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In today's episode I'm interviewing Dr. Jessica Higgins. Jessica is a Licensed Psychologist and Licensed Professional Counselor. She holds a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology and a M.A. in Counseling Psychology. She is also a certified Dream Builder Coach and Life Mastery Consultant. Jessica offers an integrative and comprehensive blend of psychology and coaching. She specializes in helping couples shift and transform their ways of relating, guiding them on a path from confusion and heartache to clarity and authentic connection. She is also the founder and creator of Connected Couple, a comprehensive, research-based, transformational, relationship program. This program helps couples at any stage in their relationship or marriage. Today we talk about how to achieve new levels of success, meaning, and aliveness in our relationships. From a very young age Jessica had an inclination towards people, and by the time she was in junior high she knew she wanted to become a psychologist. A few years later, after going through her own relationship struggles, she started to go deeper in her own personal journey and felt very inspired and motivated to help people have access to more relationship principles that cultivate lasting love and long-term intimacy. Healthy Relationships Have Health Benefits Studies show that being in a healthy relationship or having a companion in life can actually improve our longevity. Attachment is the emotional connection that we form as infants with our main caregivers. According to this attachment theory, the healthier the bonding and relationship we had with them the better our relationships with other people will be throughout our lives. There are also FMRI studies that show how someone holding the hand of a loved one, like a significant partner, will experience less pain, so there's a sense of resilience when we can have that partnership. There is also evidence of better recovery rates in hospitals when people have significant partners with them. There are so many benefits physiologically and psychologically that we experience from being partnered. From cradle to grave we are wired to need this bonding. It is as necessary as breathing - we need connection. How Relationships and Intimacy Can Trigger Past Trauma We all have an attachment system, meaning the way that we are going to think about others in the world and how people are going to respond to us. It is affected by whether we feel safe and our needs are met. It's intellectual, so our mental thinking and our beliefs, but it's also physiological, like our nervous system, as well as emotional. So, it's really this whole triad in the working model and that gets developed at a very young age. Zero to three are the formative years and it's the relational imprint of you. This comes through the patterning of how people responded to us, if our caregivers were responsive, if they showed up for us when we cried, if they were attuned and available, etc. Or maybe they were overwhelmed or under unfortunate circumstances if there's been abuse in the family lineage. So, if we fast forward, people can have insecure attachment tendencies in adulthood if they didn't get exposure to consistent care givers in childhood. One of the ways this may show up is by being protective. They turn away from relationships, rely on themselves, and not reach out to others for help. When caregiving was inconsistent, another possibility is to be more anxious in relationships and doing more double checking for connection, such as saying “Are we still good, is everything stable, are you still with me?” That's a hypervigilance tendency. For both of these attachment styles, the studies and medical findings show that there's a lot of activation. It doesn't look like it on the outside. It can look a little indifferent, but what's happening inside the person is the heart rates increases and all the physiological symptoms of stress. So, it doesn't feel relaxed and calm and secure when connecting with another person. It's interesting to notice that these activation responses don't occur with all relationships. It tends to occur in our most intimate relationships. The nervous system sees our close relationships as necessary for survival, so one might say the nervous system is going to respond similarly to being chased by a bear. The nervous system might get triggered just as much if, for example, your husband is giving you a look and is upset with you and having an issue with you. So, that threat happens when we are deeply committed, and we get vulnerable, and if the stakes are higher, like having children together. Whatever it is that intensifies that connection is going to affect our nervous system and our attachment system gets more activated. That's when those previous insecurities might emerge and we might be surprised by them. Stages of Intimacy There are various stages in the development of intimacy. The first stage is the romance stage or even referred to as the honeymoon stage, and it's highly fueled by neurochemicals, like dopamine and oxytocin. They get us in that super excited high and we tend to over romanticize, and project and imagine who they are, but we really don't really know them yet. After 9 to 18 months we enter into the second stage, which is the power struggle stage. This is the place where we are like, “oh, that's how you do that?” or feeling the upset of the differences. At this stage we're working on how we understand each other, how we learn what we're both feeling, and how we can work together. But oftentimes many of us don't know how to do conflict very well. Conflict feels threatening, and all these things are emerging, and it can be difficult to sift through. Navigating The Complexity of Conflict One of the biggest traps we can fall into is when we might have certain expectations that aren't being communicated clearly. So, for instance, say there's a heated discussion. Partner A grew up in a family where there was a sense of connection. During a disagreement, it might get a little charged or people might yell but they all know they love each other so they're going to repair to get to a better place. Then there is Partner B, whose family is a group where they're not going to say anything hurtful and they're not going to speak in any tone that has any ounce of upset. They might pause before talking to be more regulated, or sometimes maybe they don't come back, and they don't talk about things at all. We have to recognize these very different orientations to know how to address a conflict. There are 7 to 8 irreconcilable differences that every couple has. That could be ‘the spender' and ‘the saver', ‘the planner' and ‘the spontaneous one', it could be ‘the social one' and ‘the introvert', or it could be ‘the one that's on time' and ‘the one that's always late'. We have to be able to see all these differences when we're living life together and be willing to works towards communicating our needs and trust our partner will do the same. How to Be More Curious When Conflict Feels Like Criticism The core of most disagreements is that people don't feel heard, and then they aren't feeling like they're able to collaborate and work together for a win-win. It is very common for us to describe the thing that we do not like and hope that our partner will be able to interpret and understand what we are feeling and needing. But that's a lot of decoding that most of us do not know how to do. If it's not a clear signal most people are not going to give what you're asking of them. It's not an easy thing to access, but if we can slow down and say “I wonder what he/she is feeling” or “I wonder what he/she needs right now?” because it's not about him/her criticizing me, it's about there's something happening for him/her that he/she wants and I'm not actually hearing it. So, we could prompt our partner to uncover what might really be at the core of it with questions like, “Well what's this about?” or “Can you tell me about what you're wanting?” or “How does this have value for you?” and then hopefully this will reveal the real feeling underneath the perceived criticism. When we express the feeling that is driving our usual first commentary, our partner – if they are the right partner -- will want to show up for that. No one is interested in showing up for a negative critique, but if we can understand what the other person needs, we can then pivot towards that. That's where the win-win starts to come in, but that's hard to get at when we don't slow down and identify and reveal, and then start to work with those deeper layers. Regulating Your Body can Have a Huge Impact on Having Regulated Relationships If we can support the nervous system to feel more regulated, then we can have access to have more productive conversations. Also, if there's past experiences or trauma and we haven't experienced safety in these types of conversations, then it makes perfect sense that there's going to be a lot of activation around perceived conflict. There's a concept in psychology and neuroscience where our nervous systems are constantly harmonizing and picking up information from the people around us. So, if the tone of voice changes or the facial expressions and nonverbals being perceived, we might not know why, but we'll feel the agitation of that before we have an intellectual understanding of why. We could just start to feel things ratcheting up and we might not even have a real awareness around what's really happening. That's where the importance of slowing down comes in, even to allow the nervous system to get regulated before we get into those conversations. How to Deescalate and Find Clarity Jessica finds it is helpful to create a new cycle together because that's going to create more safety and more connection in the communication. Oftentimes we're aware of the secondary emotions, the tendencies of how we might perceive our partner, but that doesn't get at the deeper layer of what is actually happening and the core of why we reacted that way. And so, we really have to work on slowing down to get to understand the deeper layer. When we can get to a place to just say “Oh, I'm acting this way because I feel nervous or scared” and here's what I'm thinking, here's where I want to go, or here's what's happening internally for me. Historically, couples wait too long to access therapy as support. But you don't have to start there. If the conflict is at a low level, if the charge on a scale from 1 to 10 is like a 3 or 4, start with journaling to unpack these difficult emotions. Keep digging deeper. The first layer will most likely be writing about why you believe you are in the right, but then you should keep writing. Why did it make you feel like that? Did it remind you of something else? If you would like to get a good journal and start doing this this you can find one here. Often times even just by having this unfiltered space where no one else but us can dictate what is going on, we can start to soften. This is because we are making ourselves feel heard and starting to come closer to the truth of why we are reacting in a certain way. And once you get closer and practice more with peeling back those layers and getting to that vulnerability that you were hiding, you can see yourself more clearly, and that maybe you were acting out of fear. Then the next step is learning to share that vulnerability with your partner. When your partner responds kindly and openly to your vulnerability is when real intimacy can be built. If the charge is higher on the scale, and there is also a backlog of problems, that's when it's probably time to seek additional support. How Can We Change Patterns Individually to Get Unstuck Together If we realize we want to make a change in our own lives, but we shy away from that change or delay on these types of conversations, while it might feel less conflictual in the moment, it can cause more difficulty in the long term. There's a term in psychology called differentiating in which we can hold on to ourselves when our partner is doing something different or even disagrees with what we're doing, and we can tolerate some of that discomfort and it can actually be highly attractive. So, we should look at change as something that has the potential to be very positive not just for the individual, but for the relationship as well. When you are hiding yourself for the perceived continuation of the relationship, that can start to resemble something closer to enmeshment or codependence. In healthy interdependence, we do rely on each other, but we can also nurture and listen to our own development and our growth. If we can do a little preparation before these conversations that we know might cause some defensiveness or tension, and if we can understand what we're needing or what that deeper request is or desire or what's not working, then we will most likely have much more productive and understanding conversations with our partners. If we can make a reveal of vulnerability and/or a request in a vulnerable way, those conversations are going to happen in a much more productive and efficient way. The Importance of Unconditional Positive Regard for Yourself Our attachments exist on a spectrum. We are not purely anxious or avoidant. So, it can take time and difficulties in relationships before we are ready and have the history to see where we need healing. As you start to get more curious about yourself, you can start to accept what your own patterns are. As you practice this more, you can realize when you are starting to act on a recurring pattern and choose to change it. That decision to change is a scary step into vulnerability, and what you have to remind yourself in those moments, is that no matter what happens with this person, you will always have your own back. Even if that person doesn't choose you after you show them vulnerability, that's okay because you are showing up for that part of yourself that's scared and feeling anxious about being rejected or abandoned. You can say to yourself “I hear you, I see you, I got you.” You will know you are with the right person if these signals or bids of vulnerability are met with a softening and a reciprocal tenderness. Vulnerability is a Risk, But the Reward Can be Beautiful Beyond Measure If you are parenting and you are taking the opportunity to work on these tough and sometimes scary emotions, you will be modeling these steps that are critical for authentic connection and bonds. Children in turn get to see that and it can shift their future relationships and their experience as a human. Being vulnerable is the same as being brave, and can have a ripple effect into future generations, positively affecting the way people build relationships in the future. In neuropsychology there's this idea that we have to ‘name it to tame it', so even just recognizing the intensity of the emotion and giving space for it (even if it's not resolved right at that moment) will help us start to regulate, and then we're in a much better position to deal with it. But if we're not willing to name it, a lot of things can happen and we will do all types of things to hide, to avoid, and to suppress. A lot of injuries happen in relationship and so when we have the tools for healing, it has profound impact on cultivating repair and resilience and health and all the good things. If you want to reach out to Dr. Jessica and learn more about how she can help you, please make sure to check out her website. She is also on social media as @drjessicahiggins (Instagram) and @EmpoweredRelationship (Facebook). You can also check out her Empowered Relationship Podcast. If you want to learn more about how stress and trauma affect us, and how to heal so that you can be better and more present in your relationships, you may want to read my book Master Your Stress Reset Your Health. In the book, I describe what I refer to as SelfC.A.R.E. based on your Stress Type. C stands for Clean Eating, A for adequate sleep, R for recovery activities, and E for exercise. I share the research behind how C.A.R.E. works in a daily routine to help us process stress and overcome trauma. To know your Stress Type, which is your unique cortisol and adrenaline levels based on how stresses have affected your adrenal function, you can take the quiz I developed. You can find the Stress Type® Quiz in the book and on my website. Then, if you're ready to start rebalancing your cortisol and neurotransmitters, to help your adrenals reset after stress exposure, you can start by ordering this home test kit. And you can also sign up for my Stress Warrior Online Program to guide you here. If you're interested in a safe and effective body, mind and spirit detoxification that will actually make you feel better and that you can do without affecting your daily routine, you can check out my New 14-Day Detox Program here. In the Detox Program I teach you to connect with yourself, and use mind-body tools, such as biofeedback, to process emotions. For the most comprehensive support, even with the most difficult health issues (physical or mental), it is best to meet with me one-on-one, which is available to you no matter where you are in the world (via phone or zoom). You can set up a one-on-one appointment with me here. We're here to help you! Connect with Dr. Doni:    Facebook HTTPS://FACEBOOK.COM/DRDONIWILSON   Instagram HTTPS://INSTAGRAM.COM/DRDONIWILSON   YouTube HTTPS://YOUTUBE.COM/USER/DONIWILSONND   Weekly Wellness Wisdom Newsletter: HTTPS://DOCTORDONI.COM/WWW     -   Additional Resources:    If you want to work on your gut health and microbiome you may want to sign up for my Heal Leaky Gut Program (https://doctordoni.com/leaky-gut-program) where I teach you how to heal leaky gut with my proven protocol.    If you're interested in learning more about my approach to healing HPV you can find my new HPV Recovery Guide here (https://doctordoni.com/ddpp/hpv-guide/).    If you are tired of this virus and are really committed to erasing it from your life forever, you can sign up for my Say Goodbye to HPV 12-Week Program here (https://drdoni.lpages.co/hpv-12-week-program/).   You can also sign up for my Stress Warrior Program here (https://doctordoni.com/stress-program).    Also, if you want to learn more about how to recover from stress so that you can get back to feeling your best, you may want to read my book Master Your Stress Reset Your Health (https://doctordoni.com/master-your-stress/). In the book, I also share the quiz I developed to help you identify how stress has affected you specifically by knowing your Stress Type. You can also take this Stress Type Quiz online (https://doctordoni.com/quiz/stress-quiz/)   For the most comprehensive support, even with the most difficult health issues (physical or mental), it is best to meet with me one-on-one, which is available to you no matter where you are in the world (via phone or zoom). You can set up a one-on-one appointment with me here (https://doctordoni.com/work-with-me/)   Disclosure: Some of the links in this post are product links and affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission at no cost to you. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.  

A few weeks ago, I was in the middle of a call with a client, an artist I'm coaching. When? Well, we talked about the project he was doing, which is a project, by the way, that he'd been dying to do for three or four years. We finally created the time we got some money involved. And he was able to put this project together. And what he said to me in the conversation, he said I know that it's good. I just wished that it was great. So we dove into that. But what's the difference between this being good and being great, and the more he talks, the more he self-identified with that tension. In fact, at some point, he said, I know that as an artist, I'm just good. But I wish I was great. Which then begs another series of questions. And it's led to this reflection, and we've talked three or four times since then. So we've talked about these things. And this reflection comes from those conversations, that in every facet of his career, he will look at what he was looking at, what was in front of him, and what he was able to bring to the table, and he could identify that it was good. And he wanted more, that the songs are good. He just wishes they were better, and he thinks he'll probably get this many streams. He wished that he would get more and that he would sell this many vinyls, but he wished that he could sell more. And in every facet of his professional life, he was happy that he had achieved what he achieved, that it was good. And he wished there was more. Now, I don't disparage that kind of thinking, and I think I want to be better. And to grow is fantastic. The problem I started to identify was with the word greatness. I think it was in that conversation, and oftentimes, it is a kind of distraction that instead of saying this is where I am, and I want to take steps from here forward. greatness in the conversation I was having with him was this image somewhere out there, always just beyond his reach, that he was striving towards. He wasn't working from what was true and good about him into a potentially joyful future. He was working away from what was true and good and established in him towards some other thing. Greatness oftentimes can be a terrible distraction from what is. And oftentimes, it's actually rooted in the same system of metrics that steals the joy of our actual processes. In other words, instead of saying, This feels good, this is good. I'm taking joy in this. And I want there to be more of what I have because it is good. Greatness inserts itself as this mist, as this idea, this disembodied image four steps beyond where I am, and says, it's not enough for you to be as you are. You shouldn't be happy, you shouldn't be satisfied, you shouldn't take true joy, it isn't actually good. And it won't be until you get here. The problem with that, if you've been in the cycle before, is that you can work and get to that point, that next step that used to be four steps away. And then once you're there, greatness, quote, unquote, greatness, this image, this misses out there somewhere, the idea will still reinsert itself and say, well, that's fine that you've come this far, but you shouldn't be happy. You shouldn't take joy. It's not good enough. You need to have more. Another way to talk about the way greatness steals joy is the way we enjoy our sports or our music, that you can say, hey, this is my favorite band. And then, as soon as we've talked about our favorite bands, we often move into this conversation about the greatest band in that genre, that it's not enough for this person to be good at what they do. They're not the greatest. And if they're not the greatest in this genre, then you like what they do is a kind of compromise. It's fine that you like this artist, but you really should like this artist. That's what's best: greatness as an idea steals the joy of what makes art, actually art. Greatness can steal the human joy of the process of creation. I think there's something magical to the way of the very beginning of the Hebrew Scriptures. When God creates a thing, God will say that it's good, and then at the end of this whole long process of creating, Shouldn't what God doesn't say is okay? Now we've done all this good, we've gotten to great what God says is instead, as the writer has said, this is very good, not great, very good, more of the goodness that was already. The way I read that is that the value of creation itself is rooted in God's pleasure and joy rather than in what creation can or will achieve. It's not about what comes next. It's about how much pleasure and joy God takes God took in the act of the process of creation. The conversations we oftentimes have centered on the word greatness, steal the human joy, of the act of becoming, and the work of making the steal the joy of art and humanity. In athletics. It's not enough, says greatness, to begin at six years old, and to achieve and to grow, and to get better and to get to college and to get that scholarship and then maybe even get drafted and play in the NBA and be a point guard in the NBA if you're not the greatest. Again, I'll go back to a few weeks ago when I talked about Stefan Curry. And this conversation that's now happening, and I even played into it when I did the podcast, and maybe I'm experiencing a bit of regret that watching Stefan Curry play basketball is a joyous, incredible thing to do. He's amazing what he's so good at what he does. And because he's as good as he is at what he does, his career gets entered into this media-driven conversation about who the greatest point guard in human history is. was that Isaiah Thomas, or was it Magic Johnson? Or is it Stefan Curry? And it's almost as if, if we can't solve that problem, we can't really rightly enjoy this person's career as he's going about it. And that's just so tragic. We do the same thing with musicians. We do the same thing with painters. We do the same thing with friends. Hell, we do it with authors, we do it with spiritual guides, we do it with churches, this disembodied mist of an idea that we call greatness, this kind of perfection of the thing steals the joy of having what we have in front of us, and knowing what it is and celebrating it as it is. Which is to say, learning to actually enjoy the goodness of my life might mean abandoning the pursuit or the idea of greatness. It might mean regularly dissociating myself from systems that want to always measure one thing against the other instead of simply enjoying the thing in front of us. This is why I regularly suggest, for artists specifically, a kind of combination of spiritual practices of rest. In the examination, rest provides space, space between things, but also space for my soul to catch up with itself. And in that space, practicing the examination, intentionally look back over the days that I just lived and asked my soul the question, Where was it good? As I have personally practiced this combination of rest and the examination, I have just had less of an association with an obsession with some disembodied, distant goal towards which I'm working. Instead, I've been able to look at the goodness of the life I'm living and just want more of what it is. I actually have already.

This podcast features attorney Laura Terrell.  Laura has a broad legal background to include attending the University of Virginia Law School,  “big law” partnerships, and stints serving at the White House and Department of Justice.  Interestingly, she has now turned her focus and work into serving as an executive coach. Oftentimes, lawyers, like all professionals, can get stuck in a rut and not be able to clearly see the next step in their career or how they want things to look for themselves professionally. Laura offers guidance in many areas that can assist both young lawyers and mid-level or older lawyers as they look to change, morph, and/or improve their legal careers.  Her website, www.LauraTerrell.com,  offers a lot of information on how she can help professionals improve their careers. I enjoyed getting to know Laura's story on this episode of the podcast.

Oftentimes, brand identity in the B2B space is overlooked and the lack of attention and action is a huge miss. In this Quick Hit, we welcome Dave Necessary of Gardner Business Media and gain insight on how you can improve your brand presence in the B2B space. You can catch the full episode here.

In this episode, Pastor Cindy talks about the importance of Knowing. She discusses three points: Knowing God Knowing what season we're in Knowing what we carry As children in the Kingdom, we were created in the image of our father. He desires for us to be one with Him. It's in that oneness that we begin to fully understand His love and we begin to truly Know Him. It's also important for us to recognize (or Know) what season we are in. Oftentimes, God provides clarity for a moment. He gives a word for a time. Knowing what season God has you in is a big step in understanding what his purpose is for you. And it's in those purpose driven moments that we need to know what we carry. He has given us power, authority and dominion to fulfill His will in our lives.  Scripture reference: John 3:16, John 16:13-15, Ephesians 3:14-20, 2 Cor 3:17-18, Proverbs 10:5, 1 Kings 17, 1 Kings 17:1, 1 Kings 17:2-6, 1 Kings 18:1,  Rev 19::1-4 11–12.   Order your copy of Cindy's new book, NEW MOVES OF GOD Check out Cindy's new TV show, CINDY STEWART LIVE. You can register for the 6-week, self paced e-course at COMPELLED TO CHANGE.  Please email Cindy with any questions or comments to cindy@cindy-stewart.com. She'd love to hear from you.  Pastor Cindy's Website  Pastor Cindy's Facebook  Pastor Cindy's Instagram Gathering Website  Gathering Facebook   Check out the other shows from KB PODCAST PRODUCTIONS: THE KINGDOM BRINGER PODCAST with Darin Eubanks Next Level Podcast with Michael McIntyre Super-Natural Living with Beth Packard KINGDOM MASTER MIND PODCAST with Ann McDonald   Podcast music from HOOKSOUNDS.COM      

