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Meet Charlie   Charlie Larson serves as the Vice President of Communications for The Milwaukee Admirals. The Admirals are a member of the American Hockey League, equivalent to  AAA baseball for those who are trying to understand and serve as the farm team for the Nashville Predators of the NHL. Charlie has been working hard as of late launching a brand new website for The Admirals, premiering the brand new third jersey that The Admirals will be wearing this upcoming season, and the schedule is out preparing for puck drop on October 16 against the Grand Rapids Griffins at Panther Arena in downtown Milwaukee.   On your LinkedIn, it looks like you went straight from college to working with the Admirals. How long have you been with The Admirals?   I will celebrate 21 years on August 23. So I did work for a minor league baseball team, the Michigan Battle Cats, which are now defunct, and probably the worst run professional sports team in history! I'm not joking, it was a race to get your checks cashed because if you were last it might bounce. Luckily, I was making so little money $233 after taxes every two weeks as a full-time job, that it didn't really matter that much. But I had to send my checks back and I had to put it in along with the deposit slip, I'd sign my check, mail it to M&I bank in Milwaukee and they would deposit it. You couldn't just take a picture of your check and deposit anymore. I knew I wasn't going to be there for too long after a couple of days so I didn't want to get a bank there. So I kept M&I, which doesn't exist anymore. It was interesting without a doubt.   So how often would that happen where checks would bounce and your counterparts would come in shaking their head and be like “Nope, this week's check isn't going.”?   As far as I know, it never happened during the season when there was a little bit of cash flow. It was the offseason and I wasn't really there for much of any offseason. They were in the same league as The Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, who are now the Class A affiliate for the Brewers. Back then they were the Class A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and I had worked for them as well the year before. It was a wide discrepancy. The Dayton Dragons hold the most consecutive sellouts in any minor league sport. They've sold on every single game since the year they were formed and they're in the Midwest League with The Michigan Battle Cats when I was there, and we averaged like 300 fans a game and could barely even function. It was just this weird discrepancy. But I'll tell you this, living in Michigan, a couple of times a year we would have firework games on Saturday nights so we get big crowds of about 5000 fans which would have bumped our average attendance up to close to 1000. They would buy their sodas and their bottles, and they would drop them under the stands and if you ever lived in Michigan, or if you've seen Seinfeld, you would know that you get 10 cents per bottle and I was making so little money and so were the grounds crews that we would go underneath the bleachers after those games, and it was so disgusting, but it didn't matter. Then we go across to the Meijer store and we throw them in the little chute where you exchange your cans and I come out there with like 100 bucks 125 bucks. It was great cause that's literally half of my paycheck!   Did you know when you were at Ripon College that you wanted to get into the business side of sports?    Not really. I was at the NCAA Division Three Tennis Tournament my sophomore year, and if you know, tennis tournaments, have a lot of downtime, right? I got to talking to the NCAA Rep there because the NCAA sends a rep to every church championship. This guy played basketball at Brown. Let me take a step back. I worked for the sports information director at Ripon so that was sort of my introduction. I liked it but whatever, I never thought about that as a career. Then I got talking to this NCAA rep and I was like this actually sounds pretty good. From there, I applied with her for a job with The Timber Rattlers as an intern and got that and spent my summer up there working like 80 hours a week. No pay, none! I loved it though, I was like, "This is what I want to do!" But at the time, the only school in the state of Wisconsin that offered sports management classes was UW Lacrosse. So Ripon didn't offer a sports management class much as a major. It was right at the beginning of sort of the sports boom if you will and I was a history major, philosophy minor. I tell kids all the time, it doesn't matter what you major in. Do what you want to do, find your love and you'll get if you have that passion for it, you'll find a way to make it work.   How then, do you find your way to The Milwaukee Admirals?   Honestly, it's as simple as my girlfriend at the time was living in Milwaukee. We had dated for three years at Ripon and I moved to Michigan, and she moved to Milwaukee and her mom was like, "What the heck is going on here?" So she was there and I was like, "Well if we're gonna if we're going to make a go at this, we could at least live in the same timezone," and so I just started emailing and calling all the teams and I had actually called The Admirals once, they said nothing's available and then I call them back and they said, "Oh, yeah, we've got a sales job open, send in your resume." I did and I interviewed some time, at the beginning, August, and I got offered the job a couple of days later, and then I started August 23.    Was the league The Admirals played in called The AHL back then?   It was the IHL. It would turn out to be the last year of the International Hockey League. It was an interesting time because both the IHL and the AHL developed players for the NHL, but the AHL had branded themselves as THE Developmental League. They weren't bringing in guys that were on the downsides of their NHL careers and that's what the IHL was doing. The IHL made some atrocious business decisions expanding all over the country. In the NHL lockout of 94-95, the IHL decided that they were going to replace the NHL and that they were going to compete with the NHL. That was a bad move because yeah, they had a TV contract and games run ESPN and it was cool at the time and San Francisco spiders, got some really cool jackets, but there was no vetting process for the ownership. It was just really about getting the initiation fee if you will and we'll go from there. There wound up being teams that were folding midseason, and it was bad news. By the year 2000, it was clear that the AHL, their business model was gonna win.   