungle is one ecosystem, so technically it’s a biological community interacting within a set relationship among resources, habitats, and residents of the area. By this, I mean the residents of the banking community, so it’s all the residents of the banking community interacting among each other. The area is not defined as a physical definition like a pond or an ocean or a jungle. It’s defined as a business industry, and in this case, it’s the banking industry. Chris: Sure. All right. What do they need? I mean, why them? I mean, given your background it makes sense. Kelly: Why the banking ecosystem? Chris: Yeah, why do they need particular help and why are you the one to help direct that assistance? Kelly: Well, bankers are just fascinating, interesting people, aren’t they? Chris: Yes, yes they are. They evidently need a lot of help. Kelly: Well, I’ve been in the banking ecosystem, if we can keep using and then abusing and overusing that term, since I was 22. I started my career at Merrill in Seattle in the early 80’s selling mortgage-backed securities to the banks and credit unions. That was a good introduction to navigating this ecosystem. I would say that I learned a lot from that. Then I was consultant at PWC, and CEO of Lloyd’s at two asset management subsidiaries of Lloyd’s Bank, and then as a CEO of our financial technology company Global Bridge. Our primary market was banks, so I’ve been in this ecosystem, if you will, for many, many years, and I do find it interesting and fascinating. The 2008 crash, or melt down I should say, and several others that we’ve had in history, emphasize that banks are a foundation or bedrock of the economy. Frankly, they need all the help they can get. It’s good for the economy. Chris: These bankers you’re trying to reach, I’m assuming you’re doing it through these podcasts and other high-tech, and you’re pretty comfortable that they’ll be able to get the help they need through that and not be put off by it? It’s a good way to reach them? Kelly: Well, it’s certainly is not something that historically they’re used to and comfortable with. Historically it’s been print media, download reports, print them, stick them in your briefcase, read them when you can. Half the time you don’t read them, or if you do, you read them on the airplane and then chuck them. It’s not something that they’re used to right now, but I know as a CEO of a couple of companies in my past, that we pulled in so many different directions from different constituents whether it be board members or key customers or regulators, employees, suppliers, consultants, accountants, everybody is pulling at us and yanking at our time. CEO’s, generally, and CFO’s, but C-level execs, they need to extract value from all these different sources of information efficiently and effectively. I really am a proponent of the multitasking concept, so the idea was, “Let’s give them some good information, bring together this ecosystem, give them some good information but in a way that they can do other things.” Kelly: Frankly, we’re right in the middle of sporting season, football season and the World Series. I was actually down in Kansas City for the World Series. That was fun. The commercials are ridiculous in these sporting events especially football, so I figured out a way to multitask during these games. Certainly during football games you can read if you want, but also you can listen and learn too. CEO’s, you run your own company. You got a million things going on. Right? You’ve got to figure out a way to maximize the return off of that. Chris: Absolutely. Yeah. You said earlier that you think that it’s a time when banks have a greater challenge than they’ve had in the past, and with your nautical-themed assistance, give me a sense of why now is a particularly challenging time for banks and how you’re going to be able to help us. Kelly: Well, I like the nautical theme for the Bank Bosun. I’ve sailed for many years. I’ve lived in Seattle in the 80’s. To me skippering a boat was, where you have a lot of moving parts and people and weather and tides and currents and rocks and other boats to deal with and coast guard, the regulator, and it really served as a great metaphor for running a business, but especially a bank. I think any executive that’s been in charge of a boat knows exactly what I mean about that. When you’re out sailing in the Puget Sound or the ocean, you use whatever tools and information you can muster up to get you and your crew and your boat to the next point. There are no guide posts. There are no signs. You have to watch weather, currents, tides, all that kind of stuff. All of those principles apply to skippering a company, but especially a bank. Chris: That makes sense. You sold me on the metaphor. Kelly: Good. Chris: Tell me more about where you’re at right now and