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Dr. Christina Prevett // #GeriOnICE // www.ptonice.com  In today's episode of the PT on ICE Daily Show, Modern Management of the Older Adult division leader Christina Prevett discusses masters athletes who challenge negative age paradigms and serve as role models for younger generations.  According to the episode, the decline in physiological systems can be attributed to both aging and other factors such as inactivity, sedentary behavior, obesity, and chronic diseases. It can be challenging to distinguish between changes in physiological systems solely due to the natural aging process and those influenced by these other factors. However, Christina suggests that psychosocial factors also play a role in positive aging. Factors like loneliness, connectedness, sense of purpose, and the ability to make healthcare decisions not only for oneself but also for others contribute to positive aging. These psychosocial factors are independent of physical capacity and can help individuals maintain a positive aging experience. Christina emphasizes the importance of building and maintaining relationships, connectedness, and the capacity to learn, grow, and contribute in the context of healthy aging. These aspects are relevant not only for older adults but also for all generations, including Gen X, Gen Z, millennials, boomers, and masters athletes. Loneliness is a significant issue in society, affecting people of all age groups, as highlighted in the episode. Building and maintaining connections and relationships are crucial for sustaining healthy lifestyle factors and combating the loneliness epidemic. This is particularly relevant for older adults, who may struggle to maintain relationships as they age. Christina mentions the challenges of making new friends as an adult, as expressed by her grandmother. The masters athletes discussed in the episode serve as examples of individuals who demonstrate the importance of these aspects in healthy aging. They not only prioritize their physical performance but also value psychosocial considerations. Masters athletes have the opportunity to build relationships with individuals across different age groups who share similar mindsets regarding health promotion. This allows for the exchange of knowledge and the adoption of healthy lifestyle factors. Furthermore, masters athletes have the capacity to learn, grow, and make decisions. They challenge negative age paradigms and combat belief systems around aging through their athleticism. They set goals not only for their own performance but also for serving as role models to younger generations within their family and sport. Masters athletes also contribute positively to their sport by creating mentorship opportunities for younger athletes. They serve as examples of successful aging and contribute to the overall belief in the ideology of successful aging. Overall, this episode emphasizes that building and maintaining relationships, connectedness, and the capacity to learn, grow, and contribute are essential aspects of healthy aging for all generations, including older adults and masters athletes. These aspects not only contribute to physical well-being but also to psychosocial well-being and the overall belief in successful aging. Take a listen to learn how to better serve this population of patients & athletes. If you're looking to learn more about live courses designed to better serve older adults in physical therapy or our online physical therapy courses, check our entire list of continuing education courses for physical therapy including our physical therapy certifications by checking out our website. Don't forget about all of our FREE eBooks, prebuilt workshops, free CEUs, and other physical therapy continuing education on our Resources tab. EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION 00:00 INTRO What's up, everybody? Welcome back to the PT on Ice Daily Show. Before we jump into today's episode, let's chat about Jane, our show sponsor. Jane makes the Daily Show possible and is the practice management software that so many folks here at ICE utilize. The team at Jane knows how important it is for your patients to get the care they need. And with this in mind, they've made it really easy and convenient for patients to book online. One tip that has worked well for a lot of practices is to make the booking button on your website prominent so patients can't miss it. Once clicked, they get redirected to a beautifully branded online booking site. And from there, the entire booking process only takes around two minutes. After booking an appointment, patients get access to a secure portal where they can conveniently manage their appointments and payment details, add themselves to a wait list, opt in to text and email reminders, and fill out their intake form. If you all are curious to learn more about online booking with Jane, head over to jane.app.physicaltherapy.com. Book their one-on-one demo with a member of their team. And if you're ready to get started, make sure to use the code IcePT1MO. When you sign up is that gives you a one month grace period that gets applied to your new account. Thanks everybody. Enjoy today's show. 01:43 CHRISTINA PREVETT Good morning, everybody, and welcome to the PT on Ice Daily Show. My name is Christina Prevett. I am one of the lead faculty within our modern management of the older adult division. We have three courses in our geriatric curriculum that encompass CERT MMOA. We have our eight week online essential foundations course with our next course starting October 11th. We have our eight week online advanced concepts course, which if you have taken our essential foundations, you are eligible for advanced concepts that starts October 12th. And then we have our two day live course that we still have quite a few courses for the remainder of 2023 if you were looking to get involved. So we are in Falls Church, Virginia, October 7th and 8th. I am in Fountain Valley, California on the 14th and 15th. And then we are in Mattawa, New Jersey on the 21st and 22nd. And if you did not see that we are currently in what I call revamp season, we just updated our live content for MMA Live. And if you are in advanced concepts coming up in October, you are going to be getting brand new material. And I am so, so excited about that. 00:00 THE MASTERS ATHLETE And what we are going to talk about today is some of that content relating to the master's athlete. When we think about our geriatric curriculum, let's be honest, we are not talking about master's athletes most of the time, right? We often will talk about this sickness, wellness, fitness continuum. And when we talk to our geriatric clinicians who are on our calls or taking our courses, and we say, you know, what percentage of individuals are in the sickness or the completely sedentary side of the spectrum, We're talking about the majority, right? We're talking about the majority. We're getting individuals who are saying 80, 90% of their caseload is completely sedentary or is struggling with the chronic disease burden from multimorbidity. And very few of our clinicians are working with the master's athlete. So why do we care about this group? Well, one, we want to cover the full spectrum of geriatrics. But secondly, there is this really neat kind of underpinning that we are gaining from a research perspective when we are evaluating the master's athlete. When we talk about aging physiology, it can be really tough to tease apart what is what we would call the natural history of getting older, what are things that we can expect to change across our physiological systems as a consequence of getting older, and what are the contributions of other things to that aging process. We talk about how we have accelerators and brakes to the aging process, and we can stack the deck in our favor, and then we're just talking about risks and statistics. And one of those things is that as we get older, we tend to move less. We tend to be more sedentary. Obesity rates can go up. And chronic disease, one of the biggest risk factors across all categories, is age. And so we have this hard time teasing apart what is from the aging process and what is from the inactivity, the compounding effect of sedentary behavior, kind of what are those influences? And so the masters athlete has, especially for our lifelong exercisers, those who are veterans, who have never really stepped away from the sport for very long, we're starting to get some ideas and tease apart, you know, what is an aging process and what is accelerated because of changes related to inactivity, obesity, chronic disease. And so I kind of want to tie this in. So we have this physiological change. 06:05 CARDIOVASCULAR FITNESS IN AGING And when we look at, for example, in the cardiovascular system, our masters endurance athletes maintain their VO2 max by about 57%. And our endurance athletes, when we compare our masters endurance athletes in their 70s, have a lower VO2 max than our endurance athletes in their 20s, but a similar VO2 max to our younger individuals in their 20s who are completely sedentary. And so that is showing that while yes, there is a change to our cardiovascular output, our max heart rate is going to go down, our stroke output, our stroke volume, our cardiac output is going to decrease. Our amount of deconditioning in our VO2 max as a marker of cardiovascular fitness is a slower blunting than maybe we had previously thought. And things like our ejection fraction and our resting heart rate actually do not change with age in a healthy, cardiovascularly conditioned older adult. And to me, that's fascinating. So we're looking at that from the endurance side. When we flip to the strength side, we see that our raw strength in our power lifters is relatively maintained and up until about the fifth decade of life. So an individual squat bench deadlift, as long as they stay injury free and training volume remains pretty consistent, we're going to maintain those numbers for quite some time. 08:50 TYPE 2 FIBER REDISTRIBUTION And then as we go into different age groups over the age of 40, we're going to start to see some blunting down of that strength effect as a consequence of age. We talk about in the musculoskeletal system though, that there is this change in this redistribution of our muscular fibers, where we see a shift from this composition that has a bias towards type two fibers in certain muscle groups. And we see this shift towards more of a type one slow twitch fiber archetype in many of our muscles. And we seem to see that this is true in our strength athletes as well. And the way we're starting to gain insight into this information is by comparing our power lifters and our weight lifters. So our power lifters are slow strength movements. We have the squat, the bench, the deadlift. For our weightlifters, we are working on speed strength. So we are going to get those type two fibers at high percentages of our one rep max, but we're also gonna try and preferentially activate them with some of these fast twitch movements, such as the clean and jerk and the snatch. And we start to see that the open records for weightlifting in age groups decline much steeper. That means that we are still seeing this switch of type 2 fibers. That does not mean that we don't train power and we're going to try and have this use it or lose it principle that holds true for everything. But we know that that type 2 fiber redistribution is part of this aging physiology that we can expect to see in many of our older adults. Taking a step back from that, it's super interesting to see that we are getting this heightened or slower rate of cardiovascular aging in our endurance athletes. And we're getting this relatively slower change in the musculoskeletal system in our strength athletes. And that specificity principle appears to hold true. And it's something that we see very consistently in our rehabilitation efforts, right? We are trying to train the person's body to not experience pain, dysfunction, or loss of physical function in the exercises, in the movements, in the day-to-day tasks that are important to our individuals. And so when I step back and think about myself as a person in my 30s who's going to try to hold on to my physical function for as long as possible, somebody who maybe isn't in the highest level of competition, but would still consider myself to be very much an athlete, this idea of training both systems I think is extremely important and extremely relevant in our messaging for maintaining physical function. We see oftentimes that we focus in strength training for very good reason. Oftentimes our older adults, unless there's a significant amount of cardiovascular compromise, are losing the strength to complete activities of daily living, like getting off the floor or being able to get up from a chair without using their hands before their cardiovascular system. In our kind of community dwelling older adults, not our individuals with pulmonary pathologies like congestive heart failure or COPD, that cardiovascular system isn't being the limiting factor as often. But what we want to be thinking about is how do we optimize the reserve in both of these systems and how do we slow down the slope of the line? In I'm MMOA, we talk about how we do not want to think that successful aging is just related to physical function. Physical function is a really important part of aging frameworks. and successful aging frameworks, but it is not the only thing. And so I kind of want to take this conversation and then take it a step further. So while yes, we see that our masters athletes are able to have a blunting of the changes in physical function that we see with aging, as a consequence of optimizing their physical reserve earlier in life and then maintaining that optimized physical function into later decades. Where we want to also bridge this is towards some of the frameworks that we're seeing with healthy aging. So the World Health Organization put out a healthy aging framework with the idea of having this decade-long initiative that internationally we are going to try to be encouraging healthy aging initiatives because our global population is aging and that is going to put a massive burden on our healthcare system. And there's a lot of things that we need to think about. And so their framework is really brilliant in that they talk about the ability to meet basic needs and the ability to maintain mobility, like their ability to be mobile around their community. And I think our Masters athletes are good examples of what this might look like in order to try and maintain this type of physical function. 14:58 BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS IN AGING But the other three things are important considerations as well and do not relate directly to physical function, but there are some kind of extensions or indirect relationships that we can make. And those are the ability to build and maintain relationships, so that connection, the ability to learn, grow, and make decisions, so autonomy in some ways and purpose, and the ability to contribute, which really kind of ties into that purpose conversation. And if you listen to the MMOA podcast, Ellen and I were just on that platform, if you want to take a look, talking about the blue zones. And this was a series that was done on Netflix that talked about these areas around the world that have a higher percentage of individuals living over 100 compared to global norms. And where they were talking about this was not only related to physical function, where physical function was something that we were considering, but they also talked about some of these biopsychosocial considerations like building and maintaining relationships and that contribution to that other aspect of a person's soul and a person's being. When we look at the Masters athletes and we look at qualitative systematic protocols or systematic studies that are looking at some of the other indirect indicators of what a Masters athlete values outside of their physical performance, they kind of touch on these other aspects of the healthy aging framework. where the ability to maintain relationships, one of the things that can be a big struggle for our older adults, and my grandmother who was in her 90s said this beautifully, she said, everybody I know is dying. And Having, building new friends as a grownup is extremely hard. And so one of the other things that our master's athlete literature is really demonstrating is some of these other bio, or these psychosocial considerations that are just so important when an individual is aging. So what they're showing is that our older adults who are master's athletes continuing to compete have this avenue to build relationships with individuals across different age cohorts that have similar mindsets related to health promotion. And that's so important, right? We see that we tend to take on a lot of the lifestyle factors of the individuals who are closest to us. Our literature shows that if we are around individuals who are in the overweight or obese categories, we are more likely to be overweight or obese. The business sentence is, if you are the smartest person in the room, you are in the wrong room. And that's around this building and maintaining of connections and relationships that also have this trickling effect of helping to sustain healthy lifestyle factors. And this loneliness epidemic is so relevant now for all generations, Gen X, Gen Z, millennials, boomers, and some of our older adults. Like all of this connectedness is such an important part of healthy aging. And we're seeing this in our masters athletes as well. And then finally, this capacity to learn, grow and make decisions and the ability to contribute. Our masters athletes are also demonstrating this because they talk about this capacity with athleticism to combat belief systems around aging, to start tackling some of these negative age paradigms, to be able to have goals related to not only what their performance is, but role modeling their athleticism to younger generations within their family and within their sport. and their capacity to be able to create this mentorship for some of their younger athletes that allows them to contribute very positively to their sport. And so not only are we seeing that physiologically within our systems, our masters athletes are blunting some of the slopes of the line across different organ systems, but we're also seeing some of these indirect psychosocial positive contributions of individuals in the Masters Athlete space that are contributing to this overall belief around Masters Athletes having an ideology around successful aging. 17:23 MASTERS ATHLETES & CHRONIC DISEASE Some of our masters athletes, we kind of consider them to be completely free of chronic disease. And while we do see a lower incidence of chronic disease, like cardiovascular disease and diabetes, for example, in our masters athletes who have continued being active throughout their life, that does not mean that they are immune, but it does mean that when they are diagnosed with things like chronic conditions, that they are better able to manage those disease processes because they have these healthy lifestyle factors that are going to slow down the disease process. So all of these things kind of coming full circle, where we are looking at the master's athlete that while yes, in many of our older adults that we are teaching for clinicians, they are not going to be primarily focused in the master's athlete category. They do give us a lot of insight into the rates of loss in physiological systems and what we can attribute truly to aging versus other confounding variables such as inactivity, sedentary behavior, obesity, chronic disease burden. And then we can also see how some of the influence of these other psychosocial factors, this loneliness epidemic that we are seeing, this connectedness that is needed, this sense of purpose and the capacity to take risk and be a contributing factor to not only their own healthcare decisions, but those of their family and the people around them that are trusting them with their wisdom and knowledge and experience is a way for us to see this positive aging cohort that is also independent of their physical capacity that they are able to maintain. All right, I ended up going a little bit long, but I think this is such an important conversation. And not just for our older adults who are already in these age cohorts, but anybody who is listening, who is thinking about themselves as an athlete. Because we see in the literature that the Masters athlete is defined as anybody who is kind of reasonably beyond the open retirement age, but is continuing to train and compete in sport for the purpose of physical fitness. But in MMA, we think about it as anyone who wants to intentionally move their body towards a goal. And that may be all of you that are listening to this. It's like, how can you put in that master's athlete mindset into your own life to connect with other people with like-minded goals, to be able to optimize your physical function if you are listening and you are 30 or 40 or 50? to maintain that when you are 80? And then how can we do this to help drive purpose in our lives, to allow for that feeling of fulfillment that is just so important to maintain as we get older? All right, if you are looking for more information about research coming out in the geriatric space, I encourage you to go to pti.nice.com slash resources and sign up for MMOA Digest. Otherwise, I hope you have an amazing week and we will talk to you soon. 20:26 OUTRO Hey, thanks for tuning in to the PT on Ice daily show. If you enjoyed this content, head on over to iTunes and leave us a review and be sure to check us out on Facebook and Instagram at the Institute of Clinical Excellence. If you're interested in getting plugged into more ice content on a weekly basis while earning CEUs from home, check out our virtual ice online mentorship program at ptonice.com. While you're there, sign up for our Hump Day Hustling newsletter for a free email every Wednesday morning with our top five research articles and social media posts that we think are worth reading. Head over to ptonice.com and scroll to the bottom of the page to sign up.

Today's Building Texas Business Podcast episode finds us chatting with Robert Grosz, President and COO of the tech company WorldVue. Robert shares insights into how WorldVue has sustained success for decades through strong customer relationships and a responsibility-centered culture. He details their customer-centric approach and innovation fostering, revealing lessons learned navigating the pandemic with a dedication to service and constructive dialogue. Robert also opens up about transitions into leadership, emphasizing quick decisions, balancing loyalty with progress, and his thoughtful vision for a blended family-exploration sabbatical. From navigating disagreements to keeping pace with industry shifts, Robert offers a compelling view of resilient leadership. SHOW HIGHLIGHTS Robert Grosz, the President and COO of WorldVue, discusses how the company drives growth through strong customer relationships and a company culture rooted in responsibility. He highlights the importance of fostering innovation, creativity, and relevance in the ever-changing tech landscape to stay competitive. We discuss WorldVue's response to the pandemic, emphasizing the importance of their company culture, which includes responsibility, dedication to customer service, and the importance of constructive dialogue. He talks about his transition into a leadership role at WorldVue, emphasizing the importance of quick decision-making and his philosophy on loyalty. Robert shares his proposition for a 30-day sabbatical, and his appreciation for the dynamic beauty of Texas. The episode touches on building relationships and driving growth,We discuss how WorldVue has been successful for 50 years by solving problems, befriending customers, and adding value to their lives. Building a strong company culture is discussed, with Robert explaining how WorldVue managed to successfully navigate the pandemic thanks to its dedication to customer service and focus on responsibility. Building trust and success in leadership is also covered, with Robert emphasizing the importance of making decisions fast and how loyalty can be an adversary to that philosophy. Robert shares his vision for a 30-day sabbatical, which includes spending the first two weeks at home with family and the last two weeks exploring the dynamic beauty of Texas. Finally, We discuss Roberts approach to navigating leadership disagreements, sharing a key lesson learned from past experiences that resulted in lost opportunities. LINKSShow Notes Previous Episodes About BoyarMiller GUESTS Robert GroszAbout Robert TRANSCRIPT (AI transcript provided as supporting material and may contain errors) Chris: In this episode you'll meet Robert Grosz, president and Chief Operating Officer of WorldVue. Robert shares how WorldVue focuses on building a culture of responsibility by being a service-oriented company to its customers in order to drive growth. Robert:, I want to thank you for agreeing to come on Building Texas Business. It's a pleasure to meet you. Robert: Chris, it's great to meet you as well. Chris: Let's get started by just telling the audience about WorldVue and what it's known for. Robert: Chris, have you ever had a friend that is really good at something, whether it's fixing cars or technology, programming your TV, things like that? Chris: It's a friend that you can count on. Robert: It's their best friend. Sure, they go above and beyond. If you've got a problem, you know you can come to them. They respond quickly and they give it their all. Even if they don't know about the solution, they give it their all and they help you and they add value to your life and you build that friendship. That's what we strive for at WorldVue. WorldVue is a company that's been in business for almost 50 years now, houston-based. Our customers are hotels and our expertise is technology. So if a hotel brand, a hotel owner, an individual hotel has a problem with technology, we want them to come to us because we want to be their best friend forever and add value to their lives. So what we're known for is solving problems for hotels, befriending them, building relationships with them and just being part of that industry, being part of the hospitality business. Chris:And that's what's made us successful for 50 years. That's great. I love how it's so ingrained that it's about relationships and even using the analogy of best friend, what inspired you to get involved with WorldVue? What inspired this company to get to where it is today? Robert: Yeah, so they've been along a lot longer than I've been with them. Chris: Sure, I don't look that. You started a company. I started when I was one. Robert:No, no, that's started long before. It's a family business. It's still a family business. The founder still comes to work. He's usually the first one there and the last one to leave. I'm very, very engaged but of course the business has changed a lot over the years. I've known the company for the last 17 years. I actually was with Dish Network. Dish Network is where WorldVue gets their programming, their content, the TV content and some of their technology and I got to know them as a supplier, vendor, got to know the people. I fell in love with the people, fell in love with the company, the culture. The time came where they were kind of pivoting and it's kind of the next generation of WorldVue and we're building this company as a legacy business to last for the next 10 generations and they needed someone with my skillset, my expertise, to help lead them into that. And that's kind of how I got to know WorldVue and got to be involved with WorldVue. Now I'm the president and chief operating officer of the company and I've got a great team around us and teamwork I'm sure we're going to talk about teamwork and people are very, very important and kind of fulfilling our mission. So yeah, that's the origin story of how I got involved with WorldVue. Chris: Okay, that's great. So technology company means evolution and innovation have to be in the fabric of the company. So talk to us a little bit about what you do in your role to foster creativity, innovation, to keep WorldVue relevant in its industry. Robert: Yeah, sure, and relevance. I'm glad you said that word. Relevance is our key growth driver. So you know we've got two growth drivers One's relevance, which is all about product, it's all about the technology that we're out there evangelizing, designing and supporting and really becoming experts at, and with that relevance drives market share growth and getting into more and more and more hotel properties. We currently serve 7000 properties in the US, and now we're expanding internationally. But we're a product driven company because that's our expertise. You know, we want to be the best friend to our clients. That's kind of why we exist. But the what we do is the technology, and we will use technology from leading providers that are off the shelf, you know some big brands that everyone's heard of before, like LG and Cisco. You know brands like that, but what we'll do is we'll take those and we'll integrate them. So integration is kind of what we do best and it's kind of our secret sauce is how do you integrate big, big brands like an Oracle with a LG which does interim entertainment and TV technology? That's our secret sauce. Chris: So the integration. Robert: We're the glue between big technologies and we do it very well. And again, if you lean back on the why you actually want to develop this relationship to add value to your customers and we want your customer to be your best friend. That's kind of what we're doing. So it is related to the technology. We like to say we're a service company that just happens to do technology. We're not a technology company that tries to do service. That's one of our big differentiators. Chris: I would imagine that's a meaningful difference in mindset when you go to the hiring process and building your team to have that servant service oriented mindset be the lead, primary thing you're looking for. What are some of the things you're you do to make sure you're hiring the right people that fit that mindset? Robert: Yeah, yeah, yeah surrounding yourself with people better than you is one of our mantras at any level of the company, and I think if you, just if you, champion that mantra, you know constantly looking for people that do things a little bit better than you, whether it's a specific skill or an attitude, and I think attitude is something you can't really teach. Attitude is something that you carry with you as a human being in your existence, is your WorldVue, which is one of the reasons for the name world. Chris: Gotcha, that makes sense is. Robert: You've got to have that. You've got to have your head on straight as it relates to how do you interact with others, how you act with it, with a team, how you help build the team, how you pull in the same direction to achieve a goal, and those things are very important. We can hire people that are incredibly intelligent, incredibly book smart, have done amazing things and we do but but if, if you don't hire for the attitude and you don't hire for the teamwork, you're going to end up failing, and that's really what we look for there's some tools you have in place so that in that process, the people doing the interviews, whatever it is, and however you go about that, that help you identify or get a bead on the attitude that the candidate has. Yeah, so so we developed our own tools and we, of course, use off the shelf tools, personality assessments and things like that. But, we developed a tool that we called chirp. It's an acronym C, h, I, r, p coachable, humble, intelligent, responsive and persistent. So what we do is, when we're talking to someone, we try to bounce those, those, those challenges, those dynamics off of the candidate to see if they're open to actually learning and becoming a better person. Chris: And if you don't have the C, the coachable. Robert: It's going to be hard for you to be part of the team. Sure Because regardless of what you know, even the smartest person on earth, there's still something for them to learn and they have to be open minded about absorbing that and taking some direction and realizing the experience of others. So coachable humble humility is important. It's related to coachable Intelligence. Isn't book smart, it's more emotional intelligence. It's no one what to say when to say it. Being quick on your feet, having that mindset about who you actually are as a person and how you interrelate to each other, and then how you actually consult problems related to a specific tactical technology, that's intelligence. Chris: Responsive you know. Robert: When the phone rings, you answer it. When an email comes in, you respond to it, you don't let it dwindle. Right and persistence. Persistence is that hunger and that energy, right. Persistence is, you know, knowing that there's a goal, knowing that it's going to be tough to get to that goal, if it's worth pursuing and fighting for it. You know so. Together is the chirp. If you look at our logo, there's a wonderful sparrow icon, which is the chirp, which is a bird, so it all ties together. Chris: Okay. So how do you then take this service oriented mindset you hired using chirp, which I love the acronym. How do you then take that into action and actually go about building these relationships to where your customers become your best friends? How do you connect those dots? Robert: Yeah, so I mean it's about engagement with the customer on their turf right. The world revolves around the customer, doesn't revolve around us as individuals or as a company. So you go to where they are. You go to where the relevance factor is high to them, whether it's a trade show event or it's their office, whether it's charities that they might sponsor and support that are worthwhile getting involved with you. Try to make it about a personal relationship, and that's where our best customers and our best employees thrive is when you can truly make it about the individual. That's very, very important to us. We get on their turf and we try to understand who they are as a person. We're not just checking a box. If we check a box, we become a commodity. When we become a commodity, then the margins are rode, financial performance isn't there and we don't exist Right. So we've got to make it about that personalization. We've got to make it about the customer. Chris: Very good. So let's talk a little bit about how the company has maybe managed over these last few years. I would think, given what we experienced in 2020 and coming in a few years out of that there was, your customers, at least, had probably suffered some downturns in their business, which probably translated to you. What are some of the things you did to help manage the company through those tough times? Robert: Sure, yeah Well, the hospitality industry in general and a lot of industries, but especially the hospitality industry. When people stopped traveling for business, they stopped traveling for personal. They didn't go on vacation. We had a lot of our hotels closed down. Some of our hotels stayed open for first response medical personnel, things like that and they did okay. Some very limited service hotels that don't really exist for that business traveler but they exist just because they need a bed to rent Actually did okay. They thrived, they had good occupancy. We as a company were fortunate. We managed, not by laying people off and cutting back, but we managed by committing and recommitting to our employees. So we had no layoffs because of COVID. We took a kind of unique philosophy to the pandemic and that period of time two, three year period of time where we got back in the office as soon as we could and we did that in a safe way. So there was social distancing and making sure that everything was clean and being aware to the health of all of our employees and respecting individual wishes, but we encourage people to get back in the office in October of 2020. And we've been back since, and we do that because we think that people communicate best in person. It's probably one of the reasons you have us all here to have a podcast, as opposed to doing it virtually. Absolutely Is that personal connection. You can't put your finger on it, but it's important. So I think that that action was a cultural move and I think it's had it's paid dividends for us. I hope it's paid dividends for our employees and I think we'll continue with that mindset. We were there to help our customers, so we were making sure, from a commercial perspective, that we could give them as much relief as possible. We were there to help them turn up their properties, turn down their properties using all kinds of technologies. So there's a lot of different technology out there that a hotel uses. And we were there for them, in all fronts. Chris: That's great. I can totally identify with that thought process, that mindset. We took the same approach in 2020, got people back in in May of 2020, doing the same thing making sure the workplace was safe, but with the view that we work better together. It does foster a healthy culture. I think it makes us better in who we are and in our work and how we can serve our clients and customers. And, to your point, I'm pretty adamant that these podcasts although we've done a few via Zoom because we had to 90, I mean there's I don't need all fingers on one hand, they've almost all been in person, because you just can't replace the dynamic when you're together. So you touched on it. I want to go down this trail with you. And that's culture. How would you make, describe the culture at WorldVue and what are some of the things that you have done to build and foster that culture? Robert: Sure, so we have a culture of responsibility. We're responsible to each other as much as we're responsible to our customers and we have a promise that we make, which is we deliver every time, no exception. And that is as relevant for the guy in the office next to you as it is to your customer, which could be a couple thousand miles away. Right, you know, we deliver every time, no exception. So if someone needs something, we strive to deliver that right. We strive to deliver on the promise. Sometimes it's not easy, oftentimes it's not easy, but it takes a lot of energy and a lot of focus, and I think everyone knows that. But that promise in the company from, you know, from the, the, the, the newest call center rep, all the way to the top they all try to kind of pull that direction. That creates that culture of rowing in the same direction. And that is very, very important. Because if you've got a company that's rowing in multiple directions, it's going to be, it's going to be problematic, it's going to be expensive, the trust is going to be violated, you're not going to be able to move quickly and address customer needs, you're not going to look at the dynamic of what customers can offer in the marketplace and turn quickly to address that it's. It's really core to to who we are as a company, as as individuals. Chris: So what do you do as the president, chief operating officer, low leader, to show up so that people understand that you live the culture, you can enforce that culture. What are some of the things you do to reinforce that every day? Robert: Yeah, so you've got to lead from the front. It's all about attitude. You can't come in all slouched over. You've got to be on point and you've got to do it authentically. It can't be fake, right? And that's a challenge sometimes. Chris: For sure. Robert: And you've got to have your focus. You've got to have your eye on the prize, if you will. Communication is critical, so routine, touch-based meetings. I don't like to have long meetings that consume people's time or people attend the meeting to be attending the meeting. I want there to be a purpose and a reason. I want there to be lots of dialogue. Constructive criticism. Constructive differences make everything special and you can't just kind of dominate. You've got to listen to the different opinions. Chris: Ask more questions. Robert: Ask more questions. We like to say listen 10 times more than people are talking, and you've got to lead by example. If you don't do that yourself as an individual, again something's wrong and everyone sees it and everyone knows it. Chris: So I asked most guests about setbacks or failures and we learned sometimes much more by those. Is there a situation or experience you can think about as a leader where it didn't go as you hoped or it was a failure or setback in a decision or strategy, but you learned from it and the learning from that has made you better today than you were before. Yeah, absolutely. Robert: I mean I've got lots of setbacks and failures, but I think one big example would be if there is a disagreement between leaders and they're not seeing eye to eye and they don't address it quickly, it can create division and that division creates distraction and the distraction creates lost opportunities. And we've dealt with that over the last few years. We've had some disagreements on the direction we needed to go and the solution was coming in the room together, fixing it, getting it on the same page, having the confidence and the buy-in at the most inner level as a person, as an individual, and making the team more cohesive. So you can go from cohesive to a failure very quickly if you don't pay attention to that dynamic. So that was one of big lessons learned. There are others where you bring individuals into the company based upon their experience and their pedigree and you throw them into our mix and they just don't dance our dance and they create a bunch of disruption and you've got to move fast there. It's tough letting people go. It always is tough letting people go, but oftentimes it's good for them as much as it's good for the company, because they're not comfortable in their shoes. That's tough to be a person. When you're not comfortable in your shoes, it's tough to live a life. Chris: Yeah, you touched on something there that I think everyone that I've interviewed in these podcast agree. The biggest lesson learned maybe in that difficult time when someone's not fitting is making that decision faster than you feel like you probably want to, because the person that's not fitting in your organization will be better off because it's just not a good fit and they'll find the place they fit better and your organization will be better because that person that's not fitting is going to be a distraction. It potentially could erode culture and you're just always better off moving faster, even though it'd feel right in your gut sometimes. That's right. You're affecting human lives. Robert: Yeah, and loyalty, by the way is the adversary to that philosophy. Chris: Right, so we all want to be loyal to people. Robert: I think good people are loyal, but you have to have the vision, the foresight, the clarity to understand where there's loyalty and then there's a bad fit, a poor fit. And if there's a poor fit then the best move is always make it a better fit. So that's very important. Chris: As WorldVue has grown, what have you done to build a team around you and let go of some of the things that maybe you used to do more on a day-to-day basis and learn to make us trust and let go yeah, trust is a key word. Robert: So finding people better than you at things, making sure that they're the right fit and then trusting that they're going to get the job done, and sitting back and delegating some responsibilities that you may have you may think that you need to do to them or to their teams, and then watching it grow. And it's very easy to delegate to somebody, but it's difficult to give them enough rope where they're going to actually lead or fail. If they fail, then you can step back in and you can fix it and you can delegate to someone else. You could coach them, but if you've got good people around you I mean if you've got good people that are pulling in the same direction they will self-adjust, they will succeed because they want to reach the same goal that you want to reach. So in some ways it can be very, very simple and easy. Oftentimes it doesn't feel that way when you're doing it, so that's an interesting dynamic. Chris: It really is. The other thing I was going to ask you about, excuse me, is you kind of had an interesting experience in that. I guess I'm talking about transition, succession from founder of company that's still around, as you mentioned in the beginning, but you stepping in to the leadership role as president, chief operating officer maybe talk to us, because there's some listeners out there maybe doing that or or that's in their near future. Let's talk a little bit about what were some of the challenges of bridging that transition gap as you took over as the president of the company. Robert: Yeah, I think, from my personal story, it's about building trust and having integrity as well as having a deep level of respect. If someone founds a company that's been around for almost 50 years, I look up to them. I don't care what that company is. I mean, they've done something that a lot of people have never experienced or will never experience, and I've got to give them tons of credit for that and have utmost respect for that effort. But making that person or that group of people trust you and inspiring them to let you lead is a significant, significant initiative that you've got to have a lot of purpose, a lot of focus on, and that's kind of the most important part, I think, is to to build a relationship. Build that relationship, build the trust, be authentic, have integrity. They will then see that you can lead and take what they've done to the next level and hopefully that will benefit their family and families for generations to come, because that's the ultimate outcome. It's not building to flip it, it's not make a fast buck. In fact, the bucks have nothing to do with it. It's about the purpose. It's about what you deliver value to society, to your customers. It's about what you want to do. That's why that analogy to a friend a best friend is really good at something. I think that's a very good focus for us to have, and I think that if you can generate thousands and thousands of friends throughout the world that all have that need, you've got a successful business that's providing college educations, food on the table, happiness, travel, fun for families, countless families. That's really exciting. That's kind of the passion. Chris: Did you have any challenges as that transition, where the people that used to report directly to the founder maybe weren't coming to you at first, and how did you manage that? Robert: I would be lying to say that that doesn't still exist. It does. It's just a challenge that you have to acknowledge and you have to kind of embrace. I get it. Like I said, the respect level that I have for the founder, the founding family, is so high that I would expect that legacy employees that have been around for a long time. Look at that with the same level of respect. Chris: So you don't take offense to it, oh you can't take offense to it. Robert: It's an eagle driven thing. Chris: Yeah, well, it sounds like that attitude that you bring to it is consistent with the culture, that you're the mindset of the right attitude and that the company's got everyone going in the same direction. Yeah, that's right. So it's not easy running a company the scale and size that you do. What are some of the things that you've done personally to try to have a very successful business life, but also very successful and fulfilling personal life? Robert: Sure, yeah, I mean, I've got four children, twin three-year-olds, a seven-year-old and a 22-year-old and a wonderful wife at home and you know you can't lose focus on what they need and what they want. You can't lose focus on being at home. Right, home is where the heart is. Home provides all kinds of emotional support and you know that's kind of been my exercise routine is making sure that I can maintain a healthy home, which you know. There's this concept of balance that I haven't figured out yet Sure like everyone has their own definition right. Yeah, but because of technology you can be in one location and have a FaceTime call with someone else and you at least can, you know, make sure you're there from a voice and a conversation standpoint. But it's not easy. For sure, but it is definitely worth living for, it's worth striving towards, and you know I value the family component of my life tremendously and I'm hoping that that lends itself to the mission of where we are, the direction we're headed as a company. Out that comes off, and you know I try to treat the folks around me that are closest to me in the office like family as well, and I get a lot of practice. Chris: That's good, that's great, great attitude about it. So what do you see on the horizon? What's next for WorldVue? Where do you see the near future taking you? Robert: Well, our friends are getting larger and larger. We're getting more of them. We are expanding internationally. So we just formed entities in the UK and the EU and Dubai, as well as, I believe, in Singapore and Mexico City. So, we've got a strategy to expand what we do globally, which is going to be very, very exciting. It's going to be very, very difficult. The challenge is exciting, though, and the great people around me and our teams are all excited and enthusiastic about that. But, from just growing business and sticking to our knitting in terms of domestic growth. We've got great relationships with hotel brands. There are multiple. The environment of hospitality is multidimensional and very fascinating to me at least. Where you've got a brand presence, you've got real estate owners, you've got operators and then you've got, of course, guests and the occupants of the property and you've got to serve all four of those groups in a special way and make sure that you're coming through for them. And so we've done a pretty good job at all of those levels. We're excited about some of our brand relationships that are growing and we're becoming more of their best friend. They have other friends. Sure You're their best friend. So the growth plan with product competencies as one lever and market share expansion as the other lever, is what's going to take us forward, and we'd like to be five times larger than what we are in the next five years. Chris: Oh, it's aggressive, it's aggressive. I was going to ask you what's driving that growth? Robert: It's demand. The demand that there's so much technology out there. Technology has become this kind of ambiguous word, right. Sure when it could be hard technology, like a wireless access point or a TV or an ethernet switch or a door lock, or it could be a software right. The software is kind of the glue that makes that hardware valuable, and the software on each of those individual devices is unique. And the key is how do you integrate those softwares together to create an amazing experience, whether it's for a guest, for a hotel associate, the housekeeper or for the owner of the property? In terms of value creation through stronger profitability, there's opportunities to leverage technology to not only solve problems but create opportunities. We think that's where the real demand is going to come from. We just have to be there to be their best friend make it all work and when they have a problem, come to us. Chris: Be that trusted friend. Robert: Be the trusted friend, trusted advisor. Chris: So what advice would you give to someone who aspires to be a business leader or entrepreneur, based on your experience, Create a focus, like create something you really want to achieve. Robert: Start at the end, like what do you want your life to look like and what do you see doing that really is a passion for you. Leave all the other stuff out of that equation, leave the money out of that equation, leave the location out of that equation. But focus with the end in mind, in terms of how you'd like to live to, and then build backwards from there, like what does it take to get there? Create a roadmap for yourself. I know, very early on in life I saw the movie Wall Street and this is on silly, but I loved business after that. I don't know why I don't know what it was, maybe it was the acting, I don't know but I wanted to be a businessman, I wanted to be in business and then I lived my life. I got to college. I was lucky enough to run into some very influential professors. One of them happened to be a real estate guy. He was doing commercial real estate development and exposed me to a company called Equity Group Investments which is based in Chicago. I grew up in Wisconsin, based in Chicago. A guy named Sam Zell who just passed away this last year. And Sam was an iconic entrepreneur, a builder of businesses all along the real estate kind of foundational area, and I decided I wanted to work for Sam Zell. So I graduated college, moved to Chicago, no job, started originating mortgages 100% commission straight out of school and just pursued Sam's company, got involved with Equity Residential, which was his apartment rate, got in the flow of that company, developed this love of technology. I've always had a love of technology, applied technology to real estate early on in the early 90s, kind of made a name for myself, and then that took me to where I am today, which is real estate technology, the scene between the two, solving problems and then being someone's best friend. Chris: There's value there. Robert: And that's kind of how what. I would advise so, start with the end of mind. Chris: Okay, I love that Great story, so let's turn to a little lighter subjects. What was your first job? Robert: First job was? That's a great question. First job I worked in a warehouse and I was moving things around a warehouse after school and I was 14, 15 years old. Like no technology involved in that there was like a tow motor, a tow motor and a truck and a dock. But you know, and really exposed myself to an interesting lifestyle, you know, the people who work in warehouses are pretty salt of the earth and you know, boy, you sweat it in that job right, and then you know. But probably my most interesting job and the one that I was at the least or the shortest amount of time was. I joined a roofing crew in a summer in college and I was on that job for a total of four hours. Chris: And. Robert: I had blisters and bloody hands in that first morning. It was a commercial three-story roof, pitched roof, asphalt, you know, shingles and those guys. I've never seen someone work as hard as them and I couldn't do it. I just couldn't do it. So I went to work as a teller after that. Chris: Okay. Robert: Two weeks later, a bank teller. Chris: Okay, okay, well, so you mentioned you grew up in Wisconsin. Yeah, Been in Houston a while now, so, being newer to Houston and Texas, what do you prefer Tex-Mex or barbecue? Robert: Oh, barbecue. I love the quality of the food meats you know the taste. I think it's good that there's a competition between barbecue to see who's best. I love like playing that game. Chris: It's a good experience as well, there's so many good options. Last week, in fact, someone was visiting Houston, so we've heard all about Texas barbecue. Where do you recommend we go? And I was stumped. Tell me kind of what you like or what you want, because it depends. That's great. So if you could take a 30-day sabbatical, where would you go and what would you do? Robert: Yeah, so that's easy. I spend the first two weeks at home just being at home. You know being a dad being, you know being a husband. I think that's very, very important, boy, that would be a good vacation. Chris: Yeah. Robert: And then maybe the last two weeks I'd stay here in Texas. I go to Hill Country. Yeah, there's so many great places in Texas. It's like a whole different country really. Chris: Sure. Robert: You could go to Dallas and spend some time downtown Dallas doing some fun stuff. You could stay here in Houston and experience all kinds of interesting stuff. Or you could go to Austin, go to Hill Country. It's just the dynamic is incredible. Chris: Couldn't agree more, so I'd stay here close to home. I travel enough. Okay, fair enough, fair enough. Well, Robert:, thank you again for agreeing to be a guest. I loved hearing your story and what you're doing at World View and the team that you all have there. So thanks again. Robert: Absolutely, it's been a pleasure. Thank you, Chris. Special Guest: Robert Grosz.