Was that a fascinating time to be around the game where some of the IHL teams were folding?   Yeah, so we had 11 teams in our league that year and six of those teams were absorbed into the American Hockey League. So it was us, Chicago Wolves, Grand Rapids Griffins, Houston Aeros, which no longer exists, Utah Grizzlies and they are now in the ECHL, and the Manitoba Moose. So now that those teams go into the AHL, and that's we've been there ever since.   What did your job look like the first year working with The Admirals?   So I was a Sales Account Executive and I did that for two years and then I was promoted to Director of Ticket Sales. Also, Jane Pettit, who is The Admirals owner and the greatest philanthropist the city of Milwaukee has ever known probably one of the greatest philanthropists ever died on September 9, 2001. This was the beginning of my second year, and it was almost fitting because two days later, September 11 happens and so her death was overshadowed and that's sort of the way I think she that she liked it, that's how she lived her life. She built so many buildings in Milwaukee, I mean think of all the buildings that have the name, Pettit or Bradley. So Jane dies and she leaves The Admirals in her estate and she leaves basically a set amount of money. So once we blow through that money, that's going to be about it. So when I started with the animals, we probably had 15 full-time people and by the time our current owner, Harris Turer bought the team in April of 200 we were down to four full-time employees. What's sort of a shame is those were the best teams that The Animals have ever had. We won tt Caler Cup in 2004 with six full-time people, and I was doing things that I had no business or idea what I was doing. It was literally flying by the seat of my pants.   Where were The Admirals playing then?   They were at the Bradley Center. So The Bradley center was built by the Pettits to attract an NHL team. Bradley is Jane Pettit's maiden name and she built the Bradley Center for 2 reasons; because The Bucks were gonna move because they were playing at The MECCA right which didn't have the revenue streams that they needed and because they wanted to lure an NHL team to Milwaukee. The Bradley Center when it opened in October of 1988 was the best arena in the country. The Bucks moved and The Admirals, it was a hockey game that started it. So the Edmonton Oilers vs. Chicago Blackhawks and The Admirals had been averaging about 3000 fans at the mecca they didn't know how this was going to go and so they've really been pumping Wayne Gretzky coming in. Wayne is coming in he's gonna play and in beginning August Gretzky got traded to Edmonton which is crazy because the Bradly Center had a contract that said Gretzky and a bunch of other big players had to play in the game. So they sold out the building and it was a spectacle. It was awesome, but it was like a real snake bit and Wayne was supposed to be there and he wasn't. Now coincidentally he did play next year. Wayne did come and play the next year as a member of the Kings. The Kings played the Blackhawks in a preseason game that year.    So The Bradley center is where we were playing and the NHL team never happened for a couple of reasons. It's not because of the Blackhawks, everybody thinks it's because of the Blackhawks it is not because of the Blackhawks, so please get that out of your head! So we came into the league at the same time as Tampa Bay and we were up for expansion that same time as Tampa Bay and Ottawa and those were the two teams. Eventually, Milwaukee dropped out and a couple of other cities dropped out of the expansion bid and those are the only two teams left. So the NHL really only had the choice to give them to Tampa Bay and Ottawa. I think the admirals dropped out of the bidding in 1989, somewhere and there were a couple of reasons they did it. One was the expansion fee the NHL had pitched was $30 million and that's nothing compared to Seattle who just paid $600 million. But then The Animals General Manager had gone to Quebec City to see a Nordiques game, ostensibly to see sort of how they ran or how they were running their operations, and it was really because he was meeting with some of the owners on the expansion committee, and they told them like, "Hey our math is a very good and that $30 million expansion fee so sorry, it's actually $50 million." So basically doubling it. The Pettits had a lot of money and they could have paid it, but they also saw that the team was going to be really bad to start the year because the way they did the Expansion Draft and if anybody hockey fans out there, they know how the Seattle and Las Vegas have done it over the last couple of years. But the way they did the Expansion Draft back then was gonna make the team really bad for a really long time and they didn't know if Milwaukee would support a bad team for seven or eight years. As it turns out, Ottawa and Tampa were horrible for the first few years. But by 2004, Tampa had won it and I think in 2003 Ottawa made it to the finals. So we never got the team and it was very sad. It was a tough thing for the Pettits to admit, especially Lloyd Pettite as a Hockey Hall of Fame announcer with the Blackhawks, that was his goal and it just didn't work out. So Jane died and we had no money and we had no employees and we had this great team. Three times we had been this is the last season of The Admirals, your health insurance is gone and we're done. So it was a challenge, but it was a blast because every day was different and it was an adventure and we had an awesome team. So we just kept putting one step in front of the other end, you can only take it one day at a time, like literally one day at a time.    