what the connection is with your Bank Bosun. Are they okay with this new gig? How do they relate? Kelly: Well, Equias is in the bank-owned life insurance space. BOLI is the acronym for that. I came across Equias and the BOLI industry when I was working on a management consulting project. I didn’t know anything about the industry or the product at that time, but after I finished the engagement I thought, “Man, I need to get into this space,” because I love the asset class, if you will. Frankly, it’s an alternative investment for banks’ portfolios. Now, it has to be surrounded by insurance and you have to make sure that insurance is a key part of it, but at the end of the day, it’s a phenomenal asset class. It transfers balance sheet risk. You get a higher return than treasuries, than municipal bonds, and that sort of thing, but I really do like the asset class. Then it has some benefits for funding non-qualified plans. The thing that I liked about it is it reminded me of my early Merrill Lynch days selling mortgage backed securities. At the time, mortgage backed securities were a new, innovative product. They had a few more moving parts involved, and it required me to simplify the value proposition. You really need to focus on the benefits, which everybody needs to do in any business. With any product, you’ve got to focus on the benefits. I always think of the line, “People don’t want a quarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole.” Now this is, at the end of the day, a life insurance product. I also love the line by Woody Allen, “I tried to commit suicide one day by inhaling next to an insurance salesman.” There’s always some inherent bias against that. My father sold insurance, and I told that to him when I was about 22 or something. He didn’t find it that funny actually. I find it funny. Chris: It is funny. It’s a funny line. Kelly: Yeah, it is. Chris: It’s funny because the word inhaling is funny. Kelly: You’re going to probably offend somebody. Chris: Probably, but that’s not your target market. Kelly: They’re my colleagues. Chris: Your friends, as it were. Speaking of friends, I haven’t wished you, my friend, a Happy New Year. We’re about a year into it here, and you see all these lists coming out, top movies, top TV shows. Why don’t you give me the top three initiatives for, BOLI, or for the banking ecosystem? Kelly: Okay. Chris: Pick your field. Kelly: Well, I certainly have three, but I’m not going to tell you two of them because I wouldn’t want to tip off our competitors onto what I’ve got up my proverbial sleeve. Chris: Okay. Kelly: Stay tuned. News at 5. Chris: That’s right. Kelly: Let me hear your sales voice say that. Chris: News at 5. Now it’s, News in 5 seconds. I asked you for the top three initiatives for 2016 and you said that you’ll give me one. Kelly: I’ll give you one. Chris: It’s called negotiating? Kelly: Yeah. Chris: Okay. Kelly: The one that I’m intrigued by is a confluence of two things. One is cyber security risk. Chris: All right. Kelly: The other is risk transference of that risk. I want to explore whether it makes sense to pursue a captive insurance program for banks to underwrite cyber security risk. Setup a collective or a community to do that. I think it’s being mispriced now by insurance companies because they haven’t really identified the risk. They haven’t really identified how big the risk is, how to mitigate the risk, and then how to price it. Anytime you have unknowns like that, especially in insurance, you get over, mispricing, I should say. That’s something that intrigues me. Chris: Yeah, it makes sense. Kelly: Yeah. The other two I’m not going to tell you about. Chris: Perfect! In the acting business, we call this dramatic tension, which you’ve done a good job of creating. Kelly: Thanks! Chris: Well it sounds interesting. It’s good stuff. We want to thank you for listening to the syndicated audio program, BankBosun.com The audio content is produced by Kelly Coughlin, Chief Executive Officer of BankBosun, LLC; and syndicated by Seth Greene, Market Domination LLC, with the help of Kevin Boyle. Video content is produced by The Guildmaster Studio, Keenan Bobson Boyle. The voice introduction is me, Karim Kronfli. The program is hosted by Kelly Coughlin. If you like this program, please tell us. If you don’t, please tell us how we can improve it. Now, some disclaimers Kelly is licensed with the Minnesota State Board of Accountancy as a Certified Public Accountant. Kelly provides bank owned life insurance portfolio and nonqualified benefit services to banks across the United States. The views expressed here are solely those of Kelly Coughlin and his guests in their private capacity and do not in any other way represent the views of any other agent, principal, employer, employee, vendor or supplier of Kelly Coughlin.