ART STYLE ACADEMY:  https://www.laurenlesley.com/asa-sales-page-35-spots DM me on Instagram:  @LaurenLesleyStudio   Do These 6 Things BEFORE Going Full-Time as an Artist Hey!  How are you?  If we haven't met before, I'm Lauren.. I'm your host of the Design Tribe podcast, and I'm an artist and textile designer.  In the last episode, I went into pretty great detail about what it was like working as a full-time artist and licensing surface pattern designs.  So if you missed that episode, be sure to check it out.   I know a lot of you are either trying to make it as a surface pattern designer OR you dream of one day being able to leave your day job to license your artwork to companies.   I spent 2 years as an independent artist, and although there were many things I loved about working independently, I ultimately went back to an in-house job as a Senior Textile Designer.     A lot of these tips I'm about to share with you are things I WISH I did before making the leap to being a full-time artist.  We'll talk about all the money stuff in the very last tip so be sure to stick around for that juicy topic.   Okay, so my first tip is to…   Publish a class to Skillshare. This might not be the advice you were expecting, haha! And to be honest, I'm a little annoyed with Skillshare, because last year they cut their teacher's income by almost half - with no warning. From a business perspective, I understand if they needed to do this, but they really should have been up front about it and approached the cut in a much more gradual way.  So, it felt really crappy.. Especially when a lot of teachers relied on this as a dependable stream of income. BUT! The reason my first tip is to upload a class to Skillshare is because when you go full-time as an artist, you will need some recurring revenue coming in on a regular basis.   When it comes to teaching, Skillshare is one of the easiest places to start, because they already have such a great built-in audience with lots of students who are creative.   Domestika is another popular teaching platform you could choose if Skillshare has lost your trust.  I haven't personally uploaded classes to Domestika so I can't comment on whether I like the platform or not, but other artists seem to really like it. Another reason to upload a class is to just get your feet wet and see if you enjoy teaching. A lot of full-time artists teach on a platform like Skillshare or sell a course as a way to supplement their licensing income, which if you've ever done any licensing, you know very well it can fluctuate a lot! Your first class doesn't even have to be related to what you WANT to do moving forward.  It's easy to think:  “Well, I can't teach about that, because I don't have enough experience yet.”  And you would be right! Instead, think about where you were 5-10 years ago.  What have you learned since then? Your course could be about learning how to use Photoshop or how to draw a Still Life.  What are some things you learned in school that you could teach?  What did you major in?  It doesn't even have to be art-related! It does help to keep your class topics related in the long term, but for your very first class - it could really be anything. The idea is for you to discover A.) if you enjoy teaching - e.i. Filming yourself, doing a little video editing, etc.  and B.) to start generating some recurring revenue. Develop your Art Style When you're working as an in-house designer, it can be really hard to find your own Art Style.   Often when we work an in-house job, you get really good at doing ANY style… depending on what the project needs. Companies often try to fill out the white space in their line by covering a range of styles from traditional to modern to boho, you name it.  That means, as the designer, you develop the skill of designing ANY style. The problem with that is… you start to lose a sense of your own style and who you are from the inside out. You might get excited by new trends or a new project that changes things up.  When you like soo many different things, it can be really hard to narrow down to just ONE look.  Especially, when you don't know what's going to sell or which style might be the most reasonable to pursue.When you can do any style, HOW do you pick?! This gets very tricky, because in LICENSING… companies are really only interested in licensing when your art brings something new to the table… something that they don't already have from their own in-house designers. Companies want to know what YOUR perspective is. Think of the Jungalow brand. Justina Blakeney brought a brand new perspective to home décor by covering her house in an explosion of plants and colorful textiles.  In a time where Minimalism and white sofas were extremely popular, she did the opposite thing… and by staying true to her own vision, this Boho Maximalism style exploded. Think of Rifle Paper Co. and the unique style of Anna Bond's florals.She brought a brand new look to florals that really highlights her own unique style that's painterly, colorful, and friendly. Oftentimes, companies want to license work that's the same, but different.  This means the subject matter is often the same… like the florals that are so famous from Rifle Paper Co.  But the WAY Anna Bond painted them was so different. Style is all about technique. If this is something you're struggling with, I do offer a self-paced online program called Art Style Academy.  When you go through my program and do the work, you will develop your own style by the end of the course.  If this sounds interesting to you, you can check out the link in the show notes or check out my website at LaurenLesley.com - and Lesley is spelled with an E-Y. Create a Portfolio with a Large Body of Work Once you've developed your Art Style, the next area of focus is to build out your portfolio.  It will be sooo much easier to get the ball rolling if you already have a full portfolio to sell. From there, you can decide if you want to work with an agent, upload to an on-demand site, or exhibit at a tradeshow. So, you might be wondering… “Okay, but how many pieces do I need to have in my portfolio?” Honestly, you probably need close to 100 pieces in your portfolio.  I know this sounds like a lot, but it's important to work in collections and some of these could be coordinates.  For each collection, you also need to work in a limited color palette and make sure your pieces are looking related to each other. If you are cold-emailing Art Directors, you don't necessarily need 100 pieces to start.  You can pitch collection-by-collection. But if you're investing a lot of time, money, and energy to exhibit at a tradeshow, I recommend going in prepared with A LOT of work.  You're more likely to gain contracts if you have a collection that really resonates with a client. Okay, so what else? Start uploading to ONE On-Demand Site Etsy Society 6 Spoonflower Creative Market Patternbank MintedUploading to On-Demand sites can be a bit tricky for a lot of reasons.  I feel like that might be another whole podcast episode. But I think a lot of artists try uploading to one site, find that they're not having success so then they switch and try a different site. A lot of time gets wasted posting and re-posting your designs on so many different sites. I think it's important to figure out WHICH site you like the best up front - before you quit your day job.  Figure out which site is converting to sales. For example, my Character Builders sold really well on Creative Market.  Customers on Creative Market are usually other designers and they understand how to use programs like Illustrator.  They buy these products to save themselves a little time. However, when I tried to sell the same designs as Clip Art on Etsy it didn't do very well.  I had too many customers sending me private messages wanting me to customize the clip art for them and I was trying to get away from hourly work. I ended up preferring Creative Market to sell digital products, because I made the most money and customers weren't asking me to customize the artwork for them. I also like Patternbank the best for uploading pattern designs to the internet.  But I'll admit I have a love-hate relationship with this platform.  When a design sells, the money is a lot better than other sites I've experienced.  However, I'm constantly agonizing over which patterns I want to remain in my Licensing Portfolio and which ones I want to sell on Patternbank.   If there's something I no longer love, or don't feel as strongly about, in my Licensing Portfolio, I sort of think about it like putting those patterns on clearance by posting them to Patternbank.  It doesn't make them bad, but it's something I am just kind of “over” and I want to get rid of it.   Because I spent time on it, I want the ability to earn some kind of ROI, but I don't love it enough to continue spending future-time on pitching it to clients. I think artists have a lot of different opinions on these ON-DEMAND sites.  Some feel that it devalues the industry and isn't worth the low pay.  But other artists sometimes “get found” on these sites and it can really boost their career. Other sites like Minted and Spoonflower offer design challenges that I think can really help you understand what types of designs sell and how to level up your artwork.  So, if your artwork skills need developing this is a great place to get an education! The main point I want to make here is to play around with this option and figure out if you like it BEFORE quitting your day job.  I'd recommend only choosing one or two On-Demand sites you like and stick with it.  If you try to post to all of them, you'll spread yourself too thin and you won't make any progress. Start Outsourcing Hire an Assistant DesignerBelieve it or not, when you become a Full-Time Artist you have also decided to become a Business Owner.  You'll need to set up an LLC (if you're in the U.S.) and save at least 30% of your income for paying taxes. When you go independent, you're no longer just an artist. You're also the CEO, head of Marketing, Sales, and Accounting.  You are the only person in the business which means you have to do everyyyything.  What's so frustrating about this is that it can leave very little time for making art. When you're still working a day job, it's kind of a similar boat - where the majority of your time is spent working on your day job… so you don't exactly have enough time to build up your side hustle. Unfortunately, this doesn't change when you go independent, because you suddenly have so many more responsibilities. That's why I suggest outsourcing as much as you can BEFORE leaving your day job. You need to get your systems in place so that the business can run smoothly when you are ready to take the leap.  You don't want to be scrambling. Your website should be in a finished state. I really recommend hiring an Assistant Designer who is a jack-of-all-trades.  My assistant designer is amazing, because he can work on all kinds of things that require proficiency in everything from Illustrator or Photoshop to video editing in Premiere Pro. You can find really great design help on places like Fiverr or Upwork.  They keep track of the contract and the hours which is a huge help. From there, I like to use Asana to organize my projects and give a due date.  My Assistant Designer can keep up with the projects in Asana and knows what he can work on next.  It's all in there. That frees me up to work on my artwork. Figure Out Your Money You really need to get a good handle on both your personal and business expenses BEFORE leaving your day job. I found that business expenses ended up being a lot more expensive than I ever would have guessed.  Everything from paying for a website, to an email list, to attending a trade show, to outsourcing a mountain of tasks… really adds up! Some of you may be able to move into your parents' house or you may have a partner who supports you in the beginning.  This is all helpful, but you'll still need a way to fund your business - especially to get it up and running.Using your day job's salary to fund your business in the early stages is a strategy I quite like. The more you focus on building up Passive Income Streams like classes or selling digital products BEFORE quitting your day job… the more you'll be able to focus on your licensing portfolio.  The only issue is it does take more time.  Try to be patient. It's good to layer on an Active Income stream as well - especially if your Passive Income streams are slow or sporadic.  What I don't like about Active Income streams is that it's trading hours for dollars.  But!  You can generally earn more money more quickly.   Put on your Accountant hat and make a spreadsheet.Get real familiar with what your expenses will be! Ignoring them does not make them go away. Try to reduce your living expenses as much as possible.For example, my husband and I share a car that's already paid for.  We don't have a car payment, and because the car is old, our insurance isn't too high either. Pay off your student loans!  If you still have student loans, you are not ready to quit your day job. Get rid of any credit card debt. Build up your resources.Think of any equipment you might need to start your business. BEFORE quitting your day job, go ahead and buy all of the fancy things.A new computer An iPad A good camera (can be used) A microphone A Pantone Book All of the art supplies you might want Any art books   Okay, so to recap the 6 things you should do BEFORE going full-time as an artist… we talked about:   Publishing a class to Skillshare or another platform like Domestika. Develop Your Art Style  Create a Portfolio with a Large Body of Work (100 pieces) Find ONE On-Demand site that you're liking  Start Outsourcing Business Tasks Figure Out Your Money   There's honestly so much more I could say on this topic, but that's a really good place to start!  Feel free to DM me over on Instagram @LaurenLesleyStudio  if you want to chat more.  I always love hearing from you all!   Have a wonderful day and good luck on all of your amazing art businesses!  Talk soon.

You have exactly the time you need to focus.   If you're an entrepreneur, you're probably familiar with hustle culture. You've probably even been sucked into that place of hustle - doing all the things all at once with little to no rest, hoping for extraordinary results. Oftentimes, only find fatigue, burnout, and wondering where we've gone wrong.    What if instead of hustling harder, we focused more?   What if it's not about getting more done?   What if we actually did less, but did it better?   These are the questions posed by Megan Flatt in her new book,  Focused: Reclaim Your Time, Ditch Overwhelm, and Do Less Better.    Megan is a dear friend, client, and collaborator of mine that I'm thrilled to introduce you to. She is a business growth strategist who's on a mission to make the entrepreneurial journey a whole lot easier! Megan firmly believes in having it all—a thriving business, a tight-knit community, and a well-rounded life. And guess what? She knows that the secret isn't about having more time; it's about having more focus.    Her book is all about showing you how to be more impactful in your work, relationships, and day-to-day actions while celebrating your wins.    This episode is full of strategies and practical tips to apply today to deepen your focus to make a bigger impact by doing less. As always, I want to know your thoughts on everything we're talking about in this episode. Be sure to leave a comment or head over to Instagram to let me know.    In this Episode:  What leads to burnout Time vs. To-do list: impact > busy What actually belongs on your to-do list? Strategies to find your focus   Connect with Megan focus-sessions.com   letscollective.co   @focussessions.

It's a chilling question that hangs in the cold air of unresolved cases: could Dennis Rader, infamously known as the BTK (Bind, Torture, Kill) Killer, be responsible for more unsolved murders than previously known? This was the central topic of discussion on a recent episode of the podcast "Hidden Killers," hosted by Tony Brueski. The conversation included insightful input from former Felony Prosecutor and attorney, Eric Faddis, who shed light on the ongoing debate surrounding a cold case from 1976 – the tragic death of Cynthia Dawn Kinney.    The family of Cynthia Dawn Kinney has been seeking closure for nearly half a century. Their beloved daughter's demise in 1976 has remained an unresolved mystery. However, recent interests have shifted towards Dennis Rader, the notorious BTK Killer, as the possible perpetrator. Brueski probes, “Nobody has ever been found though. But there is a lot of evidence from BTK's writings that he was in the area at the time.” He added that the writings of Rader align disturbingly well with the speculated events leading to Kinney's death.    Yet, as Faddis was quick to point out, navigating through the intricacies of cold cases presents unique challenges. “Evidence erodes, witnesses are lost or die… and it becomes a lot harder to prove the case,” Faddis noted. Adding layers to this complex narrative is the apparent discord between the Sheriff's office of Osage County and the District Attorney. The sheriff's office staunchly believes that BTK is the prime suspect in this case. In stark contrast, the DA's office cautions restraint, asserting that there isn't sufficient evidence to substantiate such claims.    Such a divisive stance, Faddis argues, is detrimental, especially when pursuing a serial killer in the context of a cold case murder. “We need a unified front in law enforcement… and we don't have that right now,” he stated.    Addressing concerns surrounding Sheriff Eddie Virden's approach to the investigation, Faddis emphasized the need for a delicate balance between passion and professionalism. He hinted at concerns within the legal community about how evidence was gathered by the Osage County Sheriff, especially when operating beyond their jurisdiction. The validity of the search warrants obtained, and the authority of the Osage County Sheriff's office in collecting evidence from outside their domain, have also come under scrutiny.    Faddis went on to describe the potential pitfalls of overzealous law enforcement: “Oftentimes, these small mistakes can be a linchpin for these cases to be dismissed once they get into the court system.” Such oversight, he suggests, could be at the heart of the DA's reluctance to name BTK as the prime suspect in the Kinney case. The necessity of a meticulous review of the evidence collection process, ensuring its adherence to constitutional norms, becomes paramount.    This sentiment resonated with Brueski's take on the situation, emphasizing the need for both departments to remain on the same page. “Both can have the same goal, but... both can destroy each other as well if they don't play by the rules,” Brueski warned.    While the possibility of Dennis Rader being connected to another tragic death sends shivers down the spine, the pursuit of justice, it seems, is fraught with challenges. The debate shines a light on the often-conflicting motivations of different branches of law enforcement, and the intricate dance of passion, protocol, and the pursuit of justice.    It remains to be seen if the BTK Killer will be definitively linked to Cynthia Dawn Kinney's murder. However, the call for a united front in law enforcement, underpinned by meticulous evidence gathering and careful deliberation, is louder than ever. Want to listen to ALL of our podcasts AD-FREE? Subscribe through APPLE PODCASTS, and try it for three days free: https://tinyurl.com/ycw626tj Follow Our Other Cases: https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com The latest on Catching the Long Island Serial Killer, Awaiting Admission: BTK's Unconfessed Crimes, Chad & Lori Daybell, The Murder of Ana Walshe, Alex Murdaugh, Bryan Kohberger, Lucy Letby, Kouri Richins, Justice for Harmony Montgomery, The Murder of Stephen Smith, The Murder of Madeline Kingsbury, and much more! Listen at https://www.truecrimetodaypod.com

Oftentimes we know we're willing to serve, yet there are competitors for our time and energy. Join Pastor Ben Kaempfer as he dives into servant leadership through John 13:1-17.