What was it like winning The Calder Cup with 6 full-time employees?    It was crazy! We win the Calder Cup, we had no money so we had to rent a 15 passenger van to drive out two of our staff out to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. So Mike Wojciechowski, who has been with the animals for 40 years, he's driving it. Funny story, we get pulled over and driving through the mountains out in western Pennsylvania and we get pulled over go like 95 miles an hour in a 15 passenger van. Woj, as you can tell by his last name, he's Polish and the officer is Polish to it and Mike says something like, "Come on, can't you help a fellow countryman out!" So we got the ticket and went on our way and we won it and had a turn around the next day and get right back in the 15 passenger van. We won it on a Sunday, June 6, 2004, and had to drive back because on Tuesday night we're having a party at the Bradley Center. So we met the team at the airport because they flew because that was actually paid for by the league, the league pays for travel in the playoffs. So we met the team there and it was awesome because there were so many fans at the airport. Back then, sure it was a thing for major league sports, but that didn't happen in minor league sports. 26 years, The Admirals had been a professional team at that point and never won anything made it to the finals and it was so cool. The next night we had a big event at the Bradley Center and it was just amazing. Then the following year Harris Turer bought the team and literally saved The Admirals. If it's not for Harris Turer, The Admirals are gone, there are no Admirals, and he led a consortium of about 15 local business people and hockey people to buy The Admirals and, and he realized this is a community and we were a community Now we're back up to over 15 or 16 people, it's crazy! I think to myself sometimes like, "How did we possibly do it?" And it was different to like, there was no social media, we had a website, if you updated it the next day, that's fine. So there wasn't as much immediacy, but still, there was a lot, a lot, a lot to do.   When did you officially move into the role of Vice President of Communications?   So I was a Director of Ticket Sales for one year and then the next year, the PR guy left and so I had to take over his duties. So I really never got the official title of Communications Director and then after Harris bought the team, I knew I wanted to do communications, that was what I was passionate about. So I went and saw John Greenberg, who was brought along as Team President by Harris and we had some chats and he said, "Well, let's take the ticket sales off of your plate, and you can go be the Vice President of Communications."   And so much more...   Be sure to click the link below to check out The Admirals' website! https://www.milwaukeeadmirals.com/

Corrections (because we don't always get it right when we're recording):1. The Scrabble word Shawn said was "fergulous," not "Fergalicious." But let's be clear - neither are real words.2. The seven dwarves are: Dopey, Grumpy, Sneezy, Sleepy, Happy, Doc and BASHFUL.  Bashful was the missing dwarf we couldn't think of.3. Subsequent map checking confirms that Holland, where Anne Frank lived, is definitely north of France, but it also shares a border with Germany.  So Jane and Olivia were both right.4. Link to Tim Gunn's "Where's Andrae?" moment and Santino's continued impression on "Project Runway": https://youtu.be/FzUH6wjU46A.5.  When Henry and Shawn discuss the caves, Henry said he used to "roust punks" from there.  6. The TV show Olivia would have known Steven Weber from is "iZombie," in which he played the evil CEO of the energy drink company that turned people into zombies.Affiliate link to the song "Waltz of the Little Swans" (Op. 20, Act II) by Tchaikovsky.  If you purchase the song from that link, Jane and Olivia will get a small $ amount (maybe less than a tenth of a penny) for providing you with the link.Jane's podcast recommendation: Friday Five with Lori & JaneWe'd love to get a review of our show!Android users: Psych You Out - TV Podcast | PodchaserApple users: ‎Psych You Out on Apple PodcastsPodcast Music:Pookatori and Friends by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4229-pookatori-and-friendsMighty Like Us by Kevin MacLeodLink: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4050-mighty-like-usLicenses: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Twitter: PsychYouOutPodEmail: psychyououtpodcast@gmail.com

www.janepollak.comTRANSCRIPTDiane Dayton  0:02  This is Changing the Rules, a podcast about designing the life you want to live, hosted by KC Dempster and Ray Loewe, the luckiest guy in the world.KC Dempster  0:11  Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Changing the Rules. I'm KC Dempster. And I'm here with Ray Loewe. And we have a great, great podcast ahead for you. Changing the Rules is about just what our announcer said in the beginning, it's about designing your own life, and then living it to the fullest. And oftentimes, the luckiest people in the world recognize that, in order to design their own life the way they want it, they do have to change rules. And so we like to bring you, our listeners, interesting guests who have changed the rules, and they are now living their best lives, and they're living it to the fullest. So keep coming back. Because it's really, really interesting.Ray Loewe  0:59  Yeah, you know, every week we try and interview one of the luckiest people in the world. And we do that for several reasons. First of all, I get a tremendous amount of satisfaction out of just talking to lively, interesting people and and I'm so motivated, by the time the show's over. And these are the kind of people that I like to hang out with. But I also find that other people who are the luckiest people in the world, you know, life changes all the time. And we need new motivation all the time, and to be able to listen to people like Jane, who we're gonna bring on in a couple minutes. And listen to the way she has restructured her life and the things that she's doing. It's just exciting, and it gives