Oftentimes criticism can leave believers wounded and confused; but in today's podcast we see three principles for believers about criticism. In this episode, Emma Dotter and Lucina Thompson walk us through 2 Samuel 16-17, teaching that leadership matters, how you give criticism matters and how to respond to criticism matters.   Scripture referenced in today's episode: James 3:10, “Out of the same mouth comes blessing and cursing.” Luke 6:45, “Out of the overflow of the heart man speaks.”  Proverbs 27:6, “Faithful are the wounds of a friend.”  Proverbs 12:18, “Rash words are like a sword thrust.” Proverbs 15:1, “Soft answer turns away wrath.”   Listen to Lucina's other episodes! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/join-the-journey/id1600151923?i=1000576085731  Check out Join the Journey's Daily Devotionals & Discussion Questions by following this link: https://www.jointhejourney.com/  Grab a NEW Join The Journey Journal: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C7TCKPR1/ref=sr_1_14?crid=3MDHUUF0FW85G&keywords=join+the+journey+volume+2&qid=1686688452&sprefix=join+the+journ%2Caps%2C122&sr=8-14  Join the Journey Jr. https://www.jointhejourney.com/jr/5781-do-you-remember-god-s-promises-to-abraham  Grab a NEW Join The Journey Jr. Journal: https://www.amazon.com/Genesis-Jesus-Vol-Journey-Journal/dp/B0C7TCBFSG/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1RSZG7ERDLZ3F&keywords=join+the+journey+jr&qid=1686838113&sprefix=join+the+journey+%2Caps%2C116&sr=8-4

In the 1990s if you were a band wanting to make a record then the dream was to do it at For the Record studios. Bands like Outspoken, Farside, Gameface, Eleven-Thirty Four, Adamantium and many others recorded there. Oftentimes, the person behind the console producing your record was none other that Eric Garten aka E. His goal was transfer whatever a band was to a recording that would best represent them. In this interview we are reunited in real time, we discuss analog gear, and we take a tour through this incredibly important Orange County recording studio! Interested in recording in a legendary studio that just celebrated its 35th year? Give E and the fine folks a call at (714) 771-1410. These videos are part of an ongoing video series chronicling the hardcore punk music scene. They are an addendum to the film Orange County Hardcore Scenester. This is a documentary I made that chronicles the 1990s hardcore punk scene. You can watch ORANGE COUNTY HARDCORE SCENESTER here: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/ochs Or, pick up the Orange County Hardcore Scenester DVD here: https://revhq.com/products/evanjacobs-orangecountyhardcorescenester-dvd?_pos=2&_sid=683ac2ce9&_ss=r Subscribe to ANHEDENIA FILMS UNLIMITED and watch every Anhedenia Film as many times as you like for $2 a month: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/afunlimited See E's rich recording history here: https://www.discogs.com/artist/1491459-Eric-Garten

Jesus said to his disciples: “A good tree does not bear rotten fruit, nor does a rotten tree bear good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit. For people do not pick figs from thornbushes, nor do they gather grapes from brambles.” Luke 6:43–44What a great way to examine the direction of your life! This Gospel passage gets to the heart of how we can best discern whether or not we are truly fulfilling the will of God. Oftentimes we may struggle with knowing clearly if we are doing that which God wants of us. There are many directions in life that we can be pulled toward and many goals we can come up with on our own. For that reason, it is useful from time to time to stop and do an honest inventory of our lives.When you look at the past year of your life, what do you see? Specifically, do you see good fruit being born? Such an examination is helpful to do from time to time. It is useful to make such an examination not only for the past year but for different time periods. Perhaps start by looking at the big picture by looking at all the times in your life that were most fruitful for the glory of God. From there, try to look at your life decade by decade, year by year and then even month by month over this past year. Look for the most blessed moments in your life as well as the most challenging moments.When we examine our lives in this way, it's important to understand what to look for. For example, there may be moments when all went well in one way or another and then other times that were painful and very difficult. What's important to know, from a divine perspective, is that just because something “went well” at one point, or just because something was “painful and very difficult” at another point in our lives, this doesn't mean that the former was the most fruitful for the Kingdom of God or the latter the least fruitful. In fact, heavy crosses and difficulties in life can often be the most fruitful times for us, spiritually speaking. Just look at Jesus' life. Of course, everything He did was fruitful for the glory of the Father in Heaven, but we can easily point to the most painful moment of His life as the most fruitful. His Crucifixion brought forth the greatest good ever known.So it is with our lives. The fruitfulness of our lives is not best discerned by looking at those moments when all was easy, fun, memorable and the like. Though those may also be graced moments, we need to look at spiritual fruitfulness from the divine perspective. We need to look for the moments in our lives, be they easy or difficult, when God was clearly present and when we made choices that gave Him the greatest glory.Reflect, today, upon your life being like a tree that bears spiritual fruit. What times of your life, decisions you made, or activities that you were engaged in produced the most virtue in your life? When was your prayer life the deepest? When was your charity the strongest? When was your faith and hope the most evident? Return to those moments, savor them, learn from them and use them as the best building blocks for the glorious future our Lord desires for you.My glorious Lord, Your life bore fruit of infinite value. You continually chose to fulfill the will of the Father in Heaven, and, as a result, You lived every virtue to perfection. Help me to regularly pause in life so as to examine the direction in which I am going. May I learn from my errors and rejoice in those moments that were most fruitful for Your Kingdom. I love You, Lord. Help me to bear the greatest fruit for Your glory. Jesus, I trust in You.Source of content: catholic-daily-reflections.comCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Nutrition Nugget! Bite-size, bonus episodes offering tips, tricks and approachable science. This week, Jenn's talking about milestones. This week, Jenn is turning 40! During this episode she reflects on how she feels to be turning 40, as well as how people seem to treat milestones. Oftentimes, we pause and look back; we identify things as a milestone, but it doesn't feel like such a milestone during the immediate event. Tune in to hear how she's feeling and an incredible quote about life. Cheers to 40 Jenn! Like what you're hearing? Be sure to check out the full length episodes; new releases every Wednesday.  Have an idea for a nutrition nugget?  Submit it here: https://asaladwithasideoffries.com/index.php/contact/       RESOURCES:Become A Member of Salad with a Side of FriesJenn's Free Menu PlanA Salad With a Side of FriesA Salad With A Side Of Fries MerchA Salad With a Side of Fries Instagram

#199: Oftentimes, the skills we develop from being mothers aren't recognized or realized for what their worth. Yet it's these skills that make mothers, experts in leadership.In today's podcast episode, we dive into the world of leadership, focusing on the important role mothers play as leaders. Our guest today shares her personal journey of overcoming challenges, showing how being a mother has equipped her with valuable leadership skills. We discuss how leadership isn't just about the business world, but also about the essential leadership role mothers have within their families. Not only does this conversation highlight the powerful impact mothers have on their children and society as leaders; but also touches on the importance of finding one's purpose and daily habits that help develop leadership qualities.Today's guest, Angela Linville overcame domestic abuse and endured years in toxic relationships. A single mother of four, she juggled three jobs and returned to college at 38. After studying diverse fields at Grand Canyon University, she embraced online marketing, focusing on human behavior and buyer psychology. Angela now coaches others to amplify their online presence. Featured in events and podcasts like the Unlock Your Beautiful Masterpiece Summit, Hope Unlocked Podcast, and A Simply Intentional Life, she's set to speak at the Top 1% Conference soon. Angela, an upcoming author of "Letters to My Daughters: Whispers from God," is now a mother to eight, married to her childhood friend, Thomas. They reside on a Missouri cattle ranch, cherishing nature, adventures, and community service.Listen to How You Can Utilize Your Leadership Skills...[03:14] Angela's inspiring journey from overcoming domestic abuse to becoming a leader[06:32] Leadership is developed, not necessarily innate[10:14] The steps to uncover and embrace your unique God-given calling in life[15:24] The importance of alignment with your purpose and knowing when you're out of alignment[21:20] Examples of leadership in various spheres of influence, from family to business and beyond[25:44] Daily habits and routines to stay connected with your calling[29:20] Angela shares a personal example of her journey and the transformative STOPP methodImportant Links & Mentions in this episode:Divine Design AcceleratorAngela's WebsiteKelly's 4D Breakthrough DevotionalKelly's Youtube ChannelPower of One Framework MasterclassSubscribe + Review on iTunesSubscribe + Listen on Spotify Remember, YOU Matter! See you in the next episode.

Shawnna Sumaoang: Hi, and welcome to the Sales Enablement PRO Podcast. I'm Shawnna Sumaoang. Sales enablement is a constantly evolving space, and we're here to help professionals stay up to date on the latest trends and best practices so that they can be more effective in their jobs. Today I'm excited to have Nicholas Gregory from Qlik join us. Nick, I would love for you to introduce yourself, your role, and your organization to our audience. Nicholas Gregory: Thank you so much, Shawnna, for the opportunity to speak to you and to speak to your audience here. My name is Nicholas Gregory. I started my career in sales after university. Specifically with a cybersecurity company called McAfee about 15 years ago, where I was given an opportunity to fulfill a very personal and professional goal of mine to work in Latin America, which is a different conversation for a different day. Nonetheless, the powers that be at the company, knowing my aspirations to work in Latin America, tap me on the shoulder to be a new member of a new global team of sales consultants placed regionally across the globe to deploy what we would call ‘enablement services today' in a globally consistent manner. I was brought on to that team to lead their Latin America efforts from a sales enablement services perspective and that’s where I found myself in enablement. Since that time I’ve led a regional, and most of my career now, global sales enablement teams for technology organizations such as Symantec, Veritas, Sabre, and Couchbase. Currently, I’m the global head of sales enablement and effectiveness at Qlik, and we’re a business intelligence, data analytics, and data integration company where we help organizations to better understand their data, whatever that might mean to them, to run their business and help turn their data into action. SS: Well, Nick, we’re excited to have you here joining us with your wealth of experience. One of the things that caught my eye about your background was the focus on improving sales productivity, which I think is the ultimate goal for most folks in enablement. In your opinion, what is enablement’s role in helping to drive productivity for the business? NG: Enablement’s role in improving sales productivity is very multifaceted. To answer, first, I’ll speak to what I feel is important to share with the audience, which is my opinion on what are the four key principle enablement services that enablement should provide to the organization itself. that we’re working for. This is from an end-to-end strategic discipline perspective. Those are four in this order. Technology services, so that is, we may not own the sales tech stack or most of the sales tech stack, but we train on those particular tools, let’s say, or in partnership with whoever might own those tools, whether it’s marketing or other parts of organization, and also in some cases, we own part of the tech stack as well, where we are from an admin perspective, but we’re here to train on those tools, no matter where they reside and who funds them on how to be more efficient and effective with those tools. Whether it’s a conversation intelligence tool, a prospecting tool, whatever the case may be, or your CRM whatever the case may be, we’re here to help support being more effective. Number two, training services. We can’t forget where we came from in enablement. We’re born out of training, but that is a key component to the four services, training services. That is your onboarding, methodology, product training, business acumen training, industry training, and everything in between. Number three is coaching services, which is a critical component and often doesn’t get funded as much as it should with organizations today, especially in this changing buyer-seller landscape. Any of the investments we make that are imperative for the organization, be the actual organization itself or the sales organization, we should be supporting the organization through coaching services to protect those investments we’re making, whether those are financial investments from an enablement perspective, or be it that it’s like time, a soft cost investment, whatever the case may be, what’s the most important to the organization, we should be coaching to the sustainment of those investments. Last but not least is content services. A lot of times we create content and if you look at the research, sales themselves create a lot of content that they use in front of the customer or send to customers. Also, we work with partners in marketing that create a lot of content as well. Wherever the content comes from, we need to make sure that it’s synthesized for sales so that they make the most of that content and they’re not reinventing the wheel or having to edit a lot of that content that is being dispersed. Whether that’s through the technology services that I talked about before, integrated into the CRM, or however they get their content at their organization. That’s just to provide a perspective of the four key principal enablement services that I feel are most important that we drive from a strategic perspective. Second, let’s agree on a high-level definition of sales productivity. If we can agree on that, it means how we measure how the organization leverages those enablement services I just spoke about to achieve organizational outcomes while reducing the time and costs to acquire new business. No service that I just talked about is more important than the other on its own, it’s how many of these services work in concert to drive the outcomes, to achieve those results that we’re looking for across the organization. From my team’s perspective, the net on all this is that either we implement these services ourselves or work in partnership cross functionally to improve the efficacy and efficiency when using our sales tech stack as a part of our technology services, or reduce ramp time for new hires as a part of our onboarding to full productivity, or implement and drive adoption of the sales methodology that we might purchase from a methodology provider, or concentrate on the opportunities that will yield the most likelihood of winning or developing our most strategic accounts. That will increase selling time by focusing on those opportunities or on those accounts that matter the most as a part of training services. What I mentioned about coaching services, keeping our sales skills sharp and reinforcing the most critical programs and initiatives so that leaders and reps know what to focus on. Lastly, content services, whether we create the content ourselves or work in partnership with product marketing as I mentioned before, it’s about providing the right content to the right people at the right time internally so that they can then turn that content into Action or into customer-facing content through customer engagements, and they’re wasting time to find that content that might be outdated, not relevant, or requires a lot of updates from the sales reps as I mentioned before. It’s often these services working in concert to drive maximum productivity gains as much as possible, and we should always be measuring everything, whether it’s leading or lagging indicators across all these services. Especially at the cornerstone of productivity, whatever productivity might mean for you and your organization. SS: I love that. I love how crisply you’ve defined what productivity means within your own organization. Now, one way that we’ve seen enablement help enhance productivity is by enabling reps with a sales methodology. Can you walk us through why a sales methodology is critical for success? NG: First and foremost, you have to read the headlines over the last many years now that buyer expectations have dramatically changed and really sales, I would say more on the, maybe the B2B selling side, that our profession has truly changed and that what those buyer expectations are and the sales skills to keep up with those buyer expectations. It’s truly creating a gap. You can look at research to help show what that really looks like out there in the world today. Sales reps are having a difficult time keeping up with the exponential change on the buying side, so, in my opinion, sales methodology is one of the best investments a sales organization can make to help close the gap between the buyer expectations and the selling skills to make sure that we’re driving those predictable and repeatable results across the organization at scale. It provides that center line where we can be consistent in how our sales reps prepare for customer engagements through call planning or how they strategize on their most important opportunities, or the region’s most important opportunities, or from a global account manager perspective of the world’s most important opportunities for our organization and how they manage their most important and strategic accounts. With selling time at a premium, we can all agree that we’re not seeing more and more selling time across a given week, month, or quarter. When you establish a common way to operate. Internally away from the customer, as well as from an external perspective with the customer, a common language that is spoken by the entire sales force by the way of a methodology. Having a common scorecard to evaluate in a very succinct way, the most critical opportunities on the likelihood that they’ll close those opportunities that are worth pursuing the priorities from the organization on the opportunities that we should pursue now or later. After we look at the higher and higher sales methodology adoption rates that have higher and higher adoption rates of the sales methodology they institute or implement within the organization. Typically high adoption rate is anything above 75% of the organization adopting the sales methodology. This is according to Korn Ferry Sales Performance Research. Organizations start to see double-digit improvement and win rates on forecasted deals or opportunities and a double-digit increase in sellers, achieving quota and an increase in revenue attainment all the while decreasing voluntary turnover. More people making money, more people hitting quota, less and less likely to leave that organization. This is a very critical investment by the company to drive results that are most important to the organization. Oftentimes it gets overlooked in the place of more product training, or specifically just skills training or onboarding. They are all important, but if we don’t know where to place that new knowledge on skills training in a strategic way, through methodology, then it’s really missing a part of the formula to drive improved productivity across the organization. SS: I think that is fantastic. You talked about some of the key elements of key services of bringing enablement to life in terms of improving productivity. A couple of those were things like training and coaching. What are your best practices for training reps to effectively leverage a sales methodology? NG: I talked a little bit about the methodology as a whole and what it means to the organization, but in order to really start down a sales methodology journey, first and foremost, we have to understand that at the highest level, at the executive level, there has to be a commitment to change. That is demonstrated not only from a communication perspective, what is written and shared across the organization from senior leadership, but it’s also from a say, show, do perspective and leading by example. At the cornerstone of all of this is that leadership commitment shown across the organization way in advance of, hey, we’re moving down the sales methodology path of deployment. Let’s say we’ve got that buy-in from a sales leadership perspective. We are going to invest with a true sales methodology provider that is very wide in nature from focusing on how we engage with customers, how we strategize in our most important opportunities, and how we manage our most important or strategic accounts, full end to end, not just deal scorecard or things of that nature. Then it’s about making sure that we have that commitment from the top shown through communication. What are we doing, why we’re doing it, and what KPIs we are looking to improve? Also, a part of this before we even get to deploying the sales methodology is if we’re fortunate to have the funding to invest in a sales coach or a sales coaching team, a practice within the enablement team to help with not only deployment from a facilitation perspective, but ongoing reinforcement and sustainment adoption through the sales leaders as well as working one on one or one to many with sales teams. That would be a key component of this as a part of the investment. Then, we’re looking at deploying the sales methodology and we’re providing that center line of skills and behaviors and a framework. First and foremost, I’m a big believer in beyond the communications that really provide that fertile ground for making sure that we have some semblance of pre-work, whether that’s provided by the sales methodology provider, or we develop it internally or a mixture hybrid of both. We need to make sure that everyone is on a common playing field, if you will, before we head into what would be the next portion of the deployment and best practice is having the actual formal workshop. We have a coaching team, we commit to leadership, and we’re deploying pre-work that’s required before showing up at a virtual workshop, or if possible, an in-person workshop or various workshops to make sure we take care of the entire globe where they’ll apply their newly acquired knowledge. They got a lot of that knowledge from pre-work and they got a lot of that knowledge from the leadership commitment from communications and calls and things of that nature before deployment. Now it’s applying that knowledge, not just with hypotheticals, but if we’re talking about opportunity strategy as a part of our methodology, applying that knowledge with real opportunities for the sales team as a part of this workshop. If we’re talking about preparing for our most critical engagements, it’s about preparing for real customer engagements that we’ll have the buying side, leveraging the new methodology. If it’s about managing our most important accounts, it’s about applying that knowledge by using our real accounts. It’s establishing those skills and behaviors through workshops by using what’s real to the sales team. Also, part of this next is to establish a bi-weekly or weekly deal review. Now, a lot of companies already have that or should have that as a part of their operating cadence, but that being said, establishing a methodology is about providing a new way of going to market. It’s about providing a new way to strategize and opportunities. We should embed the methodology into what already exists and their deal reviews. We’re evaluating those deals through the methodology framework or a new method by which we strategize on opportunities. We’ll have a lot of success stories over the next three, six, nine months. Let’s syndicate those success stories as a part of this process and best practices across the organization. Let’s not make them isolated within one territory or one region of the globe. If we’re a global company, let’s syndicate those across the entire globe of the success stories of how the methodology is adding value to be more productive, reducing the admin time, and improving and increasing the selling time that we might have to give it across a given week or month or quarter. The number one thing when we’re thinking about those best practices I just mentioned is we have to define who was a part of this methodology as well. That goes back to the very beginning in some cases and what we’re going to deploy across the organization. While we call it a sales methodology, it’s truly an organization-wide commitment in many regards. We need to ensure that we are onboarding all members of the account team to the methodology and all of what I just said before, as far as those best practices are concerned. Most, if not all the people I’m about to mention should be a part of this journey, whether that’s through the full end-to-end methodology deployment experience or a subset of the deployment, depending on an individual’s role. Let’s take B2B technology sales for a moment that might take the form of fully implementing the methodology across account executives, solution engineers, partners, account management, teams, professional services, and customer success. Also, of course, all levels of leadership across those teams. Those are the core teams that engage with an interface with prospects and customers. Then we take the perspective of who else supports the account team across the company and my interface with customers from time to time. We may be on board to a lesser extent, marketing teams such as digital or social teams, field marketing, legal, procurement, and others who often, like I said, interface with prospects and customers throughout the sales or customer buying cycles. Sometimes those teams contribute in a variety of ways to opportunity and account-level strategy. Implementing a sales methodology is truly a cross-functional deployment, not just specific to the sales team. Number two, the last thing I’ll mention, Shawnna, is about partnership with marketing. While they will be going along the journey with us in many regards, maybe to a lesser extent from a full onboarding experience, we have to make sure that we support the sales team by partnering with marketing that supports us and enablement services so much and engages with sales directly with content and other ways. Our ongoing partnership with them shall provide that center line as marketing to engage with prospects and customers strategizes on those opportunities. They help us manage some of those most strategic accounts in a globally consistent manner. As our internal language shifts, so should the language that marketing uses externally and internally to be more customer outcome-driven, less product feature function-oriented. Therefore any content they’re creating that is customer-facing or sent to the sales teams internally, or like I said, in some cases, externally should evolve as well. That partnership with marketing to ensure alignment on content, the new language that’s used the intent of the content has to change with it. Whether that’s sales play content, competitive battle cards, or ongoing support through the creation of discovery questions to be used throughout the entire, that sales cycle, no matter the asset, it should change and align to the methodology in that common language. SS: I love that. You also mentioned coaching earlier a few times, actually throughout that. What role does coaching play in helping reps to effectively leverage a sales methodology? NG: Coaching, or the lack thereof, is one of the most critical determining factors if an investment is worthwhile. It truly is an investment financially in most regards, unless you’re fortunate to build one internally. Coaching can and should come in many forms. Coaching can come in the form of practice from a coaching practice perspective. If we’re fortunate to have a coaching team, like I’m fortunate to have here at Qlik, this team is dedicated to sales to the sales professionals, their leaders, and their leaders leaders and their remit is to coach leaders in the sales teams on the key imperatives for the sales team, the organization, such as methodology in this case that you asked about. Sales professionals can provide coaching themselves. It can come from not only the first-line, second-line leaders, a coaching team if we’re fortunate to have one, but also sales reps that are, I mentioned those success stories before. Sales can coach sales. I’m a big believer that sales learn best from sales. This is a great opportunity when we’re having success, We call out those sales reps to bring them into a pseudo-coaching role where they’re actually helping coach their peers from within their own teams, within their own region, whatever the case may be. Also, we can look at successful leaders who can request that other leaders, let’s say, provide a community of coaches from across the leadership teams where those leaders are not only developing and coaching their teams, but they’re also helping develop and coach other teams around on an ad-hoc basis, or maybe even a more formal basis, as well across the region or across the globe. That ongoing and effective coaching drives sustainment, adoption, and reinforcement of the methodology investment that can be very expensive on top of the commitment to change. It can be very expensive from a financial and soft cost perspective. Coaching is critically important to longevity and the likelihood of success as I mentioned before. On top of my coaching team being certified, I’m going to mention this point. Their responsibility is to facilitate the methodology training workshops and provide their own reinforcement in a variety of ways. My coaches are laser-focused when deploying a methodology to help those first-line and second-line leaders become better coaches. Oftentimes you’ll hear so many sales consultancy firms talk about how they are the most underinvested people in the sales organization with some of the most difficult jobs. That upward pressure from their teams, and downward pressure from leadership, but we provide little to no investment in them to be better coaches. A lot of times they weren’t really trained to be sales leaders. They were an individual contributor on a Friday promoted from within, let’s say five, 10 years ago, and they’ve just been in this leadership role for quite some time. Maybe successful, maybe you know, plateauing a little bit here and there, but they’ve never been invested in. It’s my team’s job to help them be better first-line and second-line leaders underpinned by the methodology. Sales organizations that have a sales methodology coupled with an ongoing and multifaceted coaching presence that I mentioned before, can see upwards of 28% of higher quota attainment and 32% higher win rates versus organizations that might have a methodology that made that investment. Leave coaching up to the leader’s discretion as I mentioned before, where they weren’t invested in their sales leadership career to be better coaches. This is an opportunity to have a coaching team drive true coaching in a consistent way, underpinned by the methodology to drive those results I just mentioned before. SS: Wonderful. In both training and coaching on methodology, I love that there’s this leadership-first mentality. Can you tell our audience about this approach and the impact that it’s had on the effectiveness of your training and coaching programs? NG: There are a few aspects to this that are top of mind and top of my list when deploying a true sales methodology. Let’s say that the org, as I mentioned previously, and the senior leadership have stacked hands, that there is a commitment to change, and that there are results that we’re looking to change and move the needle in a variety of different areas. From that commitment, we’re going to partner with a true sales methodology. Now, in order for that leadership-first mentality, you spoke of to really take hold. Number one, we need to bring leaders along with the pre-deployment journey. It can’t be something, hey, this isolated vacuum, we decided as a part of a senior leadership team that we’re going to be investing in a sales methodology and then all of a sudden it’s about to happen and they don’t get much of an advanced warning or awareness on from a change management perspective itself. We got to bring them along that pre-deployment journey to help with the change management side of the house because this is a huge change management initiative, a transformation. I think we agree that implementing a sales methodology is a big change management and transformational exercise. We need to work with those first-line leaders across all of the sales segments and across the cross-functional partners that I mentioned previously to help set expectations. What is their role during the actual implementation from a training perspective? What is the post-deployment? What are the expectations on how the leaders will reinforce, drive adoption, and sustainment? Sharing what the plan is, end to end, early and often prior to deployment, and what KPIs we’ll be measuring so that there are no surprises there. Gaining their commitment, now that’s not a hundred percent always going to happen there are going to be detractors. I think we can all agree that nothing that we do from an enablement services perspective or program or strategic comparative gets a hundred percent commitment, but that being said, let’s take the majority and get that commitment where possible. What changes should they expect there will definitely be changes moving forward. Also, what communications in some cases we would like these first-line second leaders to send out to their teams, to the region? A lot of those communications could be ghostwritten by us or others in the organization, but nonetheless, we need to make sure they put their voice behind the change that’s about to take place. In this regard, over-communication and constant engagement is key. With leaders, just as much as the individual contributors that report to them. The second is through the deployment from a training perspective. I’m a big believer, especially when it comes to methodology deployment or any large imperative for that matter, that leaders go first. What I mean by that is that leaders go through the same mandatory pre-work that their individual contributors or teams will go through. I typically have leadership-only training workshops. They go through pre-work first, then they have what we have. Leadership-only workshops where the leaders are trained ahead of their teams. They go through the training as their team is about to go through throughout the deployment. They go from learner now going through these leadership-only workshops to a second time going through the training because they’ll now be going through the training workshops with their team. They turn from learner to coach the second time around. As a quick recap, they take the pre-work, they go through leadership-only workshops, and they go through the workshop again with their teams when we deploy to the field at large, going from learner to coach. From that point, the individual contributors or field workshops become those coaches and start to reinforce and drive that adoption. That’s so critical during the workshop in real time, sitting next to their teams or at the same tables, if you will, or in a virtual setting with their team. This approach is where it’s front-loaded per se from a training perspective, but the large focus of leaders is critically important because they truly are the force multipliers when deploying a methodology or again, any large investment, because they’re the ones within the organization. That decides if typically a large investment like this, whether financially or soft cost-wise, is going to be successful or not. It really falls on their shoulders. We have to take that extra work, that front-loaded work during the rollout, prior to the rollout, and then of course, through any deployment or any sustainment or adoption reinforcement activities and exercises moving forward. Last but not least, this is for a very special group of leaders. In some cases, there are a handful of leaders who accept and go on a specific methodology deployment journey in a unique way by way of getting certified on the methodology themselves. While I’m a big believer in the enablement team, if we’re fortunate enough to have a coaching team or others across the needle, be certified to become facilitators. If we partner with an external methodology provider, sometimes these leaders also invest in themselves, their team, and the organization. by going through a very similar path that many of us go through an enablement to get certified in the methodology themselves. I may not be up to a facilitation grade certification if you will, but that being said, they go on some assemblage of that journey by being trained on the methodology in a unique way beyond the workshop by partnering with the methodology provider. Then going on this journey for this very special group shows commitment. In some cases, we can lean on those leaders because they’ve been on this certain journey up to a certain point to support other efforts within their region or globally based on their subject matter expertise and dedication to knowing the methodology at a deeper level than let’s say a traditional leader going through a leadership workshop only, as well as the workshop with their teams to drive that coaching. This is a special breed, if you will, of leadership that ops in and we partner with to help them on going through that unique journey to drive a different level of results. SS: I love that leader’s first mentality, Nick. Thank you so much for joining us. I enjoyed this conversation and I think it’s fantastic the work that you guys have been doing to increase productivity at Qlik. NG: Thank you so much Shawnna for the time and look forward to a conversation in the future. SS: To our audience, thanks for listening. For more insights, tips, and expertise from sales enablement leaders, visit salesenablement.pro. If there's something you'd like to share or a topic you'd like to learn more about, please let us know. We'd love to hear from you.