us new ideas, and I want more of that, too. Okay.So so we're gonna take a quick break, and then we're gonna bring back Jane Pollak, one of the luckiest people in the world, and you will understand why by the time we're done so Taylor,Diane Dayton  1:56  You're listening to Changing the Rules with KC Dempster. And Ray Loewe, the luckiest guy in the world. We will be right back with more exciting information.KC Dempster  2:06  Welcome back, everybody. And we're gonna dive right into our interview segment of the podcast, and I'm gonna let Ray introduce Jane.Ray Loewe  2:17  Okay, thank you for the opportunity. So Jane, first of all, is an author. She is a certified coach. She's a speaker, she's given TEDx talks, okay. And she also describes herself as a lifestyle, lifestyle entrepreneur. And, Jane, if you would put up with me, I'd like to start there. Because what is a lifestyle entrepreneur? And how did you get there?Jane Pollak  2:43  Great question. And delighted to be on with the two of you. I was I, I wanted to have balance in my life. And I had started as an art teacher, my husband and I, now ex husband and I met at Columbia Teachers College, university, teachers college, and I was teaching art. And then I started my family many, many, many decades ago. And I wanted to continue to produce art, but I also wanted to stay home. So I had this wonderful craft called pysanky, which is Ukrainian easter eggs. And I decided to make a business out of that, which is not something people encourage you, to do make a business out of decorating eggs, but I was very successful at it. And I said that, rather than me working for my business, my business would work for me. So I had an at home business, it was income for the family, it wasn't the primary income. But it allowed me to do what I wanted to do what I love to raise my kids and to make a contribution to the family. So I did that for 30 years, and then from like, 1973 to 2003. And then I stopped and, you know, went into something else. But it was it was a business for me for all those years while I got to have the balance in my life of being home with my kids.Ray Loewe  3:57  Okay, I think that go, ahead KC.KC Dempster  3:59  Well, I was just gonna say, you know, the concept of making a business out of decorating eggs is absolutely fascinating to me. And how how ornate were they I mean, cuz I'm, I'm imagining Faberge eggs, which of course had gold and jewels and all that kind of stuff. So what Tell me about a Ukrainian easter egg.Jane Pollak  4:20  So it's basically a raw egg with wax and dye, I wrote a book called, Decorating Eggs, Exquisite Designs with Wax and Dye. And it really goes back to advice my father gave us when we were young. He said just you know, if you can be the best at something, you'll own the market. Well, I chose a very small market, you know. However, I exploited it, to the extent like you know, gave a TEDx talk about it. I had eggs in the White House. I wrote a book about it. I created. I was on catalog covers, I I did workshops. I made it work for me and it was a successful business. I you know, was Near six figures for, you know, several years of that, doing many, many different things. I'm very entrepreneurial. And to me an entrepreneur is someone who finds the opportunity. So I just kept finding opportunities of ways to convey it. And one of them became telling my story, if I can make a business out of this, you can make a business out of anything. And, you know, it was a motivational keynote speech, and I became a keynote speaker, and tell people because the remember that book, "Everything I Needed to Know, I Learned in Kindergarten?" yes, I needed to know about business, I learned decorating eggs. And so my second book was sole proprietor, "Sole Proprietor: 101 Lessons from a Lifestyle Entrepreneur" because I learned so much about you know, how to market how to set goals, how to set your pricing, how to I had legal issues, at one point, somebody was imitating my designs. And so, you know, I learned everything any business owner learns, and I conveyed that. So, you know, it was, you know, as a 30 year fabulous career and people it was very memorable.Ray Loewe  6:00  Yeah, and, you know, this is just a perfect example of what you can do if you get excited about something, and you have a skillset that you can use. And my understanding, although I didn't ever see one of your eggs, Jane, do I have to go to the White House to see one?Jane Pollak  6:15  Haha, they're in the Smithsonian? So they're there a couple in the Ronald Reagan collection in Simi Valley? I think it is. So you might find it there. But you can you can find my book on Amazon. It's called Decorating Eggs, Exquisite Designs with Wax and Dye. And there, it's a type of thing Ray and KC, that you'll laugh when I say this, but you know, I would go to a not a cocktail party, but just meet people, because I didn't really get invited to many of those. But they say what do you do? And I'd say I decorate eggs, and they would go look for the next available person.What I learned to do was bring a picture of my eggs and they'll say, Wow, how do you do that? Haha, they are. They're extraordinary. And I would encourage people to you know, look me up. It's Jane Pollak without a C, P-O-L-L-A-K, And on the artist page, there's, you know, their pictures. I was on the flax catalog cover, I was on HGTV I was on the Today Show. They were museum quality works.Ray Loewe  7:15  And you know, you created a book on this and you sold 30,000 copies or somethingJane Pollak  7:20  thirty thousand copies. And that was my first book. And actually, it's in reprint now somebody else bought, I own the rights. And somebody else actually scanned and printed the entire book. So it's available again.Ray Loewe  7:31  Wow. Okay, we may come back and talk about eggs more over. But but there's so much about you, that intrigues me because because you're the perfect example of one of the luckiest people in the world, you first of all, you you sat down and you said, you know, I'm gonna stay home and take care of my kids. But I don't want to do nothing. And I'm an artist. So how do I make this work? And how do I tailor something. And now you've kind of moved on, I don't know whether you got tired of eggs or eggs got tired of you? Or, or maybe you know,Jane Pollak  8:03  Ray, my line is I said everything in eggs I needed to sayRay Loewe  8:07  which is perfect. Because Because this is a pivot point which says, Okay, it's time to move on. I've gotten everything out of this. And you can do this as one of the luckiest people in the world. And, and you've moved on to this whole concept of lifestyle entrepreneur. But before we get there, I have to I have to talk about something, It's called study hall. Now, I don't know if you ever go ahead. Tell us about study.Jane Pollak  8:35  I'll explain it. But I know where you're going. And I saw my acupuncturist yesterday. And I said something about it's the Jewish New Year just started, or Yeah, and I said I wished her happy new year she she's not Jewish, but it's just like that time of year. So I said, it'll be nice when 2020 is over. And she said, why it has been very good to you, you found this new craft that you're doing and also your family has gotten much closer. And you know, because of the pandemic, we're doing weekly zoom calls together with my ex husband and our grown children and grandchildren. So that never would have happened. So I have so much to be appreciative of. And the art form is called Penny rugs. It's another one you have to look at pictures because it doesn't say what it is. But I started I took a class right before we were all quarantined, and fell in love with this craft. And, you know, with anything that you'd love to do, you often don't make time to do it for yourself. And so I created something called a an online creative study hall, where people will join and do whatever project they want to do for and that's how we met was through a woman who wanted to create a operations manual for her business. And so she did 30 hours with me online where we both had our cameras on through zoom. And we work for three, two or three hour chunks, you know, three times a week. So most people don't allow them themselves that that really delightor That structured a time period. But when you do, you go really deep. And somebody was on I started a new one last week and women said she had taken a webinar on writing a book. And the woman, the woman who was leading it said, what everybody needs is a time enforcer. And what my study hall is really a time enforcer or somebody else called it a forcing mechanism. People are paying me to work with me, and I get paid to do the work that I love. So I'll be working for two and a half hours this afternoon sewing while somebody else's. She's downloading a. She's transcribing. I her journals. And that's what she wants to do. But she needs that committed time. And we'll doKC Dempster  10:43  that's so true. You know, when I moved into my current abode, 13 years ago, I had boxes and boxes of photographs. And I my plan was I was going to get them all organized. And there's still a mess.Jane Pollak  10:56  KC there's room in my group.Ray Loewe  10:59  When you know i i'm absolutely fascinated by this. So so you know, this is a quick aside, when are you going to do recess?Jane Pollak  11:07  Well, in between at the top of every hour, we do a little stretch, we do a little shimmy, shake and take a few deep breaths. And that's recess because people really want to make the time count. And there's something very particular when you work for three hours straight, that you go really, really deep in something. Because most of us when it gets the going gets tough. We go to the refrigerator, we make a phone call, we look at our phones, you know, we do something to distract ourselves. But when you're you've committed and do it, you work through those difficulties. Usually your Gremlins come up. An example I gave was when I have a very large egg commission, I was doing an ostrich egg for something. And I was looking for it was for burn survivors. And I was trying to find the phoenix rising from the ashes as the main symbol. And I had committed to this was years ago. Brian Tracy calls it single handling. You know, I'm calling it an online study hall, but to doing two hours on the design, and I couldn't find the image and I couldn't find the image and the voices were saying you might have to give back that deposit. Jane, what Who did you think you were taking this on? But I stayed I stayed with it. And then you know, I was googling images and I found the exact right image and I thought I should charge more for this. This is beautiful.It's really working through that. That gets us to the point of you know, of passing something rather than giving up and distracting ourselves. So I'm actually giving people a real benefit to that. You know that a butt in the chair concept that writers talk about? That's really what it takes.Ray Loewe  12:37  Oh, yeah, it seems it seems dumb that we would need something like that. But we all need an accountability coach. And, and I find I've found different ways of getting mine but without an accountability coach, I don't get my stuff done. So Jane to be commended.Jane Pollak  12:52  Yeah, yeah, no, I do that I do it you know, as well for clients who want to work with me one on one. And, you know, the accountability is I have a client calling this afternoon and she had a phone call to make she had a letter to respond to, you know, she had very specific action steps that she needed to take for this afternoon to report in, because she's paying me She wants to get the value from it. And and people do need that forcing mechanism. So I'm I'm good at motivating myself and I'm really good at helping other people stay motivated.Ray Loewe  13:21  Yeah, so so what's going on in your head here? You know, it's got to be an amazing brain because you started as an artist, okay? You were extremely creative in a way to do an egg by Jane. Okay. You know, you got a book, you got easter eggs out there. And you've you've morphed you've taken your system and you're sharing it with other people now as kind of a lifestyle coach. Mm hmm. Am I right?Jane Pollak  13:47  Absolutely. Absolutely. I what I do in my coaching and I'm certified to coach so it wasn't