Have you ever heard of Ren'ee Rentmeester? Well, possibly especially if you lived in Florida in the early 2000s or if you searched around YouTube. Ren'ee is the producer and creator of a program called “Cooking Without Looking”. Ren'ee always wanted to have a career in journalism and began by getting her college degree in the subject.   She worked for television stations in Florida until she decided to start her own advertising agency. While interested in journalism Renee also has a strong entrepreneurial streak which was enhanced as she worked on a number of nonprofit boards.   In 2001 she decided to create this unique show called “Cooking Without Looking”. Ren'ee is not blind but felt having a program that would feature blind cooks and chefs was worth exploring. The program aired on a public tv station for a time in Miami. Now you can find it on YouTube and there is also a Cooking Without Looking podcast. Renee is seeking ways to bring the program back to a major streaming service. Don't be surprised if this happens as Renee is clearly unstoppable.     About the Guest:   For the past 22 years, I have advocated for people who are Blind/Visually impaired through the TV show called, “Cooking Without Looking,” the ONLY TV show which features people who are Blind/Visually Impaired. We aired on PBS in South Florida.   Blind people prepare their favorite recipes and speak frankly (including humor) about their lives as People living with Blindness. It's not sad. The feeling is like, “This is my life, and oh, by the way, I'm blind.”   Mr. Fred Schroeder, President of the World Blind Union, says this about our show: “Your work fits well with our belief that blind people need encouragement to live normal lives and the sighted public needs the opportunity to learn that blindness does not render people helpless nor grant them with superhuman gifts. Your show shows blind people doing normal things, and that is a powerful message for the sighted public and for blind people themselves.”   Over the years, I have spoken to thousands of Blind people in various organizations such as the National Federation of the Blind (NFB); the American Council of the Blind(ACB); and the American Federation of the Blind(AFB).   Before that time, I worked at CBS as a Press and Public Relations Manager/Spokesperson; Associate News Producer; and Assignment Editor. I've been nominated for two Emmys...one for a series of Black History Month PSAs about the Miami people who fought in the Civil Rights movement. The other was for the writing of a special on youth gangs, “Youth Violence: Walking The Line.” I've written/published two books of poetry available on Amazon…”Visions From a Dream Called, ‘Life': The Poetry of Meadowville”; and “Visions II: The Poetry of Life.”     Ways to connect with Ren'ee:   www.cookingwithoutlookingtv.wordpress.com   Twitter:   @cookwithoutlook   Facebook:   The Cooking Without Looking TV Show   YouTube channel:   Cooking Without Looking TV Show   Cooking Without Looking Podcast:   Anywhere you get your podcast, and is available on Alexa-enabled devices     About the Host: Michael Hingson is a New York Times best-selling author, international lecturer, and Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe. Michael, blind since birth, survived the 9/11 attacks with the help of his guide dog Roselle. This story is the subject of his best-selling book, Thunder Dog.   Michael gives over 100 presentations around the world each year speaking to influential groups such as Exxon Mobile, AT&T, Federal Express, Scripps College, Rutgers University, Children's Hospital, and the American Red Cross just to name a few. He is Ambassador for the National Braille Literacy Campaign for the National Federation of the Blind and also serves as Ambassador for the American Humane Association's 2012 Hero Dog Awards.   https://michaelhingson.com https://www.facebook.com/michael.hingson.author.speaker/ https://twitter.com/mhingson https://www.youtube.com/user/mhingson https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelhingson/   accessiBe Links https://accessibe.com/ https://www.youtube.com/c/accessiBe https://www.linkedin.com/company/accessibe/mycompany/ https://www.facebook.com/accessibe/       Thanks for listening! Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page. Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!   Subscribe to the podcast If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.   Leave us an Apple Podcasts review Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.     Transcription Notes   Michael Hingson ** 00:00 Access Cast and accessiBe Initiative presents Unstoppable Mindset. The podcast where inclusion, diversity and the unexpected meet. Hi, I'm Michael Hingson, Chief Vision Officer for accessiBe and the author of the number one New York Times bestselling book, Thunder dog, the story of a blind man, his guide dog and the triumph of trust. Thanks for joining me on my podcast as we explore our own blinding fears of inclusion unacceptance and our resistance to change. We will discover the idea that no matter the situation, or the people we encounter, our own fears, and prejudices often are our strongest barriers to moving forward. The unstoppable mindset podcast is sponsored by accessiBe, that's a c c e s s i  capital B e. Visit www.accessibe.com to learn how you can make your website accessible for persons with disabilities. And to help make the internet fully inclusive by the year 2025. Glad you dropped by we're happy to meet you and to have you here with us.   Michael Hingson ** 01:21 Well, Hi, and welcome to another exciting episode of unstoppable mindset. They're all exciting, actually. So I don't know why I said that. But they are and it's fun to talk about whatever comes along. today. Our guest is Ren'ee Rentmeester Ren'ee has an actually a very interesting story to tell, in terms of what she's doing now, what she has done, and so on. And I think it is a fascinating thing that hopefully will fascinate all of you as well. So we are really glad that you're here to listen to it. And Ren'ee, welcome to unstoppable mindset. Good morning or afternoon to you.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 01:58 Well, thank you so much, Michael. And thank you for the honor, I'm truly humbled by you honoring me with the interview. So thank you so much.   Michael Hingson ** 02:08 Well, my pleasure. And you know, as usual, this is really more of a conversation than just a plain old interview. So feel free to treat it that way. It's it's both of us talking to each other. Well, let's start with a little bit about the early Ren'ee you know, before you did what you've been doing lately and so on, so tell us about you growing up and all that and how you got where you are is it were?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 02:31 Well, usually my airplanes perfect.   Michael Hingson ** 02:35 Come fly with me.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 02:38 I was a born and raised in Green Bay, Wisconsin was a daughter My father is Anthony rent Meester. My mom, Margaret and dad was a worker in a factory, paper factory Procter and Gamble. And so you know, I'm just just was born and raised there. And I always wanted to go into TV. And my family were, you know, farmers and factory workers. So that seemed like, sort of a crazy idea to them. Like, what are you talking about get real and such. But I did it anyway. And I worked myself through college, working about six jobs. The favorite I could tell about is working in a pickle factory working six days a week, 12 hours a day putting pickles in jars or one at a time. I don't know if you remember the I Love Lucy episode where they were working in a factory. It was pretty much like   Michael Hingson ** 03:42 Yeah, well, one at a time. So why one at a time.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 03:48 Because they were spears, the pickle spears and and you had to put them in there because you had to get them standing nicely. next to one another. And in the middle, there would be a half a pickle half a half a cucumber that would go in and then at the end of the whole thing. The machine would cut that middle pickle into more spheres. So it was it was quite a learning experience. And I knew that I wanted to continue with college so I wasn't working in a pickle factory the rest of my life.   Michael Hingson ** 04:26 You didn't want to be in that much of a pickle. Oh, I had to say   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 04:30 it was a doozy of an opportunity.   Michael Hingson ** 04:32 I get it. Yeah, well we've been so it's pretty unique that that that kind of a job. How did all the pickle juice get into the jars? Did they also put pickle juice in or did the pickles just leak   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 04:50 in cotton pickles was a in the machine. I'm trying to visualize it now because honestly I don't remember but I know There was a part of the machine that just poured the pickle juice into it. Yeah.   Michael Hingson ** 05:04 And then when you filled a jar, what did you do with the jar?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 05:09 Well, it was on a moving line. So you know I'm a conveyor belt would just take it and then someone was at the end of the line, and those people will have to put them in put the jars that are already covered into a box.   Michael Hingson ** 05:28 So did you put pickles in while the jars were moving? Or? Oh, yeah. So you had to work at a at a decent speed and they didn't let you slow down.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 05:40 And they didn't let me talk, which earned me rubber gloves over the head several times from little Katie, the four person   Michael Hingson ** 05:51 which is for talking.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 05:52 That's right for talking, you know, so um, yeah, it was a problem. My head I talked too much.   Michael Hingson ** 05:59 Well, so that was one of your unique jobs in college. What were you majoring in?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 06:05 Journalism? I have a degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire.   Michael Hingson ** 06:12 So you did pickles among other things? Yes. You go ahead. Oh, no, no,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 06:20 and and worked in a disco bar? I thought I just throw that out there. So pretty much you can you can tell I was also a bouncer at that disco bar.   Michael Hingson ** 06:31 Wow. And did you throw pickles at people? Or why you? No, no, I hear you that that you had a variety of different kinds of jobs. You just were pretty flexible in that regard? Huh? Yes. Well, you know   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 06:45 what, I had the goal, I had the goal of working myself through college. And that was the only way I was gonna get through. And actually the I was bartending at the bar. But then they found that I could be useful as a as a bouncer as well, because guys didn't want to look nasty when I walked up to them on was really nice and said, Okay, you have to go now, you know, they couldn't get into a barber all with me and look bad in front of the girlfriend. So   Michael Hingson ** 07:20 that's pretty cool. What did your parents think of all these jobs?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 07:24 Well, a mom would after I got home from the pickle factory. Mom would make me take my most of my clothes off in the garage, and she gave me a set of clothes because I smelled so bad. Imagine vinegar times 1000. That's what I smell like. And then sometimes I would I had a marketing job in, in a mall, and I also worked at a TV station as a nighttime receptionist.   Michael Hingson ** 07:58 Okay. Well, so you again, you did a lot of different things. And that's pretty unique. But it certainly had to broaden your horizons and a lot of different ways that I can appreciate that. But you graduated then and had your degree in journalism, and what did you do?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 08:17 Um, hey, I moved to move to Tampa first. And I just looked for any kind of job I could get to keep myself going. And one of them was a receptionist at an employment agency. And so as people would come in to the employment agency, I would ask them if they knew anyone in TV because it's, it's, you know, it's always who you know, and all that sort of thing. And I talked to this one gentleman, and he told me all his sister worked at a TV station, which was amazing. And I'm so sure he gave me someone to contact by this time. I was in Miami. I was only in Tampa for a year. I sold magazines in Tampa, and then I moved to Miami. And that's when I became the receptionist. And they he led me to assist her who led me to a job at an independent station in Miami. I wrote on the back of a motorcycle I didn't have a car or in the back of a motorcycle to get there and it rained it poured. It was my summer. It's   Michael Hingson ** 09:35 Miami. Yeah. What made you move to Florida from Wisconsin?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 09:40 My boyfriend boy who I eventually married. Oh, good. Okay. Now here are the usual the usual suspect.   Michael Hingson ** 09:50 Well, so you moved down there and so you got a job. Then through your sister and her contact   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 10:00 The gentleman's sister Yeah, I don't have a system to gentleman sister. Yeah, through her and I got to know who she was. And she had been in Miami for a long time. And my boss was, was pretty amazing. And I was a writer there as a writer at the station.   Michael Hingson ** 10:20 So what kinds of things did you write for? What did you write?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 10:24 Um, I started out just writing voiceovers, you know, little voiceovers I used to have between shows, I   Michael Hingson ** 10:30 don't know shows. Yeah. Well, not commercials, not the commercials, but just   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 10:35 the little voiceovers, like telling you like you had an acute C and about the show that was coming up. Like Benson falls down the stairs. You know, whatever. And and so it was the little things like that.   Michael Hingson ** 10:52 And then again, the game say something like, can you believe that that Benson guy fell down those stairs? Like Benson we liked Benson. That was a fun show.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 11:03 BENSON Yeah. I don't know how I just started that. It just popped into my head.   Michael Hingson ** 11:08 Well, so you wrote, and then what   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 11:15 we see there, your independent station. I was there for 13 years, and it turned into CBS. And I just said one place. And so I became that an associate producer and news and an assignment editor and news. And that was pretty cool. Because as associate producer, you write the news stories, I was just gonna ask. Yeah, you write the news stories. And I remember one of my most memorable news stories that I wrote was about a little boy, he was three years old, and he needed a liver. And in Florida, there's a rule against giving livers to certain people of certain ages, like, if you're under certain age, and over a certain age, while I was on the news desk that day, and the mayor or the governor was doing one of those wonderful luncheons that they do. And I called the father of this little boy. And I said, Listen, I'm going to send my photographer over to you get over there. And my photographer is going to shoot you and the governor asking to get your son a liver. And it happened. I could have lost my job, but it happened.   Michael Hingson ** 12:36 So you created the news.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 12:39 Yes. Well, it helped because three days later, the little boy had a liver. So the Governor made it happen.   Michael Hingson ** 12:51 Well, that's cool. And then you took the the time and the interest in doing that. Because that certainly had to be, as you said, a little bit of a challenge and you could have lost your job over it.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 13:03 Right. But as your title is unstoppable mindset. I don't ever let any of that train stop me like, what's more important my job or little boy's life?   Michael Hingson ** 13:15 Yeah. So did anybody chastise you for it? Or because of that or not? Okay. They Oh,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 13:23 yeah. Yeah. turned out great. I don't even know if a lot of people knew that my cameraman and I did that. I mean, that we set it up, sort of, because, you know, no one ever said anything about it afterwards. So, but it worked for a while. And then the little boy died a couple months later, because his buddy Jack did it. But at least he has a chance.   Michael Hingson ** 13:48 Yeah. What year was that?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 13:51 Ah, let's see. It was probably late 80s, early 90s.   Michael Hingson ** 14:00 Okay. So how long did you work at writing the news and being an associate producer and so on.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 14:09 I was I was there for that in a news department for one year. And then they created a job for me. I was a press and public relations manager. And that went upstairs because the news was downstairs and I went upstairs. And so I was I suppose, spokesperson for the station. And I also produced the PSAs. So that was pretty cool. And in the meantime, I started on a whole bunch of boards because I dealt with a lot of nonprofits. So that's, that's what I did there. And eventually, you know, 13 years later and you're like, Well, what else can I do? And I started my own advertising and PR company. I left the station started my own advertising PR company. And then I thought of something because then with so many different so many different nonprofits, like six of them at once I was on the board. I wanted something for myself, and I wanted something that was a legacy for my family. So I wanted to make a purpose have a purpose.   Michael Hingson ** 15:23 Before we get there, I'm just curious. So you were there until after the World Trade Center terrorist attacks, because you were there? 13 years is that right?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 15:33 Was I? Um, no. Okay. Because we're already to that. Yeah,   Michael Hingson ** 15:41 you're gone by then. Because I was going to ask what, what you did or what was it like at the station and so on? Around September 11. But you were gone by then.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 15:51 Yeah, I was gone by then. I I remember that day, I remember where I was, I remember. I had a friend in New York, and I called her to see if she was okay. And I just watched her the coverage and and I kept my daughter home that day, my daughter was nine. And I kept her home from school. Because, you know, you didn't know what was gonna happen?   Michael Hingson ** 16:19 Yeah. Yeah, there was no way to know. No. Well, you eventually started as you're saying something that became very personal to you a project that you've been doing for quite a while, and in of itself is an interesting story. So why don't you tell us a little bit about that?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 16:39 Okay, um, I created cooking without looking at the first TV show that features people who are blind and visually impaired,   Michael Hingson ** 16:47 which we really call low vision today and appropriately. So. Because when you talk about visually impaired, where we should be compared to people who have eyesight, just like, if you said hearing impaired to a person who was partially deaf, they probably Dec you because hearing impaired is as they recognize a way of comparing to people who can hear rather than saying deaf and hard of hearing, right. So it's learning continuum. And so the whole concept of visually impaired is really unfortunate, for two reasons. One, visually, we don't look different, just because we're blind or partially, why do we deal with it in terms of impaired saying, well, you're impaired if you can't see fully? And so we're learning to say, as deaf people already have blind or low vision, but anyway. Alrighty. So you want it you started this this show?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 17:47 Right? Right. Because TV was what I did, that was my tool. And if you want to change the way people look at people who are blind or, or, you know, low vision, you will have to show people, you know, and it's also a way to bridge between the sighted community, the low vision community, the blind community, just just to show what is done because we still have an old mindset. So I did my research, and I went on some blind listservs. And learned about blindness from a lot of people. I did not know a blind person, I do not have a relative who was a blind person. It was just something I saw that needed to be done.   Michael Hingson ** 18:42 And you of course, are not blind. No, I am not. So you did a lot of research, which is always a great thing to do, and a great way to start. So this When did all this start?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 18:57 This started in 2001. Ironically, I'm talking to you and 2001. I was in my first meeting about the show, as the twin towers are being hit. That's what happened. And we actually took a break from the meeting and saw as the towers were being hit. Yeah. So your your story is much more compelling. But But I remember like, How can this happen? How, you know, like, we become desensitized to things like this, and it almost seemed like we were watching a movie. It didn't make any sense.   Michael Hingson ** 19:46 Yeah, it was very surreal to people because who would have thought somebody would fly our planes deliberately fly airplanes into the World Trade Center yet? That's the end of the Pentagon. And of course Shanksville, Pennsylvania, but that's what happened.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 20:04 Yep, exactly. So.   Michael Hingson ** 20:06 So what was the first meeting about? Was it trying to sell it to a station or plan or program? What was the meeting? Like? What was it?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 20:14 It was at Florida International University, the School of Hospitality, because that's where I met a man who was a blind chef. And I met him. And then he was a professor there. And he introduced me to all the people he worked with. And we were looking for anything like how can we work together? Sponsorships, whatever. Um, and that's, that's what we did. That's what we did it first. So So,   Michael Hingson ** 20:48 so when did the show actually start airing or when did you start producing it,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 20:56 we started producing an airing it. We started producing it in September of 2005. And after that, it went on in September. And we had a live studio audience at PBS station in West Palm Beach. And we were on like a couple of seasons. And then after that, we hit the recession at 2009.   Michael Hingson ** 21:31 How's my typical like three and a half years to actually bring the show to fruition? Since you had your first meeting in 2001. And it took until 2005, for the show to actually come on,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 21:44 there are so many moving parts. First, I found a man who I thought we should use as a host right. And then I had to start going out and selling the program. Because even my I was on the Board of Governors for the National Academy, TV Arts and Sciences. And even they couldn't understand having a show with blind people, because they thought blind people only only are taught, and that a lot of times I still find that out, but they couldn't understand it. So it was a lot of selling them apart just to sell the idea. Then I went to talk to the TV station. And then we had to find a sponsor, because we actually had to pay to get it produced on there. And so I produced it. And it was just a lot of explaining to people and making people understand and once they understood, you know, everybody really loved it and moved on from there.   Michael Hingson ** 22:58 So you obviously had a lot to go through at the same time you had your own advertising agency, you said right,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 23:07 right, exactly. So a lot of times whatever costs, I had to pick it up from my advertising company. And because I was you know, like, there were like three of us there. And PR, I do did a lot of PR for people. And I always tried to look at the positive side of it, trying to help people with my PR, you can have negative PR or positive PR. And I always I always used it for the positive and as a matter of fact, even just helping people with it.   Michael Hingson ** 23:42 Do you believe the in the comment, there's no such thing really as bad PR that even bad PR is really good PR?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 23:53 Well, I to a point, I won't say bad and good. Effective PR, which means that people at least know about you. And in some ways, because a lot of times they've done studies that people don't realize how they know about you or how they heard your name, but they just know you know, they know your name. And so So yeah, I just I believe that. Just getting your name out there. Sometimes people don't know how but they know of you.   Michael Hingson ** 24:36 And so there's no qualitative factor there. They just know who you are.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 24:42 Right. Exactly. Exactly. So then we continually went to many food festivals and people were just amazed we were at Macy's. We went to the Boca Raton wine and food festival. We do presentations with our hosts, one of which was time Although a blind on one was he has, he isn't nearly blind, nearly total and the other man who, who was not all the way blind at all, but we just we just had a lot of fun going together driving down the road hitting these festivals and showing people what it was like.   Michael Hingson ** 25:27 So was this before the show actually started airing or while the show   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 25:32 afterwards because when we hit 2009, we, most people didn't have any money to sponsor anymore because of the recession. So we just we had to find other ways to get the word out. And so that's what we did, we went on the road or went to the festivals and showed people, we pretty much closed down Macy's because the whole store when they announced that we were going to be there, everyone wanted to see people who were blind, you know, cook and give tips. And, and that's the cool part about our show because it actually is a bridge between, you know, the sighted and non sighted communities. And and so we can understand one another, we don't deal in stereotypes or, you know, something from the 1950s. We know what we can do, and we can do anything we want because we have an unstoppable mindset.   Michael Hingson ** 26:32 So is the show still airing at that time? Or were you just doing the festivals?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 26:37 No, the shows weren't airing but I had to keep, I had to keep it going. There was no way I was going to stop it. Because I had a purpose. And I felt like I had a commitment because so many people were backing it at least you know, supportive, even least just in their words. I had to keep it going. So I did we kept it going through. I started a podcast in 2018. Where we talk to people, our motto is changing the way we see blindness everyone there is either blind or low vision. And we also during the pandemic, we started doing it on zoom as a TV show, which we still do now. And we reached 61 countries.   Michael Hingson ** 27:33 Tell me if you want a little bit about maybe some of the unique recipes or some of the interesting experiences on the show. Love to hear some stories.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 27:44 Okay. Well, you know, um, we had South African, it was a, it was a sort of organization like the lighthouse. And its Cape Town society for the blind, and we had them on there and they made South African food, which was like pretty cool. And then we had one gentleman when we were in Palm Beach, it was funny. We had a live studio audience and he was an elderly gentleman and he was he was nice man a little crusty. And he was showing us how to make it was like a poor it was called poor man's I forgot what it was. Anyway, he was put here to test the noodles, he actually put his hand in the boiling water. And this was the way he did it. Obviously I cut it out for the TV crowd. But when I was there, the people were yelling at me stick his hands on the floor. It's like he's 80 years old, you know, he knows this is how he does it but I won't put it in I'll you know I'll edit it out because I don't want little kids watching that. But um, let's see what other types of stories we we've had just like a lot of fun. We went to a school in Minnesota and we taught blind kids how to cook and we did our own little cooking without looking with them. And that was a lot of fun. We had a special script for them you know, it was just it's just every everything is full of stories. We also have podcasts where we speak to individuals who are blind visually impaired, we they talk about their life as a person who's blind or low vision sorry, caught myself and and and then at The end they present a recipe and all of our recipes that we present is the cooking without looking recipes of the day are submitted to us by blind or low vision people, and they've actually made them themselves. So we know that you know that they're good recipes. We don't have any sighted people present them. We just, you know, we just have a lot of fun together, we went to a bar, a year and a half ago, we went to an NFB convention, the Florida NFB and was a net, Alan and I in that now in our, our hosts, and we just had a great time. It's like we're family, we've been together now the 22 years, a full 22 years. So we just get a lot of laughs that way too, because we each have our own personality. Oh,   Michael Hingson ** 30:59 well, and that's, that's, that's what really makes a long running operation work when you have a family and people are able to work together and so on. So what happened at the NFB of Florida convention? What did you guys do?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 31:16 Well, what we did was we put people on Facebook Live, and we had them tell their story. And then we took pictures with them, it's sort of like we were like, famous, quote, unquote. And we just, we just had a good time, we had people talk about themselves, and what they were doing at the NFB convention. And out of that, we got a sponsorship out of the Florida Division of Blind Services, and they appeared on one of our shows. So that was, that was a good time. It's nice to learn. I mean, every single person has a story that we can learn from, it doesn't matter who you are, where you are, where you are. Everyone has a story that we can all learn from. And that's it. That's what makes us unstoppable. You know, you know, my computer went down and and it was like, Okay, well, what's going on here? You know, what, what's happening with the universe, and my computer went down, because I couldn't do any of the shows or the podcasts. And those are really my fun. That's, that's the fun in my life. I don't bend to Disney World plenty of times.   Michael Hingson ** 32:37 There's a lot of that, then on cruises,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 32:38 Ben to other countries. But this is my fun, because I feel like I'm doing something that matters.   Michael Hingson ** 32:47 So you, I remember in looking at your biography, you mentioned Fred Schroeder, who is the past president of the World Blind Union, tell me about meeting him and a little about that.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 32:59 Well, that was wonderful. I actually met him when he was president of the NFB. And we spoke there. And when I met him, I was I was just, you know, he seemed like a really great person. But when he said all the nice things about us, you know, how he loved the show, I was honored, because here's a man who has been all over the place and who is blind, and told me that, you know, what we were doing helped. And honestly, when when you start something that has never existed, you're sort of sitting there all by yourself, going, you know, what, what am I doing? Why am I doing this? And, and he made me feel like, we were doing something that mattered?   Michael Hingson ** 33:59 Well, today, is the show airing on any TV stations or is it?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 34:07 Well, that's what we're working on. We wanted to get the TV stations, we want to stream it. So been working on getting it either Netflix or the Food Network or, you know, something like that. I've been in contact with Rachael rays, PR people. And Stevie Wonder is PR person. She's very nice. So you know what, we're starting the rebirth. Round two, but we keep it going on Zoom. And with Zoom, we can reach people around the world, which is what we've been going.   Michael Hingson ** 34:47 Yeah. Which absolutely makes sense. Well, how are you being received by Rachael Ray is people Stevie Wonder and so on, and kind of what have you had to do to keep them interested and so on.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 35:02 Well, you know, it's really just keeping on reminding people that we're there. Stevie Wonder's person, her PR, the PR person, you know, is Shelley. And she was very, very nice. And so I just keep up, you know, reminding her, Rachael Ray now has left her show, but she's starting something new. So I emailed them, which is very recent, and they're probably on vacation right now. And and people, you know, are actually very receptive. Well, we'll see what happens. But just like before, you just have to keep on knocking on the doors chiseling something out, you know, just keeping on trying. That's, that's all you can do.   Michael Hingson ** 35:47 Have you looked at any of the other Food Network people in the the other celebrity types and gotten any, anywhere with any of them? Or have you tried?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 35:56 No, I really haven't. Because I'm, I like the philosophy of Rachael Ray, which is similar to what we do. It's you don't have to be a fancy chef or whatever. It's the home cooking. We've all learned from our parents, grandparents or whatever, how to cook, and survive and have a good time. And, and I liked the way she does it. So our philosophies are similar. In the past, the first, the first host that we had did reach out to one of the people, I don't like the idea of, of, you know, racing or doing things fast and cooking in the kitchen or having a contest and you know, getting angry at one another. I don't like that. I you know, I like just showing people as they are. Because I think that's how we see ourselves. We're not all we're not all celebrities, we're just people who are trying to get by and do the best we can.   Michael Hingson ** 37:07 I would say I think there are places for some kinds of competitions, but I hear what you're saying. I think a lot of the angry, sharp edge things are really a problem. And they don't, they don't really serve a useful purpose. And I've enjoyed a lot of the Food Network. But I like things that are really more fun than yeah, getting angry.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 37:35 Right, right. And I and you can have so much fun in the kitchen. Think of it like, a lot of times, that's the way we get to know our grandparents are our parents is cooking with them in the kitchen. You know, like, I cooked with my daughter, my daughter cooked with me from the time she was little. And honestly, I think she's a better cook than me. She's more of a detail person where I'm like, You know what, this is my art. I'm just gonna throw this in. This sounds like it's gonna be good. Try this. Try that. So I'm a little more experimental. But that's the way you get to know your family, in a lot of instances. So I like that part.   Michael Hingson ** 38:16 Oh, I still think it would be fun to somehow involve Bobby Flay because he's such a fun guy. And yeah, he's an incredibly fun guy. He's an incredibly sophisticated guy. He's got an incredible grasp on food preparation, but I bet he would be a fun guy to somehow be involved with   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 38:37 that, well, you know what, firm your lips to God's ears. I'll give that a try. And you know, I'm living in a place of Ray Charles birthplace I live in Albany, Georgia. And, and so I was thinking about reaching out to their foundation to see how we could work together to get something done as well. There's a beautiful monument to Ray Charles is in the Ray Charles Plaza on the river in Albany. And it turns around, it's blueish. And it turns around, and it plays all of his songs in his voice. And is is is just really beautiful and inspiring, and, and a lot of funny things, a lot of the songs my mom used to sing.   Michael Hingson ** 39:28 Well, yeah, I think any place like that where you can get some funding would certainly be a valuable thing. But I, I think that an innovative visionary kind of guy, like a Bobby Flay might really take an interest in something like this, because it's unique and it's because it's different. And since that's just a thought, you know?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 39:54 That's good. It's a seed I'll work on seeing how I can reach Bobby flaying. No problem.   Michael Hingson ** 40:02 So, how has the show changed over the years? Like, from the pandemic, to now and so on? Is it really still basically the same format? How has it evolved overall?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 40:16 Well, um, it really evolved from the way we were doing it before. You know, during the pandemic, we started off with people from the United States, and it evolved into going to like seven countries, and having people from all around the world actually watch us. And so, as I wrote in the letter to, I contacted the CEO, both CEOs on ones left now of Netflix, like, Okay, we've planted the seeds all over the world for you. And, and there's an audience all over the world. And Netflix is, is one of the most watched shows by people who are blind, most watched streaming services of people who are blind, and all over the world. So they were, I had heard that that particular CEO was a very nice man. And I've always found a lot of people in TV are really nice, not, not the way we look at them. And TV shows they're actually like, real human.   Michael Hingson ** 41:28 So have you had a response from Netflix yet? What was that? Have you had a response from Netflix yet?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 41:36 Um, no, no, we haven't. His name was Ted Saran dose, and he's the CEO over there. And so that's where I sent it. You know, we'll do Bobby Flay. But we're, it's just, you know, an ongoing process of planting seeds, planting seeds. To get it this far, has been pretty amazing. Because, you know, I'm sort of like the Wright brothers with the first airplane, no one can really visualize that, like, What the heck are you doing? And, and, and now we've gotten to a point where we can launch it in a bigger platform.   Michael Hingson ** 42:20 Have you had guests on the show from other countries? Or just the Yeah,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 42:25 yeah. We have we've we've had seven countries. They're all blind people from other countries. It was, like I said, South Africa, Guyana.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 42:43 Barbados, Barbadoes. Let's see where else where else where else trying to think of the ones off the top of my head. But those are just some of them. But   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 42:57 everyone can go see them. They're all on our cooking without looking YouTube channel right now. And that's what we're focusing on just getting the things done and and showing people but yeah, we've had lots of different Oh, Jamaica, we had to make it too. So that was pretty cool. So yeah, we've had all these countries, that's really the biggest change that we've had is, is going and highlighting people from other countries, other people who are blind, cooking their native recipes in other countries.   Michael Hingson ** 43:35 How many shows have you produced so far?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 43:40 Wow. That's a good one. I think we were up to like 90 something. I'm not a numbers person. You know, I'm a writer. So um, but I'm pretty close to around 90 And then the podcasts as well. We just, you know, I've got another podcast to do tomorrow with a lady. So she's making peanut butter cookies. Yeah, only three ingredients. Peanut butter cookie. So she's going to talk about her life, and Tara coin. So that's what we do. So if you ever want to see or go to them, and enjoy them cooking without looking TV show on YouTube.   Michael Hingson ** 44:37 So how often do you produce a new show?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 44:42 Um, once a once a month, and we're going to start up again since my computer and then the podcasts are like, several times a month like whoever comes out and wants to do a podcast. We produce their podcast several times. The month.   Michael Hingson ** 45:02 So, you've, you've had a number of interesting people on needless to say, What's your favorite show so far?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 45:10 Oh my, well, that's hard. That's like asking her mother, a mother what her favorite child is, which one is your favorite child? It all depends on who was on there. We had a cute one. For Valentine's Day once, we had two blind couples on there. And we had a lot of fun with that. Um, that was, that was a cute one. And then I really liked the one from South Africa. That was, I was cool. Maybe it's like a little selfish because I love food from other countries. You can always see the similarities of of your own of the countries of your own. One of my favorite podcasts, we had a couple who was blind, and I actually they came to Miami and I walked him around Miami and the beaches and everything. And Mike Gravatt and his wife, Gianna, they're there just a hoot to talk to. Let's see what else they those are probably my favorites, that I can pop off the top of my head. But it's, it's nice to see that people get along and just enjoy themselves. And the blindness is really just a secondary factor. It's it's living and having fun and enjoying your life.   Michael Hingson ** 46:40 So when you do the shows, like on Zoom, and so on, you people are actually cooking during the shows. Oh, yeah,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 46:47 yeah, we have a script, everything.   Michael Hingson ** 46:50 So how does all that work in terms of the fact that typically, if you've got to have a camera and everything so people can see it? How, how easy is it to set all that up? I mean, from your side, it's great. But if the other end where the people are actually doing the, the cooking and so on, how does that work? Oh,   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 47:08 it actually works really great. Um, I've only had edit like one or two of them just a tiny bit, that people put their cameras up either the cameras or their computers, and they are able to cook and we practice first, we have a rehearsal a couple of days before. And we look to see where their cameras set up a lot of times, we you know, they have a family member or something who sets the camera for them in a certain area. It's, and it goes really, really well because we we just do it ahead of time we show them you know, we take a look at see how their camera is set up or whether they're using their computer, and whatever works for them. But we've had lots of success that way. Not a big deal. People are always excited to be on the show the tips. We had one young man mica, he made like he has it down the perfect chicken breast because that's one of those things that can be really really difficult. And sort of dry, you can wear him as a shoe. And he he had a doubt and that became like, pretty popular. And he's a young man and he just took us through it. He was like, Okay, you do this, you do this, you do this. I'm very, very attentive, lots of attention to detail.   Michael Hingson ** 48:43 When people are cooking, there's, there's, there's the actual cooking part. And there's the preparation part. So do people move their cameras around? Or do you just have them in one spot? How does all that work?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 48:56 No, um, it depends. It really depends on the recipe. We have one lady who has a special syrup, and she was making some food, very special syrup. Oftentimes, if there's like a lot of cutting or preparation or whatever, we have them prep their food ahead of time. And then maybe just for example, if you need a cup of carrots, chopped carrots, they chop their carrots ahead of time, just like any other TV show, they chop their carrots ahead of time, and then show us just one. But there's there's not a lot of moving around. Most of them don't move around, we haven't worked out so like depending on the recipe, we tell them how to position your camera, how to position your computer, and, you know, look this way to your right to your love, you know. So, um, it actually hasn't been harder. This is probably the first time I'm thinking about it when you ask me this, Michael.   Michael Hingson ** 49:57 The reason I ask is I'm just thinking Have me. One of my favorite recipes is a recipe that I will do on the grill outside. But the preparation is inside. It's a chicken recipe. It's called Chicken Diavolo. It's actually a recipe my wife got from food and wine. And it's really our favorite recipe uses chicken thighs. And the marinate that you put the chicken thighs in is wonderful.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 50:26 Sounds good. And it's just, Michael.   Michael Hingson ** 50:29 And it's, it's, it's got a, it's, it's, well, it uses a fair amount of oil, but they're not really oily by the time you're done. But it's a wonderful recipe to do. But just the preparation or doing it and then putting it on the grill is in two different locations. And that's what really prompted me to ask the question, when I'm sure that we could figure out it would be fun to to do it. It's been a while since I've done chicken D. But   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 50:55 I would love to have you on that one that will be great. Because we don't have anything like that, I would have to see you do part of it, like part of it would be done ahead of time. Because that's really like a lot of TV shows the cooking, a lot of things are done partially ahead of time. And then do you have like some sort of a table alongside of you or?   Michael Hingson ** 51:22 Well, when I do the grilling, everything else is done. And then I take it out and there's there's a table on the grill. But it wouldn't be fun to to think about doing it. The preparation is really creating the marinade. Because then the chicken thighs go into the marinate and then they go on to the grill. So it would be it would be something to explore. And yeah, we'd love the idea would the idea would be that you create marinate, put the chicken in it, then let them marinate a while. And so that could be done inside and then just move the camera and everything outside. It might be fun to think about.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 52:00 Well, you could you could just you could have, are there like lots of ingredients for the marinade.   Michael Hingson ** 52:08 Not too many.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 52:10 But take those ingredients outside. You can have the chicken in the marinade already done, right?   Michael Hingson ** 52:16 Yeah, you can just take the ingredients outside that would go into the marinate and, and create a little bit of it. Yeah, that's another way to do it. Which also means when you do that, you get a second batch, which is also good. So that's fine.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 52:29 Right? You can never have too much grilled chicken. That's fine. No.   Michael Hingson ** 52:33 And and if unlike anything else, if done, right? They come out pretty moist. You don't want to overcook them. It is chicken thighs so that the marinate does get absorbed a lot better into the thighs than it would into like chicken breasts and so on, which is why thighs are used. But it's a it's a great recipe.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 52:52 Oh, that sounds good. Well, what's in it?   Michael Hingson ** 52:55 There's rosemary, there is oil. I'm trying to remember some of the the other spices are. Well, there's peppermint   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 53:02 rosemary.   Michael Hingson ** 53:03 Yeah, there's pepper. And I have to go back and find the recipe. It's been a while. My wife was ill last year and passed away in November. So frankly, I haven't made it for a while. So I'm going to have to do that. I've been lazy, but that's okay.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 53:19 Well give you a reason to make it. I'm sorry to hear about your wife, Michael.   Michael Hingson ** 53:23 Well, it's okay. We, we we continue to move forward. And and she's around watching. So it's okay. So I will do it right. Otherwise, I'll be in trouble. So it's no problem. Well, so what are your future plans for the show? You are? I know you said you're restarting it and so on. So kind of what are the plans? What do you expect to see happen?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 53:46 Well, I would like to get some sponsors. I would like to go to more events, the season in California, I'd like to go there, you know, bring my troops. So I'd like to be more on the ground with people. And I would like to find a resting place for us on a streaming service.   Michael Hingson ** 54:13 Well, I still think of Bobby Flay and Food Network as far as a place to go. I don't know Bobby, and then and all that, but I've watched him and just he's clearly an innovative visionary guy. And I would think if anybody would be intrigued it would be would be He. So something to think about.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 54:34 Well, I don't think I just do so um, this this week, I'll get a note off the bobby off the research how to get a hold of him. And um, you know, Rachael Ray knows him and the thing with her is Rachel has a her mother has macular degeneration, so I thought there will be a special in with her as well. Have you? Go ahead? No, no go up.   Michael Hingson ** 55:03 Have you ever had the opportunity to interview Christine? Ha, who won the Mastership?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 55:10 I did. And she's on our, our Facebook. I'm sorry, our Facebook, our YouTube channel. She's on her podcast. Oh, cool. Yeah. What did you want to know about Christine?   Michael Hingson ** 55:24 Well, no, I was just wondering if you had I mean, I've met Christine. But again, that might be a way to, to get some context, but I just was curious if you'd met her and had her on because she'd be a natural, that would be a good person to be on the show.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 55:41 Yeah, she, she wanted to be on the podcast. So she was on the podcast, it's quite interesting with her. She, they thought she had they, they thought she had multiple sclerosis at first. And then it went into blindness. And, you know, some of the medications she was taking, wasn't working, weren't working. And but, um, you can always, as I said, go to our YouTube channel. And she's there   Michael Hingson ** 56:10 to tell us if people want to watch the show exactly. Where do they go? Do you have a web address that you can give? Or do you have a website they can go to and we start from   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 56:19 the website, the main place they can go is a Cooking Without Looking YouTube channel, go to YouTube, and then type in cooking without looking. We have a website, which is w w w . cooking without looking TV,  .wordpress.com. And if that's a lot for you to remember what it is for me. You can always just Google cooking without looking TV show on or bring it to our, to our web.   Michael Hingson ** 56:52 Great. Well, and I assume that if anyone wants to reach out to you, they can go to your website and and make contact with you there.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 57:01 Yes, or, you know, we also have a Facebook page and cooking with the cooking without looking TV show Facebook page, and I can email me there.   Michael Hingson ** 57:13 And what is it called?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 57:15 What was that?   Michael Hingson ** 57:16 What is the Facebook page called? Specifically?   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 57:18 The cooking without looking TV show. Okay, cool.   Michael Hingson ** 57:23 Well, I want to thank you for being on unstoppable mindset today. This has been fun. We've done some good cooking talk here. And a body is now getting hungry.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 57:36 Well, Michael, thank you. I'm so grateful for you to invite me over and and talk to you. I'm really humbled by you asking me so thank you so much.   Michael Hingson ** 57:46 Well, it's been an honor. And I really appreciate it. And I hope you listening out there enjoyed this as well go check out cooking without looking in all sorts of places from YouTube, to Facebook and everywhere in between, and go to the website. Reach out to Ren'ee. And we, we will I'm sure be hearing more from her as the show progresses. And hopefully we've given her and you some things to think about. Blindness isn't the problem. It's our attitude, that is really the issue that we have to address. So really appreciate Ren'ee again, you being here. And again, for all of you listening, we'd love to get your feedback and your comments. We would appreciate you giving us a five star rating wherever you're listening to our podcast. And if you'd like to reach out to me feel free to do so at Michaelhi at accessiBe A C C E S S I B E.com. Or go to our website. www dot Michael hingson m i c h a e l h i n g s o n.com/podcast. And we'd love to have you rate us there and listen to all of the podcasts that are there. You can binge listen and spend a whole lot of time at it now. So we what we really appreciate you listening to us and all the wonderful comments that you've gotten. And again, Ren'ee, one last time, thank you very much for being here with us today.   Ren'ee Rentmeester ** 59:14 Thank you, Michael. Thank you.   Michael Hingson ** 59:21 You have been listening to the Unstoppable Mindset podcast. Thanks for dropping by. I hope that you'll join us again next week, and in future weeks for upcoming episodes. To subscribe to our podcast and to learn about upcoming episodes, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com slash podcast. Michael Hingson is spelled m i c h a e l h i n g s o n. While you're on the site., please use the form there to recommend people who we ought to interview in upcoming editions of the show. And also, we ask you and urge you to invite your friends to join us in the future. If you know of any one or any organization needing a speaker for an event, please email me at speaker at Michael hingson.com. I appreciate it very much. To learn more about the concept of blinded by fear, please visit www dot Michael hingson.com forward slash blinded by fear and while you're there, feel free to pick up a copy of my free eBook entitled blinded by fear. The unstoppable mindset podcast is provided by access cast an initiative of accessiBe and is sponsored by accessiBe. Please visit www.accessibe.com. accessiBe is spelled a c c e s s i b e. There you can learn all about how you can make your website inclusive for all persons with disabilities and how you can help make the internet fully inclusive by 2025. Thanks again for listening. Please come back and visit us again next week.