something I made up I you know, I had a coach and I thought I want to do that. But I'm an artist, how can I do that? Because it transformed my business when I worked with a coach. And then I started taking classes and and learning and then I took on several practice clients. And then I got really good at it got certified, took a leadership training course through the same Institute. And you know, I've been coaching since 2002, which is a long time. A lot of people start and stop and can't find clientele. But I've been fortunate and you know, very lucky person in the world. And I love doing it. I love listening to the intimacy that coaching creates is something that I love having in my business. RightKC Dempster  14:33  now. Do you get frustrated when you're coaching somebody and you're giving them very sound, Very positive leadership, and they just aren't buying it? Yes. So what do you do when that happens?Jane Pollak  14:48  You know, I just heard somebody speaking in another context, and he had really good questions that I'm going to incorporate now. And I think the main question is, what's the cost of you're not doing this? Okay, yeah, like you're getting out of resisting this. What's the you know, what's the benefit to you? Because, you know, whether it's staying in a dead end marriage, and I don't I don't do marriage counseling, but sometimes the writing is just on the wall and people stay because they do. What, you know, what are you gaining from this? So we don't ask why we ask powerful questions like, what, what's in it for you? Right? There's always something, you know, there's always something.Ray Loewe  15:29  Okay, so we have just been through an incredible change. And I think going forward, life is going to continue to be an incredible change. So as we move beyond this COVID thing, what do you see happening with your clients, your life, you know, the, the universe in general. So so when we move into normal 2.0, over here, 2.7, or whatever it's gonna be, I don't think we're going back where we were. And so what's gonna happen with the way you do things and the way you're coaching,Jane Pollak  16:04  I, I feel like I've been onto something for a very long time. And that's, you know, the old do what you love, and the money will follow. I am so happy in my days, I wake up joyfully, I love what I'm doing. I love my coaching, I love my sewing, I love being creative. I love the people, and, and I'm staying home, you know, 90% of the time, you know, I'm in my pool, just reopened at my health club. So I'm basically home and go out for an hour walk. We're I don't, I know that those chains will be loosened. But I think it's really being happy within yourself is the key. And if you can find what makes you happy. And coaching is really a you know, a beneficial tool towards that. I can help people find that it's like what lights you up? You know, that's a prime question. Or talk about a peak experience. When do you remember being really happy in your life? And what was that? And I think people realize, well, I could, you know, I could never do that I could never, you know, not, you know, I can't pay the mortgage. But in fact, people are managing now somehow, where everything has been taken away, or, you know, so much of what we rely on our foundational beliefs have been taken away. I think it starts inside, and our can our connection to ourselves and to other people is what makes me happy. And I believe what makes other people happy. We just throw so many layers on top of that, that we didn't even we don't even realize that that's what we have.Ray Loewe  17:24  Well, you know, unfortunately, Jane, we're at the end of our time, you know, it goes so fast. And you know, we'll have to talk more and maybe get you back on here again. But But I think the the comment I want to make is you very definitely are one of the luckiest people in the world.  you exude confidence, you found your way to do things. And I think as a leader of other people, I you know, I love to kind of hang out with you when I get a chance to do that. Because you're inspiring and motivating. And I really want to do an Easter egg and I can't do Easter eggs...Jane Pollak  18:04  very, very, very good instruction. I think you'll you'll enjoy it. But it's you know, it was republished so you can find it now.Ray Loewe  18:11  Well, and study hall I can do and what a great idea. And you know, thanks for bringing that up. And, and people can reach you through your website. It's very simple, Jane pollak.com. Right.Jane Pollak  18:23  Right. And there's no C and my last name, a lot of people insert a C so it's POLLAK.Ray Loewe  18:27  Yeah. And we're gonna post this with our podcast notes so that people will be able to see it and find you. And, you know, thanks so much for being with us. And Taylor, let's talk to both of you. Let's, let's take a quick break, and then we'll come back and close up.Diane Dayton  18:43  You're listening to Changing the Rules with KC Dempster. And Ray Loewe, the luckiest guy in the world. We will be right back with more exciting information.KC Dempster  18:53  Welcome back, everybody. That was really great talking with Jane. She's so positive and upbeat. And I'm noticing, I believe that there's a trend in the people that we talk to that they are very optimistic, positive, upbeat people.Ray Loewe  19:09  Yeah, and I'm excited from this thing. I mean, you sit there and you to say, Okay, I can't get something done because I just never can get to it and, and the concept of study hall just came out of Jane, you know, and and it's just exciting the way people are doing things. And I think she's absolutely right. You do what you love, and you figure out a way to make it work. And sometimes it's a little difficult, but there's always a way. And that's what the luckiest people in the world do. So we'll see you in a week.Diane Dayton  19:41  Thank you for listening to Changing the Rules, a podcast designed to help you live your life the way you want, and give you what you need to make it happen. Join us in two weeks for our next exciting topics on changing the rules with KC Dempster and Ray Loewe, the luckiest guy in the world.   

TRAILER PARK ‘Tijuana Jackson: Purpose Over Prison’ - In our first trailer off the park this week we find ‘Tijuana Jackson: Purpose over Prison’! This mockumentary film follows writer/director and lead star Romany Malco (the guy from a 40-year-old virgin who says ‘pussy on a pedestal’) as the titular character Tijuana who is recently released from custody prisoner with his sights set on becoming a billionaire. He plans on doing that by becoming a motivational speaker to current inmates and I assume school kids. Building his brand from the ground up isn’t the only challenge for this over the top character as he also has a very observant Parole Officer breathing down his neck and asking about sexual positions?! How inappropriate! Lols. Chomping onto on-demand like a set of obviously fake teeth, July 31st!  ‘She Dies Tomorrow’ - Neon pictures brings us our second trailer this week with the tense, gripping thriller that seemingly flirts with dark humour in ‘She Dies Tomorrow’. The trailer follows Amy and she has a problem: she knows she is going to die tomorrow. Reaching out for help she contacts who friend Jane who comforts her but wakes up with a problem: she knows she is going to die tomorrow. So Jane visits some friends at an awkward dinner party and tells them the great news. Well now they know she is crazy but they all now know that THEY are going to die tomorrow. Do you see what is happening here? The fear of dying TOMORROW is contagious. How far will it spread? Are people actually dying? Jumping onto on demand like an old lady jumping when the lights turn off, August 7.  ‘Endless’ - Well we know what kind of trailer we’re in for when they tout it is from a producer of ‘A Star is Born’. Here we have a vividly dramatic trailer about young lovers Chris and Riley. Madly in love and enjoying an endless summer, we see the adorbs duo get into a little argument in the car and then BAM. Nek Minute, head-on collision. Riley wakes up to see her parents and Chris is chilling there but OH NO, she can’t see or hear him cause he’s dead. So he’s a ghost, she’s a grieving girl and from the afterlife, he like fucks with her and gives her hope they can somehow make that work. Did someone order a pizza with extra ghost dick? Cause she’s getting a delivery! SMASHING its way into theatres like a teenager's car into an accident, August 14!  ‘Fried Barry’ - Now here is a trailer park special! The absolutely INSANE trailer for Fried Barry is almost too crazy to describe, you need to watch this one for yourself. BUT I digress, the film is based on the insanely successful short film of the same name which was a huge film festival favorite. In the trailer, we see Barry, a drugged-up nothing of a man going out for another big bender when all of a sudden, he is abducted by aliens. What follows is what seems to be an alien possession of Barry and his new Alien occupant takes Barry’s body out for a bender and a racer of a good time in the city. Cape Town, South Africa hasn’t had this much to worry about since District 9. Squirting into theatres like the pre-birth out of a hookers vagina (yes I just said that), later this year,  ‘Stage Mother’ - Well here we find a story as old as time! A Baptist church-going Texas mother gets the call she never wanted to hear. Her long lost son across the other side of the country has passed and she must go and make sure he is put to rest peacefully. Seems all fine and dandy until you find out he was outcast by his parents for being a flaming homosexual who owned a Drag Bar and now SHE inherits the bar. But business is down and it’s not looking good until she somehow changes her ways and influences the bar into becoming a singing drag show and here we go! Now they’re off to the DRAG race! Popping into theatres like a surprise penis and testicles in the ladies' room, July 24!    @2c3pod Aussie Pop Culture Podcast ~ 2 Episodes every Wednesday and Friday + YOUTUBE bonus content.  Podbean, Stitcher, Spotify, Apple Podcasts & Youtube Join our Patreon and support the show to gain exclusive access to other goodies!PATREON Twitchwww.twitch.tv/mitchell2c3podwww.twitch.tv/dylan2c3pod Check out our socials to keep in contactTwitter, Facebook & Instagram GET NEW MERCH FROM TEEPUBLIC.COM

In this episode, Jane Carter joins the show. We speak about why your mindset in private practice will change everything, especially during COVID-19. Jane's motto is imperfect action. Instead of experiencing constant panic, we can use this moment to relax and reframe. Jane explains the various ways we can use our time during the coronavirus and why we need to focus on the things that we can control. Meet Jane Carter Jane Carter, LPC is a counselor and business coach from Asheville, NC. Jane has spent the last several years in private practice as a counselor and has recently begun focusing more on business coaching, not only for therapists but other businesses as well.  Her website is: JaneCarterCoaching.com Jane says, “As a therapist, business coach, and life coach, I love helping people navigate the path to achieving their goals for a meaningful life. I apply these principles in my own life in the mountains of Asheville, NC, where I'm an outdoorswoman, world-traveler, dog-mama, food-and-wine lover, reader, and coffee-shop connoisseur. (I'm also known for making up great puns on the fly).” The Mindset in Private Practice We've all got crap. Our job is to help people turn it into fertilizer, which is the work of what all therapists are doing. The way you grow your business can be very healing of some of that deeper stuff without you even realizing it. It just feeds Jane's soul to do this work. It's fun to be with people on this journey. Imperfect Action Jane's motto is imperfect action. Right now, we're recording this podcast during the current virus crisis where we're in lockdown; we are at home. I think a lot of people experienced this kind of sudden panic. Jane put together a mindset checklist of short-term strategies and long-term strategies. A lot of people are feeling overwhelmed at this moment. So Jane hopes that people mostly focus on their mindset right now. To be in business is just to be dealing with the problems that come up regularly. We should relax, reframe, and use this moment. Have a Moment Anxiety and fear make us want to contract and get small and hide under the covers. It's hard to see beyond what we are going to do today, what are we going to do tomorrow? Sometimes we can get into that very reactive place. There are three things we need to do: Look at the big picture. Be intentional. See the expansion at this time. Fear and anxiety want us to contract, and this time may seek to expand us, some amazing things could come out of this time. How can we see an expansion at this moment? Private Practice as a Tool For Spiritual Growth We need to look at the big picture. The big picture is this will pass. Every challenge throughout history has given. The coronavirus will pass, we are going to get through this. Keeping that long view helps us to look at it kind of from a distance and go, okay, so what is our sense of purpose? When we look back at this moment in a couple of years, how do we want to say that we handled it? That's a spiritual thing. Do we want to make decisions from a place of love or a place of fear? When we're looking at the small picture and fear, it's easy to get into those thoughts of, well, how are we going to get the money?  