When I ask experts in the leadership field what the most important attribute for effective leadership today is, I get some version of adaptability or agility. In other words, what is most important is that we're able to read a context and shift our approach to meet circumstances and challenges with new thinking and behaviors.My guest today, Pam Boney, is so passionate about this that she created an assessment that displays our strengths and helps us know how and where we may need to shift to increase our effectiveness and feeling of fulfillment in life. The assessment is Tilt 365, and Pam is the company's founder. We used this assessment in the leadership program that this podcast series is centered around. The program began with each leader studying themselves because self-awareness is foundational for our ability to manage our emotions and thus take effective, sustainable action. It's also vital to our ability to coordinate well with others. So we take the Tilt assessment at the beginning.Because of the developmental nature of this assessment, each leader was able to define areas where they wanted to grow and then identify practices to help them get there. Rather than using labels, Tilt 365 is clear about our ability to shift, or Tilt, to meet new situations and work best with others. We take a walk around the Tilt model discussing:The four quadrants of the model: Spirit/Resilience and Head/Wisdom on the vertical axis and Heart/Humanity and Gut/Courage on the horizontal axis.Aristotle's Golden Mean: all ‘virtues' lie in the middle way between two extreme states: excess and deficiency. This has been popularized as ‘any strength overused becomes a weakness'.Oftentimes our fear causes us to move into the extreme states.The four profiles that each combine two of the quadrants:Impact/Change Catalyst combines the quadrants Spirit/Resilience and Gut/CourageStructure/MasterMind combines the quadrants Head/Wisdom and Gut/CourageClarity/Quiet Genius combines the quadrants Head/Wisdom and Heart/HumanityConnection/Cross Pollinator combines the quadrants Spirit/Resilience and Heart/HumanityThe model goes deeper and deeper into personas which give further nuance to why a Tilt style will be animated differently by different peoplePam and her team have created offers for individuals and teams and ways to explore more fully how to better understand our strengths and how to develop towards agility.I really encourage you to explore the Tilt 365 website and all the offers. If you're interested in taking the assessment, please contact me!You can find out more by connecting with the following:To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit: https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/To subscribe to Rise Words newsletter, visit: https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribeLearn more about Rise Leaders at www.rise-leaders.comConnect with LeeAnn Mallory on Linked In: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leeannmallory/Follow Rise Leaders on our YouTube Channel: https://bit.ly/47Wk8doTo connect with Pam and Tilt 365, visit:

Do you have a project you've wanted to do that's been sitting on the shelf for a long time?Oftentimes, you might get interested in doing something big like writing a book or creating a course. But then you leave it (perhaps even partly done) and never fully commit to it, with all sorts of reasons as to why you keep procrastinating.It takes extraordinary commitment for big results to bring big thinking projects to fruition. But what exactly does it mean to have extraordinary commitment, and how do you achieve it for yourself?In this episode of the Time to Level Up podcast, you'll learn about how to determine whether you're interested or committed to what you want to do. I'll also teach you why extraordinary commitment is necessary and how to create it so you can finally move forward in your decision-making and get the results you want.2:41 - The difference between interested and committed energy6:24 - Four questions to ask yourself to identify the type of energy you have right now13:28 - What it means to be extraordinarily committed15:16 - Three benefits of being extraordinarily committed to your choices19:07 - Commitment is really a form of this21:18 - The extraordinary commitment it took to build our new houseMentioned In Committed or Merely Interested? The Power of Extraordinary Commitment for Big ResultsShe Thinks Big by Andrea LiebrossAndrea's LinksThis episode is brought to you by She Thinks Big, hitting shelves on September 26th. She Thinks Big, the entrepreneurial woman's guide to moving past the messy middle and into the extraordinary, gives you the knowledge and the push you need to stop wishing and start making this a reality. Head to shethinksthebook.com to get access to Chapter 1 now, before launch day.

Oftentimes, we talk about the BAD baggage of broken relationships rather than the GOOD baggage. Listen to Pastor Ike discuss motivations and specific ways in which our good baggage can prepare us for healthy relationships.

Remember, we welcome comments, questions, and suggested topics at thewonderpodcastQs@gmail.com.   S4E29 TRANSCRIPT:----more----   Mark: Welcome back to The Wonder, Science Based Paganism. I'm your host, Mark, Yucca: and I'm Yucca. Mark: and once again, it is time for us to talk about the autumnal equinox, one of the eight stations of the wheel of the year of holidays. Yucca: That's right. It just keeps turning and turning. So here we are. Mark: Here we are once again, you know, looking at The, the the calendrical arrival of autumn anyway. I mean, I I'm pretty clear that I'm into autumn here where I am already, and I think you are too, Yucca but, Yucca: though, because the beginning of autumn and the end of autumn are very, very different seasons here. Mark: yeah. I mean, autumn and spring are the transitional seasons, and they things change pretty radically during the, during their extent. Yeah, so, well, we can talk about kind of what tells us that autumn is coming, but we can also talk about the holiday, and what it means to us, what we call it, how we celebrate and kind of its positioning within the wheel of the year and how that relates to the things around it, and all that kind of stuff. Yucca: Sounds good. Well, let's start with names. Mark: Okay. Yucca: So, for me, the equinox, and of course it's one of the equinoxes, but it's pretty clear which equinox we're talking about during this time of year. And it's also first fall or first autumn, Mark: Mmhmm. Yucca: because here I look at the seasons like there's either eight seasons or there's two seasons. Mark: Mmhmm. Yucca: So there's the Because the traditional temperate four seasons, really as we were just saying, early or first fall and second fall are two very different seasons Mark: Mmhmm. Mmhmm. Yucca: But then there's also really, there's just the hot time of year and there's the cold time of year. And this is the transition between the hot into the cold. This is one of those, those gateway or door holidays. For me it feels like we're going from one season to the next and so it's a very busy season. Very busy holiday, very busy season here. Mark: Sure. Yeah, you've got to get everything prepped and everything buttoned down for, for a cold winter. Yucca: That's Mark: Yeah I call this holiday Harvest. And of course it's not the only harvest holiday, but this, this is the time when kind of the cultural imagery of cornucopias and all that kind of stuff really, you know, starts to pop up in all the media and all of the winter vegetables are producing abundantly out of people's gardens and the earlier vegetables are pretty much petering out at this point. The, the grape crush. The grape harvest and crush is happening right at the point of the equinox, it starts usually in August but it extends, what happens is the whites get harvested first, and then the reds, and then there are what are called botrytis vines, which have the botrytis fungus growing on the berries. And they create so they, they sort of shrivel and they get very, very sweet and concentrated in flavor. And those are used to make dessert wines and ports and things like that. So there's this, you know, there are several phases to the grape harvest and crush. And it's just... It's a lovely time. The leaves are changing in the vineyards and and in some of the trees around here, and there's a feeling of industriousness Yucca: hmm. Mm Mark: uh, you know, people have gone back to school, they've gone back to work, all that summertime playing is pretty much over now so there's just, it's just a, as you say, it's a very busy time, but it's also a very lovely time and so I call it harvest. Yucca: Yeah. And neither of us are in areas where we have lots of broadleaf trees that are churning, but I have a few here and it's just so lovely. to see the, to see them changing and watch that, that very traditional fall look start to, to start to happen. And there's a, there's a smell to it too. There's this very lovely crisp smell that comes with the changing of the leaves. So, do you smell the Like, when the crush is happening, is there a, you smell that in the air, Mark: If you, if you drive around the country roads, it smells like rotting grape juice everywhere. It's, Yucca: you like? Mark: I do. It's a, it's a it's a sort of quasi wine smell. It's not quite there, but it's working on it kind of smell. And you know, and there are truckloads. So grapes going by and, you know, farm equipment all on the roads and all that kind of stuff. We do have a lot of broadleaf oaks here. We have a lot of valley oaks and California coastal oaks and black oaks.  Yucca: Do they change during the autumn? We have a, we only have a few oaks here, we have these little scrub oaks, and they hold on their leaves, really, they, they really hold on to them for a long time, and then it's just, they turn brown, and then they're... They, they don't even drop them really till the spring, till they're growing new ones. We don't, and we just don't really have any other oaks at all. So I Mark: Huh. Yucca: do all oaks do that, or is that's a very special Mark: No, I mean, there, there, there are what are called live oaks. There's California live oaks here, too, and the live oaks, they don't drop their leaves at all and and they're kind of unpleasant to be around because the edges of their leaves are prickly. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: So, you know, you end up walking on them and it hurts. We had one in the last place that I lived, we had one outside of our yard that leaned over into our yard and dumped huge numbers of those sharp pointy leaves into our yard every year. Yucca: If they don't want to be eaten, Mark: no. Yucca: that, yep, Mark: And they have adapted ways to prevent that from happening. Yucca: yeah. Mark: So, but yes, the, the oaks do change, except for the live oaks, they do change and they do drop their leaves. But they don't turn red and yellow, they just turn kind of a rust color. And that then eats in from the outside of the leaf into the, into the center of the leaf and then it drops. And I particularly love the look of the oak trees in the late autumn and winter. Yucca: hmm. Mark: Because they're so crabbed and Halloween y and, you know, wonderful in the shape that they have. And, you know, there's just such a stark sort of gothic quality to those trees when they've dropped their leaves. Yucca: Mm Mark: Um, So yeah, harvest. And thematically, that really is kind of the centerpiece of how I think of this time. It's, it's a good time for feasting with friends and relations. Sometimes I think of this as pagan Thanksgiving. And, of course, Canadian Thanksgiving is right around this time. They have it figured out much better than, you know, late November. I don't know who's, I don't know who's doing harvest celebrating in New England in late November. That, that just seems a bit off to me.  Yucca: Well, I suppose you have all of your harvest in at that point, right? You're not in the process of harvest, you've gotten everything ready, Mark: historically that first event almost certainly didn't happen in November. It just got declared as a holiday by Abraham Lincoln some, you know, century later. Or quite a bit more than that actually. Fourscore and seven years ago plus. The, so I think about this not only as a time for, you know, coming together with loved ones and feasting, but also to reflect on what the last cycle has been like and what the fruits of that have been, of the cycle of the last year, what I've invested my energy in, and my creativity, and, you know, what I've had hopes for, all those, all those dreams and aspirations and plans, you know, that happened around the February Sabbath and And the, the spring equinox, you know, those got implemented, and there was a lot of work involved, and all this energy got invested, and all that kind of stuff, and then now is the time when it's like, well, how did that work out? What, what actually emerged? Oftentimes it turns out that what emerges as a harvest from your year is not what you planned to, to have happen. And that... That's a very useful exercise, I think, that this holiday really lends itself to a lot of gratitude and appreciation for living, which I think is true of all of the holidays, but this one particularly, I think, is really a life is good kind of holiday but it's also a time to think about what didn't work out, you know, what, what crops did you plant that did not come up you invested OK, And why? What lessons did you learn? Because maybe it's just that that sort of thing is not really the sort of thing for you, Yucca: hmm. Mark: or maybe it's that it was just a bad time for it and you can take another crack at it later. But, you know, Part of learning is assessing how things have performed. Yucca: Mm Mark: And it's interesting that we, we have a society, the economy of which is built around all these performance metrics all the time and annual performance reviews and, you know, all that kind of stuff for, for people who work. Yeah. But we don't do that very much in our personal lives very often, Yucca: hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah. Are you still there? Mark: and I think it's, it's helpful to reflect, not in a self critical way, but in just a, you know, sort of transparent and open minded way to take a look at, well, what was I trying to accomplish this year? What were the strategies that succeeded? What were the strategies that failed? What has, what is the result? What is before me now? And what does that tell me about The next cycle, what, what I would consider doing next. Yucca: Yeah, I think that's really important, and having, I think that's something that we should be doing throughout our life, but that it's very useful to have a time that is dedicated to thinking about that in particular, right? And that's one of the really lovely things about the Wheel of the Year. And, you know, next month we'll be talking about the death stuff and all of that, and then, you know, getting into the dark part of the year with the real deep self reflection and it's just lovely to have, to have it sort of built into life that, oh yes, this is when I come to this time and do the reflection upon what did I harvest, right? Maybe literally and in terms of a metaphorically. Mark: Yes. Yeah, I agree. I mean, that's one of the things that I find very beautiful about the pagan practice of the Wheel of the Year is that it, it programs for us the kind of good human habits of thinking about certain things at certain times of the year and remembering to be grateful and, you know, all, you know, Remembering to to pay attention and you know, to be frank in our, our assessment of ourselves and, you know, looking at, at who we are and how we behave all that kind of stuff. I, I just, well, I wouldn't be doing this practice if it wasn't very, you know, moving and meaningful to me but it really is and that's one of the main reasons that it is. Yucca: Yeah. Mark: And another thing that I do that I should mention because I always. But in a plug for it is that, and I've spoken about this many times on the podcast before, that I think of the Wheel of the Year as metaphorically embodying the arc of a human life. So with birth you know, with, so, sort of, conception at at the winter solstice, and then, you know, birth at the February Sabbath. And then, kind of toddler childhood at the spring equinox, and young adulthood at May Day, and then kind of full adulthood, and then middle age, and now this comes around to the time of the elderly. This is the time when, because that's the time of life when you look back and you realize, you know, what did I, what did I achieve? What's, what, what is the harvest that I... What is the crop that I grew in, in my life, right? It doesn't mean that your life is over, that you can't do anything else, but it's a time when most of your years are behind you and you can kind of assess. You know, hmm, I did that. That was cool. I'm glad I, I'm glad I did those things. And it's also a time to really be appreciative of the accumulated experience of people that are elderly, which we don't do much in our mainstream culture. We don't value old people very much. And I really would like to change that. I, I really, I, I think that elderhood is something that should be honored. Rather than viewed as something to avoid through all kinds of surgical and Yucca: and whatnots, yes. Mark: and exercise regimes and diets and, you know, all that kind of stuff that people do desperately to try to prevent themselves from being old. So, yeah, that's another, another piece that I think of here. I think of you know, toasting the old people in the community when you're having your harvest feast. Yucca: hmm. In fact, I mean, I think it was created mostly as a marketing thing, but wasn't it just Grandparents Day? Actually  Mark: I don't know. Yucca: I think it was, yeah I think that's in mid September. Mark: Hmm. Yucca: I love, I, I really love the way that you structure your Wheel of the Year and the different stages of life. And I really appreciate seeing, sometimes in the Facebook group or in other groups, people will share their different approaches to the Wheel of the Year. And I also assign different meanings. to the different seasons, but I have a slightly different approach. So when I'm looking at the seasons, I look at different components of the ecosystem, or large ecosystems, like the grasslands or the forests. And for this time of year, It is a recognition of the decomposers and the microbes the fungi and the bacteria, because this is the time where, this is the only time of year that you're going to be able to walk around in the forest and see mushrooms, first of all, because it's just too, too hot and dry during the rest of the time of the year. We have lots of types of fungi, but in terms of seeing, like, there's your bright red mushroom, don't touch that one, right, like, that's only going to happen. This time of year and really up in the mountains but this is also when for temperate climates, the, the fungi are just getting going, right? They're really doing their work. We forget that the mycelium, it's all down below the debris, the leaves that have fallen and the old plants that have died down, and they're down there. This is their feast, right? They're getting ready to start decomposing, and they'll be working all through the autumn and the winter into the spring breaking that down, and returning it into a form that then life uses again. And the bacteria, and it, it leads quite nicely into, the next season for us is about, is the ancestors. Everything that came before, and of course we start first. We go far enough back and our grandmothers were microbes, right, and so it kind of is this nice lead into that. So we, we really like to be thinking about that sort of on an intellectual level. And recognizing that, you know, we're making some of our pile, you know, compost piles and things like that. Of course, we do that throughout the year, but this is when it's going to be sitting and doing that. Mark: Mm hmm. Mm Yucca: And then, as I was saying at the beginning, that we sort of see there being two, either eight seasons or two seasons. And this is the, this is the beginning. of the cold time of year. But not quite. The days are still hot, but the nights have a chill in them, right? The wind, we're closing the windows at night and we can kind of, it feels that chilly in the morning, and you might have to, you know, in the morning you've got to, for the first half of the day, maybe have a sweatshirt on, and then you take it off by the end of the day, and you're like, oh, it's so hot. But there's just so much that It's clear now winter is coming and you've got to get ready for winter, and it's lovely to watch. Where I'm sitting right now, I'm looking out, and I'm seeing we have jays and squirrels, and they're doing their, that industrious feeling you were talking about. They're out there right now, getting... Plump, and we've got our, we have a little bear family that lives nearby, and you can see they're trying to get all plump as well, and and so that's what we're doing, too, is going, okay, well, the cold's not here, but what do I need to have ready when the cold does come, because there's just certain things you can do at one time of the year and others you can't, right? So there's some flashing that I need to put on some of my windows. That's not going to stick once it gets cold. That has got to happen before the cold comes. It's time for us to change the angle on our solar panels and to open up the, the shade cloth on the greenhouse to let the heat in. And so it's just a time of making lists. And making sure, okay, before the winter comes, does everyone have hats? Do we all have hats? Because it's a, it's a hassle to need a hat and not have it. What about boots? Because when the mud comes, we're gonna want those boots, right? And it's, there's, there's a, it's one of the two big prep times of the year, right? There's the spring prep and there's the fall prep. And I like to do like a big, lots of people like to do spring cleaning. I like to do a fall cleaning before we're gonna be inside for... Months and months. And so that's sort of the other side of the harvest, right? Like there was this whole year that happened, but now there's the whole half that's going to happen. And how am I going to prepare for that? Not in the the growing way. It's not the starting new projects kind of way that is in the spring, but it's the being ready for and prepared, sure that everything is, is buttoned up and finished up and that there's no, you know, we haven't missed any loose ends or anything like that. Mark: mm hmm, and if you have outdoor projects, you gotta get those finished Yucca: Absolutely, yep. Mark: before, because you can't bring them indoors, and you gotta get it done before it starts to rain and then snow, Yucca: Right. And I mean, and there's some that, there'll be a few projects that are much more pleasant to do when it's cold. But there's things that have to get done to have that prepped to be ready to do it. So there's just a very, it's a thoughtful time of year. It's another one of those pause and think, Mark: mm hmm, Yucca: be prepared times. And, and for us, these are our specifics of the way that, that Our climate is, but each climate is going to be a little bit different and so for some people, maybe this is, right now, that's not when it's happening, because that's not when the seasons are quite changing. For some people, the seasons are changing earlier, or later, or, you know, what you're going to be doing if you're getting ready for a winter in Wisconsin is very different than a, you know, a winter in Southern California. Mark: yes, because they hardly have winter in Southern California, oh no, it's freezing, it's 70 degrees, Yucca: Well, but that's the thing, like there's, that each climate is going to be different, and it's not, it's not less valuable to be in one climate versus the other. What's happening in your climate, some of those themes may be still happening, but what that holiday means to you in Southern California may be somewhat different. different because that, it might be a little bit more appropriate to have that sort of prep time happening at a different time of year. Or maybe it's not quite as intense, right? For me, it's really an intense time period, we've got these few weeks, and it's gotta happen in these few weeks. For somebody in a climate that doesn't have quite as huge swings as mine does, Maybe it's something that you spread out more throughout the year, and you think about a little bit each you know, maybe each full moon or something like that instead of, boom, it's, it's fall, right? Mark: Yeah. Yeah, that, that, that completely makes sense to me, and I even think about how... In a very, you know, very temperate climate like Southern California, you know, if you're, if you're in the coastal area, for example, it may even be like an opportunity to do things that most of us associate with the summertime, because like the beaches aren't going to be nearly as crowded as they were in July and August, right? So, as the weather cools off, you might be able to get a little bit more privacy and, you know, time to yourself and stuff at a beach. Yucca: Mm hmm, yeah. Mark: Yeah, so, as always, we are really interested to hear what how you're celebrating the holidays, our readers. You can reach us, or, sorry, listeners, what am I saying? You can reach us at thewonderpodcastqs at gmail. com, and we always appreciate getting your emails. We are not going to have a show next week. Because I am going to be flying to Washington, D. C. to lobby for wilderness protections so that's kind of exciting. And I've decided that I'm going to wear a Sun Tree button on the underside of my lapel, where they can't see it, but I will still be wearing it on my lapel in the Capitol when I'm going to meet with congressmen and senators. Yucca: that's wonderful. So you'll still, it still has the meaning for you, you know it's there. Mark: That's right. Yeah, yeah, but the problem is, if I wore it the other way, then it would always be stirring up conversations about what does that mean, and it would derail from the conversation we want to have, which is about new national monuments, BLM's new public lands rule, things like that. Yucca: right. So it's one of those things to be thoughtful about is when do you... So, what are you trying to accomplish, and what do you need to do in each of those cases to accomplish that? So, very fitting for the time of year we've been talking Mark: Absolutely. And actually, as I mention it oh, never mind, the public comment period is closed. Yucca: Wow. Mark: There's a Many people don't know this, the largest holder of land in the United States is the Bureau, it's the the BLM, the Bureau of Land Management. And it does not list in its priorities for land management conservation. It, it lists things like mining, and oil and gas extraction, and timber, and grazing, and all that kind of stuff, but It does not list conservation values at all. So there is a proposal that has been launched by the Biden administration to change that, to add conservation into the mission statement of the BLM so that they will make decisions not only for extractive purposes, but also for the purposes of the ecosystem. Yucca: hmm. Mm hmm. That's Mark: And that's one of the things we're going to be advocating for. You know, it sounds like a bureaucratic thing, but it's really not. Yucca: Mm hmm. Mark: You know, these agencies are legally bound by their mission statements and and they will make decisions and allocate resources accordingly. So, it's it's an important thing. The, as I said, the public comment period has closed. The public comments were overwhelmingly in favor of the rule. Yucca: That's Mark: They got something like 300, 000 comments, and they were, you know, they ran like 90 10 in favor of the rule. Yucca: That's great. Mark: Yeah, so Yucca: I know my state, I have to look at the numbers again, but my state, BLM is, owns most of my state. Forest Service has a lot of it too. Mark: Huh, Forest Service is the second largest landholder in Yucca: it's more, yeah, it's, it's, the federal government owns most of New Mexico. Mark: Mm hmm. Mm hmm. I, I got to meet your senator, by the way, Kurt Heinrich at an event a couple of weeks ago. Martin Heinrich, I'm sorry and wonderful guy very, very thoughtful, very strategic around climate change and You know, we had a good conversation about public lands management and just good. Yeah, great leader. Yucca: Yeah, well I hope you have a fun I guess fun, a very productive and enjoyable time talking with all, all those DC folks. Mark: I'm gonna get to meet a bunch of atheopagans from the D. C. area. I'm arriving on the 17th and on the afternoon of the 17th. If you're listening to this and you're in the D. C. area, I am saying, staying at the Yotel on on Capitol Hill, and you are welcome to come. I'm going to set myself up in the hotel bar at around two o'clock, and people are just going to drop by and we're going to visit. So, I'm really looking forward to meeting some of our East Coast folks that I haven't met before. Yucca: Great, well give them hugs for me, if they're hug folks. Yeah. Mark: Yeah, I'll ask first, of course, because I know you would. I would too, but... Yucca: Yep. Well, wonderful. Mark: All right, so Yucca: you Mark: you in a couple of weeks. Thank you everybody so much. Yucca: Have a wonderful equinox, harvest, whatever you call it. So, Mark: I hope your harvest has been bountiful. Yucca: take care folks.    

Last May, Marielle Williamson was an anonymous teenager doing anonymous teenager things. Like her classmates at Eagle Rock High School in Los Angeles, California, she was busy preparing to graduate and to leap across the threshold into adulthood. The last thing on her mind was becoming the subject of countless news stories and being thrust into a debate about nutrition, animal welfare and the First Amendment. But that's what happened to her, and that's the topic of today's show. We were interested in Marielle's journey because it intersects with efforts to have Congress pass the ADD SOY Act. The bill would require the USDA to reimburse schools when they provide soy milk as an alternative to dairy milk in the breakfast and lunch lines. Right now, not only does it require notes and special permission even to receive soy milk instead of dairy, but schools aren't paid back for the cost of it, the way they are when they serve cow's milk. That's why, whether a kid wants it or not—even if dairy makes the kid sick— her or she gets two cartons of milk with each school-provided meal. Oftentimes, maybe even most times, those cartons end up straight in the garbage, unopened, because their would-be consumers either don't like milk or have a physical aversion to it, usually in the form of lactose intolerance. Not only is the practice harmful to children who don't know they are lactose intolerant and drink the dairy, or who drink it despite the many health concerns surrounding diary, it represents a remarkable waste of tax-payer dollars. But tax-payer dollars aren't the only waste. Also in vain, too, is the suffering of the thousands of dairy cows required to provide all that wasted milk. When we take for animals, we oftentimes help people, too. Helping animals helps us all. To learn more about the need for the ADD SOY Act, watch our special webinar featuring Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy; Dotsie Baush, executive director, Switch4Good; Dr. Lakshman (Lucky) Mulpuri, chief executive, PlantsNourish; and Rep. Troy Carter, who introduced the legislation. You can view it here: https://bit.ly/ADDSOYwebinar. The Animal Wellness podcast is produced by Animal Wellness Action and the Center for a Humane Economy. It focuses on improving the lives of animals in the United States and abroad through legislation and by influencing businesses to create a more humane economy. The show is hosted by veteran journalist and animal-advocate Joseph Grove. Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify and Podbean offer subscriptions to the free show. Music from https://filmmusic.io: "Fearless First" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com); License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)   OTHER LINKS www.animalwellnessaction.org www.centerforahumaneeconomy.org   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalWellnessAction Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/AWAction_News Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheHumaneCenter   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animalwellnessaction/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centerforahumaneeconomy/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/animal-wellness-action/   YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI_6FxM4hD6oS5VSUwsCnNQ          

Is the biggest hurdle to success in your business you? Oftentimes it's our own fears that are holding us back from achieving our highest levels of success.  Jessica Fearnley knows all about thinking small, but thankfully she was able to overcome her small-mindedness to achieve major successes with her coaching business.  Learn what you need to do to get over yourself and grow past your fears. Press play to listen to this inspirational interview. You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in... Jessica's story [1:22] Where crying in the kitchen came from [5:52] Started small [16:23]  Use your intuition [24:23] The money questions [29:32] How to connect with Jessica [38:20] Resources & People Mentioned BOOK - The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks Episode 145 - Back to Basics: Debt Liquidation Connect with Jessica Fearnley JessicaFearnley.com  Jessica on LinkedIn Jessica on Facebook Get the The Six Elements of a Seven Figure Business Connect With Gabe Nelson BOOK – The Solopreneur's Money Manifesto by Gabe Nelson www.GabeNelsonFinancial.com/contact FREE Downloadable Resources at https://www.gabenelsonfinancial.com/resources/ EMAIL: Gabe (at) GabeNelsonFinancial.com Follow Gabe on LinkedIn Follow Gabe on Twitter: @GabeNelsonCFP Follow Gabe on Facebook Follow Gabe on Instagram: @GabeNelsonCFP Subscribe to Solopreneur Money Audio Production and Show notes by PODCAST FAST TRACK https://www.podcastfasttrack.com

This episode of “Ask Ashley: The Podcast” is brought to you by Orbit Gum. Ashley + Ashley are back in the studio this week to discuss their favorite Sirius Radio stations, terrible customer service, and old ass sperm. 12:51 –  Ashley W hates shopping and Ashley N can't get enough. But there is one store that will set them BOTH off. Dear Kith Employees, this is for you. 22:13 –  The Ashley's stan a Queen who is FUNNY! This week, Ash & Ash share some of the best clips from their bestie in their head… @JawnnNextDoorr26:14 –  The number of older men fathering children is on the rise. Oftentimes mothers take most of the heat for birth risks & defects, however Ashley W blows Ashley N's mind with shocking information about paternal DNA & sperm. Don't believe us? Check out the article Older fathers associated with increased birth risks over at the Stanford Medicine News Center.33:22 – Question Time: Ashley + Ashley are discussing whether fame is on their radar, irrational behavior, and the best names over the past 4 decades. Do you have a question for the Ashley's? Let us know so we can answer it in a future episode! Follow the show:www.askashleypodcast.com @askashleypodcast on InstagramAsk Ashley on YouTubeAsk Ashley on FacebookFollow Ashley W:www.dearyoungqueen.com@dearyoungqueen on InstagramFollow Ashley N:@ashleynorthstyle on InstagramThis episode is presented by Dear Young Queen©2023 Dear Young QueenSupport the show

What should our response be to God? Oftentimes we become self-consumed in our relationship with God. We focus in on our troubles and needs. These must be given over to God and let go of. When we do this we will discover that we begin to see the glory and goodness of God at work in our lives and we will begin to be filled with the utmost gratitude toward God. Gratitude must consume us and fill our minds and prayers. We must allow gratitude to take over our passions and feelings and every part of our being. This is what we will do for eternity. Heaven will be one eternal act of thanksgiving to God for His goodness and Mercy. When we can turn our eyes away from ourselves and focus in on God, this gift of gratitude will begin to direct our lives (See Diary #1285-1286).Are you grateful? You will be grateful only if you allow yourself to see the countless gifts that God lavishes upon you every day. It's easy to allow self-absorption to cloud our vision of these countless blessings from God. But if you can turn your eyes toward Heaven and see the truth, you will be amazed at God's infinite goodness. Do not let yourself miss out on this glorious discovery of all that God does for you day and night. Do not close your eyes to the abundance of His Mercy. Reflect, today, upon whether or not you allow yourself to see His merciful love lavished upon you and upon others. Fix your gaze upon this Mercy and allow this realization to foster within you a profoundly grateful heart.My Lord, I thank You for all that You have done in my life and I thank You for all that You will continue to do in me. Help me to become increasingly aware of Your merciful love and the countless blessings You bestow upon me and upon all Your children. As I see Your handiwork all around, fill my heart with sincere gratitude. Jesus, I trust in You. Source of content: www.divinemercy.lifeCopyright © 2023 My Catholic Life! Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission via RSS feed.

Turning Chaos into Peace: A Conversation about Balance and Gratitude Do you feel the weight of uncertainty weighing you down? Are you tired of feeling powerless in the face of life's many unknowns? Join your host, Catherine Daniels and Sasha Taylor, on this enlightening journey, where you'll learn to find abundance and peace amid the chaos. Catherine encourages listeners to shift their focus from things they lack to the abundance they already possess, thus fostering an attitude of gratitude. This episode is your roadmap to finding that elusive Zen state, a place where happiness is crafted from within despite the external turbulence. Catherine further delves into the role of truth and balance in our lives. Oftentimes, negativity from various external sources can distort our perception of reality. It's essential to be conscious of this and learn to unearth our own truth, independent of external influences. This episode is your guide to navigating these turbulent waters, discerning truth from fiction, and providing empathetic support to others during precarious times.  Lastly, we dive into the anxiety-inducing realm of uncertainty, and the human tendency to crave control. Catherine explores the potential for growth and self-discovery that uncertainty holds. She further discusses the importance of faith, and how it can aid in surrendering control and embracing the mysteries of life. We also emphasize the significance of connecting and providing support during periods of isolation. This episode aims to empower you with the tools to navigate uncertainty, achieve balance, and ultimately, find peace within yourself. Support the show Please visit us at: http://retreattopeace.com  to find out more about the shows you love to listen to, the upcoming retreats we have planned and your favorite merchandise to help support those in need. Also, send us your testimonial of how the show or Catherine has helped you. We would love to share your story on the air. Join us on our Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/RetreattoPeace   Learn more about Catherine here: retreattopeace.net

In this episode of the Coaches Compass, Mike explains how to clearly articulate the specific outcome you create when you are a coach that can solve many different problems. Oftentimes, coaches have trouble getting clear on the dream outcome that they create for their clients because they say that "everyone is different." Which is true. However, there is a way to tease out the main outcome you create and this episode will explain it.Apply for the coaching scholarship here - https://neurotypetraining.com/scholarship/Get 20% off any product from Legion Athletics! Use code POPFAM at https://www.legionathletics.comCured Nutrition is offering 15% off their products site wide! Try their Serenity Gummies or CBN Oil here - https://www.curednutrition.com/?rfsn=6745101.eee1d3Want 20% off any Organifi product? This is an exclusive offer for Mind Over Macros listeners. Simply go to organifi.com/popfam and save 20% off any of their amazing products like green juice, red juice, or gold juice!Click here to take advantage of this offer!------------------------------------------------Click here to apply for coaching!For some amazing resources and to be a part of a badass community, join our FB group HEREThe FREE personality assessment is now available online! Click here to take the assessment and find out what your personality tells us about the way you should be training and eating.Take the assessment here!To learn more about Neurotyping, visit www.neurotypetraining.comFollow Mike on IG at @coach_mike_millner

Travis Watts is the director of investor education at Ashcroft Capital and a multi-family apartment investor. He has been investing in real estate since 2009 in multi-family, single-family, and vacation rentals. Mr. Watts dedicates his time to educating others who are looking to be more "hands-off" in Real Estate.   In this episode, we talked about: Travis's Bio & Background Passive vs Active Investing Transition Into a Full-Time Passive Investing Deal Vetting Geography of Deals Finding Real Estate Deals Investment Philosophy   Useful links: https://info.ashcroftcapital.com/travis Transcriptions: Jesse (0s): Welcome to the working capital real estate podcast. My name's Jessica Galley And. on this show, we discuss all things real estate with investors and experts in a variety of industries that impact real estate. Whether you're looking at your first investment or raising your first fund, join me and let's build that portfolio one square foot at a time. My name's Jesse Rega and you're listening to working capital. My guest today is Travis Watts. Travis is a full-time investor, Passive income advocate, public speaker, and the director of investor education at Ashcroft Ashcroft Capital.   He dedicates his time to educating investors who are looking to be when it comes to real estate investing. Travis, welcome back.   Travis (42s): Hey, Jesse. So glad to be here. Thanks for the invite back.   Jesse (45s): Not a problem at all. It's great to see you again. We've chatted before on working capital for those listeners that wanna see the, that first conversation, I was pretty wide ranged in terms of the topics, but you know, like most returning guests we have on a lot has happened over the last couple years. So we thought we'd kind of have you back on, talk about what you're doing currently and your take on on where we're currently at in the real estate cycle. So before we kick it off, for those that didn't hear the first episode, maybe you could give a little bit of a background for listeners to what you do and how you got into, into the world of real estate.   Travis (1m 25s): Sure, yeah, happy to. So humble beginnings, you know, wasn't raised by an investor minded family, not a real estate background at all, but reading some of the books a lot of us have read. The Rich Dad Poor Dad type stuff, kind of was my gateway drug into learning about Passive income and financial freedom, things like that. So, started out with single family homes, did flips, did vacation rentals, you know, had roommates, just was trying to pull every string I could early on with a low budget on how I could make more money. And then I kind of shied away from doing as much of the buy low sell high strategy.   And I really started to hone in on Passive income. So in recent years I've been a full-time limited partner, mostly in multifamily, private placements with many different operators, of course, Ashcroft Capital and Joe Fearless as well. And you know, I'm just a guy who, you know, came from nothing in terms of, you know, being handed anything or, or again, coming from a family of this. And once I realized what Passive income did in my own life and how it can truly free up your time, how it can give you more options in your life, it was a complete game changer.   And so I dedicated the rest of my time from that point to trying to help others, trying to explain this, simplify it. So I've launched a couple different podcasts over the years. Passive Investor Tips is my current one under the best ever brand. And I just make these short episodes five to seven minutes. I try to consolidate as much as I can into quick snippets to help people. And then I'm on podcasts like yours and I'm writing and blogging out there, and I just wanna open up an underserved niche, which is a private placement Investing, and B, not many people talking about Passive income.   So that's what my passion is, that's a quick background and that's what I do to, to help others.   Jesse (3m 11s): That's great. And for those that if you've been kind of under a rock in terms of real estate investing, Joe Fearless website, I mean you just Google it, you'll see a number of resources from him. He kind of wrote what's known in our circles as like the Bible of multifamily. It's a massive book on Investing. In terms of the, the Passive nature, I always find this kind of fascinating from the standpoint that people go into real estate a lot of times because they expect it to be a Passive investment. And what one person's definition of Passive is very different than another person.   So maybe just from, you know, 30,000 feet on Passive Investing, what do you consider Passive and where do you see people kind of mixing in, you know, what we would consider really an operator as opposed to a purely Passive investor?   Travis (3m 59s): Yeah, I think you hit on a great point. As I mentioned, I started with single family homes, don don't know. If I was so focused on whether it was gonna be active or Passive, that really wasn't my concern at that time. But as many hope it, you know, to be Passive, when you start acquiring that property, 5, 6, 7, 8, you start to realize you kind of gotta make a decision at some point. Are you going to be, you know, a real estate professional, maybe a, you know, a full-time landlord, or are you gonna work a career, you know, and then have investments on the side? And that was kind of the threshold I hit because I used to work in oil and gas, a hundred hour work weeks, 14 hour days, and I'm trying to do all this real estate on the side and scale it up with, you know, one or two properties a year.   And I just completely, you know, hit that threshold in about six and a half years. And I'm like, man, this is not for me anyway, this was not scalable, even with property management companies, I was still having to make a lot of active decisions. First of all, finding the properties, underwriting 'em, showing up to closings, understanding the markets and how they shift and how they change. And then, you know, making decisions. Do I repair that roof? Do I replace that roof? Do I paint the house? Do I refinance right now? So you, you can't help but say there's a, there, there's a lot of active components to owning, you know, your own individual real estate.   So my definition to answer your question about what is Passive, this could pertain to real estate or any other asset or business. If you do not materially participate in the actual business itself, then you would be Passive as an investor in it. So it could be as simple as owning some stocks. Maybe you own Apple or Microsoft stock. That doesn't mean you're active with the company, it doesn't mean you work for the company. You, you just wanna be a Passive investor. You just wanna share in the profits and let the team do their thing.   And so that's what I found to be the best strategy as you start to acquire more and more capital to free up your time so that you can spend your active time on what it is you wanna do. And there's nothing wrong with being active in Real, Estate or being a general partner or flipping houses or being a wholesaler, if that's what you like to do, if that's truly your skillset, your passion, your desire, nothing wrong with that. But for me, owning my own real estate was really a pain point. It was really a headache, it was really a hassle. I didn't have the skillset, I didn't have the background, I couldn't compete with the people that were 20, 30 years into it.   And, and me being this naive newbie that kind of hit a, a market dip at the right time.   Jesse (6m 24s): I think the, the nature of the, the conversation of Passive versus active too, it, it, in a lot of ways it can hinder or really stop progress in Investing in general. A lot of times people get a few investment properties and they get kind of a stale taste in their mouth after a couple bad experiences. you know, even for people that have been successful, oftentimes maybe it's moving to multifamily where you can make a, a re a real argument that it's less stressful having a hundred tenants than it is having two tenants in, in a lot of ways in, in that you're dealing with a lot of emotional one-on-one conversations.   You don't have enough to necessitate prop property management or asset management. And then you have a lot of times in those cases, a hundred percent vacancy when somebody leaves. So, you know, there is that argument. But to get to that scaled place, oftentimes you, you deal with a lot of this and I think a lot of investors bow out after a few bad experiences on the operating end.   Travis (7m 22s): That's a great point. And statistically, what is it, three failures for the average person, they call it quits, right? And so it doesn't take much to get there when you're doing your own properties. you know, I had properties where I was cash flow and a few hundred bucks a month, and all of a sudden, you know, the, the H V A C system goes out and there's 5,000 outta your pocket, there went a whole year of cash flow or you know, tenant quits paying rent. That's the obvious one. I've had tenants destroy properties. I'm not trying to make horror stories out of it. I, I made, you know, great money too in my active deals.   But it really is, it takes a lot of perseverance, let's just put it that way and time.   Jesse (7m 59s): A hundred percent. And I think you've touched on something too where your definition is not material materially participating in the active business or the, the operations of the business. And you know, oftentimes depending on the country or state, there's legal definitions, you know, in terms of limited partner that you cannot participate or you lose your, your limited liability status. So it's not necessarily just a, you know, a a definition, just have a definition. Oftentimes there is a, there's kind of a legal structure in place and those definitions are important.   Travis (8m 30s): A hundred percent man. Yeah, it's just my Philosophy was kind of, if I can't beat 'em, join 'em, I guess, you know, there's always gonna be people that are, are better than you at any particular thing. So it's just why not profit share with them in their journey. And so, yeah, made a lot of sense in my case. Anyway.   Jesse (8m 47s): So for those that, you know, say they've been Investing in Real, Estate just on, you know, your typical active end, whether it's smaller, single family commercial or, or you know, multi res, how do, how have you seen people make that transition or, or foray into Passive Investing? Because a lot of times we see is people that have earned a decent amount of income where they can put 50 or a hundred thousand, 150, whatever the minimum is, say, for a certain fund or asset into a Passive investment.   What, what's that transition or what does that process look like for your clients?   Travis (9m 24s): Well, the first thing I'd point out is there's not many people that are like myself and a few others here in the industry that are literally full-time Passive investors. Meaning that every investment I have, I'm an lp, I've, I've never been a gp, I'm not looking to become one. That kind of thing. Most of our clients are what, what we're talking about here, it's the, it's the typical story that they bought a property themselves, maybe two, maybe three. They like 'em, there's pros and cons, they understand that, but they also know that if they had 20 of those, they don't want that.   And so I use my dad as a good example. He got up to eight properties on his own single family and decided I wanna retire and I don't want to have 20 properties. I I like my eight and they're paid off and it's all good. But he, he transitioned at that point into becoming a limited partner in syndications. And now it's a, it's a limitless opportunity. Anytime he has liquidity or a sale or refinance or whatever, he can just do another syndication investment. And another, and another, and another. I'll tell you, it's not much harder to have, you know, two syndication deals under your belt as an LP versus say 50 of them.   It's, it's still very Passive if you choose to make it that way.   Jesse (10m 35s): So in terms of the Vetting or the questions that you're typically asking when you're getting into a Passive deal, 'cause often people will say, well, okay, if you grant the fact that we're gonna trust people, operators that are smarter than us know what they're doing, you also have to, you know, know how to vet them. So what's your approach to that?   Travis (10m 54s): Yeah, I do. I'll answer that absolutely. But I want to point out that the foundation to this answer is one of the best things about being a limited partner is no matter where you live in the world, you can invest wherever you want. Okay? So like back when I had all these properties, single family all in Colorado, I lived in Colorado and I started to get scared about natural disaster risk or political risk. What if Colorado says, Hey, we got a 10% state income tax, now all of a sudden All, right? People are gonna move out in droves.   I'm gonna have a hundred percent of my portfolio right there in the heat of it. And so I never want that. And it's a beautiful thing to be able to, to spread out. Now what I do in my approach is I start with my goals first, and I recommend people do that. So what is your actual long-term goal? It doesn't have to be the complete end goal, but maybe a five year goal, maybe a 10 year goal. Are you looking to build up more Passive income to create a backstop for your active income or maybe to retire? Or do you want a certain amount of net worth?   Maybe you want $2 million net worth by the time you retire, whatever it is, I start there and then I start looking at what types of investments could potentially move me towards those goals. And so what I like is kind of a, a 50 50 hybrid, I'm gonna put my money in something that pays me on a monthly basis. So there's my Passive income, but also has the potential for equity upside if we buy low and sell high, I still like that strategy. I just don't do it full-time. There's no investment that I've ever made, well, not ever recently made where it's just solely buy low, sell high with zero cash flow.   But that just fits my risk profile, my goals and objectives. That doesn't mean it's right for anybody listening to this episode. So first, identify what it is you're trying to do. Try not to just make a number goal, like 10,000 a month Passive income. Ask yourself the real why questions, why do you want 10,000 a month Passive income? What would that mean for you? What would you do with the money? Put your kids through college, retire early, quit your job, vacation more. You gotta really know what you're after. And you gotta put some emotional thought towards that because I can tell you firsthand, if you just say 10,000 a month Passive income and you get up to seven and we have a nasty recession and, and you start going downhill, you're very likely to give up on that goal and just settle for less and say, well, maybe, maybe I'm, my goal is now six and and I'll settle on that.   So you gotta tie it to like, I'll fail my kids if I don't put 'em through college, you know, if I don't meet this goal and then you're not gonna give up on your family. So that's a little piece of advice. Now for the technicals to your question, I look for a solid track record. I look for reputable groups. you know, I started Investing with Ashcroft years before I came on board to, to help 'em out with investor relations and education and all that kind of stuff. I wanted more of a transparent, you know, look into the company so to speak, so that I knew where I was placing my money and I could learn the business that way.   And then, you know, just conservative underwriting, conservative projections, you gotta start to learn your criteria. You mentioned Joe's book earlier, the best ever apartment syndication book. It's about 400 pages, but it can help you identify your criteria. Do you like value add business plans? Do you like new development? you know, do you like core assets or core plus or opportunistic? There's a lot of jargon to learn in this industry, but for me, I like Sunbelt markets right now. And for the last, you know, seven years or so, it's where people are moving, it's where companies are relocating to.   But with that in mind, markets change. you know, we just saw Phoenix go through kind of a big boom and a little bit of a bust right now, so there's opportunistic times to get in and out. And so it's just kind of like writing down your criteria once you understand it and can identify with it. And then just trying to check off as many boxes as you can. And I rarely get a hundred percent of my criteria met on any given deal, but if I can get 70 to 80% there, then I feel good about moving forward with that particular group.   Jesse (14m 48s): Yeah, and it's, it's kind of, it's cool that you, you mentioned the geographic diver diversification, where I find with Passive investments, especially on the, if you're on the LP side, you can really spread yourself or di diversify yourself, whether it's like you said geographically or it's the, the type, you know, maybe you're doing value add in this area, you're doing a buy and hold in this area. In terms of the initial kind of outreach and basically finding the investors that you want to invest with are, are you typically networking in your home state or is it something where you, you know, you, you talk to somebody like yourself and it's, you know, maybe word of mouth in terms of finding these operators.   How do you, how do you typically go about that? Especially for somebody that's kind of breaking into Investing or is moving from operating some rental properties to somebody who's gonna take Passive Investing on the LP side more seriously?   Travis (15m 42s): That's a great question and I'm a big believer in, you know, your network is your net worth. And I started with just simple, easy, low hanging fruit sources, like getting on Google and typing in, you know, syndication groups and making phone calls. And then it led to local real estate meetup groups and trying to meet people face to face, which gave me such a better indication of who these people were and what they were doing. And then I just started branching out more and more from there. I would go tour properties with different groups and then I would do national conferences and now I speak at national conferences.   So it's kind of a win-win because I'm there to, you know, help educate on this topic, but I'm also there to network and learn. And I'd say I've found about 60%, maybe even 70% of all the operators that I've ever worked with through face-to-face contact. So the more you can get out there and the more you can network, the better off you'll be. And another key, if you want to kind of just get right to the point and circumvent some time is find other people. I've always been a big believer in this, find people doing what it is you wanna do and just make them your mentor Whether, you have to pay them Whether, you just have a quick 15 minute call, maybe once a month.   Pick their brain. Who are you Investing with? What, you know, how, what's your experience been? you know, who would you recommend? Testimonials go a long way in this industry and if I can get, you know, five, six testimonials lined up for a particular group and they all happen to be positive and you know, they got the track record and all the rest, I'll probably invest with them.   Jesse (17m 12s): Do you make a, any distinction in terms of Investing with an operator that invest in asset specific deals as opposed to creating funds? you know, are you agnostic or do you prefer one over the other?   Travis (17m 25s): It's funny, if you listen to some of my earlier content, when I first started doing podcasting and speaking, I had the opposite point of view. And the, the parallel I'll draw for your audience is it's kind of like imagine the stock market, okay? You can either go handpick stocks you think are gonna do great and outperform, or you can just buy the s and p 500 index or some other equivalent index, right? So at first I'm thinking, hey, I know how this works and I can, I can pick a good deal and then come to find out that three or four of those didn't do so hot, right? I didn't lose money thankfully, but they certainly didn't hit the projections that we were all hoping for.   And so I became more of a fan over time into the fund model, even before Ashcroft moved into the funds, I had no idea they were gonna make that transition. But it gives you broader diversification, right? You can still put in that minimum investment or that 50 K, but now you could be invested in four different properties and not just have to pick one. And then you're outta capital and you just have to hope and pray that that deal works out. It's not always the fault of the operator. It could be, you know, again, natural disaster risk, the it, there could be a, a fire, there could be a flood, there could be a hurricane, a tornado, a blizzard, snowstorm, who knows.   So I don't like to put too much into any one deal. I don't care if it's a fund or an individual deal, but, you know, at the end of the day I still do both. I do mostly funds nowadays if, if anyone caress to know that. But it's a personal preference.   Jesse (18m 49s): Okay, fair enough. And now we've talked a little bit about the last year or two. Been unprecedented, unprecedented time, lots of ch lots has changed. I, I want to get your take on if your Investment Philosophy has changed or, or you've pivoted within the last few years as a result of the kind of, you know, you wouldn't call it your typical business cycle. We've been forced into certain things and other things have been put on hold. So I guess generally speaking, since the last time we spoke, has there been any light bulb moments or things that you've changed?   you know, in terms of the investments?   Travis (19m 24s): You know, I'll, I'll start by sharing this. My general Philosophy is that I'm a dollar cost averaging guy because I love real estate and I intend to be in it for the long haul and I don't try to pretend to be able to time markets. I remember talking to syndicators one in particular that's very experienced 20 plus year track record in 2015. I'm like, please put me on your deal list. I wanna see what you're doing, I'd like to participate with you. And he's like, Travis, we're gonna have the biggest meltdown you've ever seen in your life in 2016. I, I expect everything to implode and just blow up.   And it kind of freaked me out. But again, that wasn't my belief or Philosophy, so I'm like, All, right? I'll do a little bit of Investing. Now maybe that happens, maybe not, and it didn't, right? So thankfully those deals did exceptionally well. And the thing is, what we're seeing right now is that, you know, the Fed went historically aggressive with interest rates through 22 and continues here in 23. That is a negative correlation to the pricing of real estate. you know, especially in commercial. 'cause commercial has shorter debt terms compared to single family folks with 30 year terms, things like that.   So what we're seeing as a result is, is anywhere between a 20 and maybe a 25% price discount relative to previous pricings or a cap rate reversion from maybe a four cap to a five cap, or a five and a half cap or something like that. So all it really means is right now is an opportunity to kind of buy the dip again, back to the dollar cost averaging Philosophy. So it's the same thing for the folks that buy into the Philosophy of buy the s and p 500 index and sometimes the market's up and sometimes the market's down, and you're gonna get kind of that average cost over the long haul.   That's my Philosophy as well. So I don't know, is it gonna get worse or go further? Maybe, maybe not, but at least we're getting 20, 25% off right now, which was the same opportunity that you had if you were a stock investor in 22 when the market had declined 20 to 25% at whatever point that was October of last year. So, and again, will the stock market retest that and go back down, don don't know, but at least you know that it's, you know, historically making all time highs every, you know, so often or whatnot, and you just have to factor in being an investor that there's market cycles, you know, every 10 years or so we're gonna go through a pullback.   It's just what happens. So if you're not comfortable with that, it, it may not be a suitable investment.   Jesse (21m 48s): Yeah, I think we've talked a quite a bit about this lately in terms of, you know, the buying at the bottom is, it's pretty much impossible. You're, you look for indicators and I think we are entering a phase where we're gonna look five, four or five years from now, we're gonna look that this is somewhat of the beginning of the end in terms of the low point in the cycle and where the buying opportunities might be from now for the next two years. Who really knows. But like you're saying, if you're, if you're incrementally buying during that period, then you look back four or five years and that you dollar cost at average because you bought through the, through, you know, what you call the dip.   And that's really all you can, you can do, you know, don don't think anybody on this podcast or certainly myself is gonna just have more knowledge than anybody else and be able to buy at the perfect time and then, you know, reap the benefits of that. There's   Travis (22m 36s): A lot of opportunity costs to consider. And I look at that too when I'm Vetting deals and I'm looking at cash flow, I'm not that guy that says a anymore. Let me be clear. I was this guy in the beginning to say, Hey, this deal says 8% cash flow and this deal says 6% cash flow, I'm gonna go with the eight. You have to factor in different things. Like, you know, do they pay monthly? Do they pay quarterly? When did the distribution start? And you'll see in the structuring sometimes that, hey, we're gonna pay you 8%, but it's gonna be six months before we start distributions.   Well guess what? It's now a 4% return. Right? Yeah. Or, or the thought of like, oh, I think the market's going to implode and sorry, my son's knocking on my door over here. Yeah, no problem. The market's gonna implode, so I'm gonna sit on the sidelines for two or three years and wait it out. Well, it, we may to your point, be very well nearing out a bottom and it's going up from here. Who knows?   Jesse (23m 27s): Yeah, I think it's just, it's one of those things where you, you get, you educate yourself, at least for me, I like looking at the history of, of the cycles in our industry and you look for the certain indicators and then you're as prudent as you possibly can be. I think one thing that you mentioned when you said natural disasters is, you know, the way I look at even the lockdown, so we had somewhat of a natural disaster in, in the form of, you know, something pretty, pretty horrifying globally. And I think the, the way that we deal with that going forward I think may be a little bit different in terms of our underwriting.   So to the que back to the question on if the Philosophy has changed, we've looked at a lot of investors that somewhat a a lot of them through no fault of their own, are now having to do capital calls depending if, if you were a value add business. And during that, the period over the last couple years, you know, you didn't have fixed rate debt where you had to go back to your investors. What, what are your thoughts on, you know, let's, let's take it from the perspective as of an lp. you know, you have investors that are ask asking for a, I guess in this case, a cash in refinance, asking investors to commit larger capital to certain deals.   Do you have an opinion on, you know, what, what is adequate or what reasons you would say do that? And what reasons you would say, you know, avoid that?   Travis (24m 47s): Yeah, I think generally speaking, no syndication group wants to have a capital call ever. And, and you certainly don't want that on your track record. And now that becomes kind of a question that you know, investors are going to ask every year moving forward for the rest of your career. Have you ever done a capital call and why and how and what happened? So no one wants to deal with that. So what happens is, you know, interest rates were what, you know, 3% loans is what a lot of people were getting and now they're what, 7% loans. So that's just a crazy debacle, right?   So it can, it can suck all the cash flow out of these properties. So you do a, either a capital call and say, give us more money so we can restructure this debt and save the deal and keep moving forward. Or you could pause distributions and say, you know, we're gonna save up some cash reserves here so that we can restructure our debt or buy another interest rate cap or something like that. Or if you're completely nearing the end of the, the deal as in, you know, you finished renovating it and the value add business plan, there may be enough equity to go ahead and exit it profitably and just give investors some kind of equity return, but just maybe not what you originally projected.   But then again, that goes on your permanent track record. It's like, why did that deal only do 10% and all your other deals did 20%, you know, i r r So you gotta answer to that. So these are really tough questions and what I've seen in my own portfolio, because I'm I'm invested among a lot of different operators, again, is mostly it's been pause distributions in my particular case, which if I were a general partner and we could pull it off using that strategy, that's what, that's what I would do personally. But it all depends when your debt's coming up and, and how much, what nobody anticipated Jesse and everybody listening is that these, a lot of people had this floating rate debt, but then they thought, okay, we'll be conservative and we'll buy a two year interest rate cap at 200 basis points above our loan as a worst case scenario.   And if you go back and you actually look at what people were, the economists were forecasting for interest rates, it was nowhere near what actually happened. So who could have really known, right, it's kind of a crappy situation, but what no one knew is on one of these properties, maybe you bought that interest rate cap for a hundred thousand dollars for two years, well now it's trading at a million dollars. you know, so now the lender's like, hey, we need enough escrows here, you know, to cover a, a million dollar repurchase of another cap.   And that's what caught so many operators off guard. And so how do you come up with a million dollars on the spot if it's not just sitting in the account? In most cases it's not just doing that. So again, capital call, pausing distributions, doing some kind of other injection of capital or, or selling the property. I mean, are are your options?   Jesse (27m 35s): Yeah, fair enough. Not, not too many, you know, not too many good options, but I think you deal with the situations as they come and, you know, we've talked about this with a couple podcasts ago and that you just wanna make sure that if your investors are asking for a capital call, that you're very clear on what they're doing with this, this cash and that there's, there's a clear plan as to what's going on here. Is it just to break even or is it, you know, we're gonna get out of this and this is, you know, this is the roadmap.   Travis (28m 4s): Yep. A hundred percent tough call. I don't envy gps. But again, I mean, you, you could, the investors that may be upset by it, which I mean, to be honest, who's not upset by pause distributions. I mean, I'm a person that lives on cashflow and, you know, probably seven of my deals are paused. That's not a a, a favorable thing. But you gotta put it in perspective because, you know, I own some REITs, some real estate investment trust in my brokerage account and they're sitting at 30, 35% loss right now. So, you know, you gotta, or or they've slashed their dividend in half or whatever's happened.   So it's not like anybody's immune when the Federal Reserve brings interest rates up more than double, the economy is impacted. And the scary part is it's a delayed effect. And, and the fact that they went so fast and so quick last year especially, we haven't seen the full repercussions in my opinion. And we're just starting to see them as these commercial deals come up for renewing their debt. And so there's gonna be some distress, but I don't think it'll be anything like a 2008 kind of crisis.   It's just going to be a setback and who knows how long it lasts a year or two years. But eventually you and I know, and hopefully your listeners know, there's such a, a, a lack of affordable housing for people in America by, by the tune of millions. And even though we're getting new inventory coming to market, we are still millions behind and there's such strong demand for this asset class. So it's all in kind of how you can structure your, your deals right now.   Jesse (29m 38s): Yep. That makes sense. We could talk for another half hour just on the opportunities and outlook right now. I wanna be mindful of the times. So Travis for individuals that you wanna get in contact with you or have any questions regarding real estate investing, Passive, Investing, where can we send them?   Travis (29m 56s): Yeah, so for everybody out there, don, don't care if you're brand new. I don't care if you're accredited or not, or you're 70 years old or you're 18, you can go Ashcroft capital.com/ Travis and jump on my calendar. I'm happy to have a, a 15 minute call, no obligation, no upsell, and just help you out, point you in the right direction or provide any resources that I can to help you.   Jesse (30m 19s): My guest today has been Travis Watts, Travis, thanks for being part of working capital.   Travis (30m 24s): Thanks Jesse. Thanks everyone.   Jesse (30m 25s): Thank you so much for listening to Working Capital. The Real, Estate Podcast. I'm your host, Jesse Fragale. If you like the episode, head on to iTunes and leave us a five star review and share on social media. It really helps us out. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me on Instagram. Jesse Fragale, F R A G A L E. Have a good one. Take care.