When we look at the big picture, it gives us space to think about how we are serving people. We are here to fulfill our most profound purpose. So, when we go through a crisis, it's an excellent opportunity to think about your “why.” It's a gift to recommit and realign with why we are doing this. Figure Out What You Can Control We need to figure out the things that we can control. And then, the flip side is learning to just be with those feelings, to learn to be with the lack of control, to learn to be present with our grief and our fear, and just kind of allow it and wear it like a backpack. Jane wants to encourage people to be intentional at this time. We need to figure out how we want to use this time and who we want to be at this time? Look at the checklist and start checking things off. We can also be intentional about our goal for this time. What if it's possible that this is the greatest thing for our private practice? Thinking about that question then allows you to start seeing that. Being transparent… Some of the links below are affiliate links.  This simply means that if you use the link to make a purchase, I get a commission at no extra cost to you.  Thanks for using the links!   Jane's Resources Email Jane For Her Free Checklist: jane@janecartercoaching.com JaneCarterConsulting.com Money Mindset in Private Practice | TPOT 005 Finding Your Superpowers in Private Practice | TPOT 038 Other Resources TherapyNotes.com Teachable.com Man's Search For Meaning Financial Tips for Surviving The COVID-19 Crisis The Practice of Therapy Teachable Courses (use code SPRING2020) Money Matters in Private Practice | The Course G Suite for Therapists | The E-Course Session Note Helper Cool Resources Be a Podcast Guest Follow @TPOTpodcast on Instagram Meet Gordon Brewer, MEd, LMFT Gordon is the person behind The Practice of Therapy Podcast & Blog. He is also President and Founder of Kingsport Counseling Associates, PLLC. He is a therapist, consultant, business mentor, trainer, and writer. PLEASE Subscribe to The Practice of Therapy Podcast on iTunes, Stitcher and Google Play. Follow us on Twitter @therapistlearn and Pinterest “Like” us on Facebook

Brian Anderson:               The function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers. Ralph Nader. I am Brandon Anderson and I'm a Tri-Cities influencer. Paul Casey:                         And if we must assume the only thing I would say is to assume positive intent. So if there's a gap between why that person behaved as they did and you don't know the answer, fill in that gap with positive intent and check it out. Speaker 3:                           Raising the water level of leadership in the Tri-Cities in Eastern Washington, it's the Tri-Cities Influencer Podcast. Welcome to the Tri-Cities Influencer Podcast where Paul Casey interviews local leaders like CEOs, entrepreneurs, and nonprofit executives to hear how they lead themselves and their teams so that we can all benefit from their experiences. Here's your host, Paul Casey of Growing Forward Services, coaching and equipping individuals and teams to spark breakthrough success. Paul Casey:                         Thanks for joining me for today's episode with Jane Winslow. She is the creative director and brand strategist of WinSome, Inc. And a fun fact about Jane, she said, if we really get her laughing, we might get a snort. Well, before we begin, let's check in with our Tri-City Influencer sponsors. Neal Taylor:                        Hello. My name is Neil Taylor. I am the managing attorney for Gravis Law's commercial transactions team. The CT team helps business owners, investors, and entrepreneurs accelerate and protect their business value. Today we're talking about employment law and alcohol and cannabis licensing. Josh Bam and Derek Johnson are both here with me now to describe those practice areas. Take it Derek. Derek Johnson:                 Thanks Neil. I'm Derek Johnson, partner at Gravis Law. We find that many employers in Washington State simply don't have handbooks, employee policies, or any other written materials to protect themselves and their employees. Without having these types of policies in place, an employer can run into trouble by firing employees even if the employee isn't properly performing or causing issues at work. Even if an employer fires someone for performance issues, for example, but fails to take the proper steps, they may run into trouble by inadvertently exposing themselves to a wrongful termination suit. We build strong, predictable and protective employee policies to protect our client's business. Josh Bam:                            That's true. Thanks Derek. And having employment policies in place when you're dealing with cannabis or alcohol licensing is especially important. We know that clean employment policies, clean corporate structure, and having an attorney that can work with the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board is critically important to protecting your business through licensing. The attorneys at Gravis Law have this experience. Visit us today, www.gravislaw.com Paul Casey:                         Thank you for your supportive leadership development in the Tri-Cities. Well, welcome Jane. I was privileged to meet you... Boy, how many years ago has that been now? Maybe like eight, seven or eight years ago. Jane Winslow:                   I don't do dates well, so probably. Paul Casey:                         Yeah, I was doing these events called The Edge, where a guy named Preston House who was one of our very first podcast guests. He said, "Let's combine pizza and professional development." And I went, wow, I've never thought of that. But he goes, "I want to platform you and the good stuff you're doing." I thought, wow, I'm just so humbled that you'd be, that sacrificial about it. And we had Edge number one, I think there ended up being 15 of them and Edge number one, he introduced you to me and me to you. Jane Winslow:                   Yes he did. Paul Casey:                         We've been friends ever since. Jane Winslow:                   Yes absolutely. Paul Casey:                         Very cool. Well let's help our Tri-City influencers get to know you. So take us through your past positions that led up to where you are right now. Jane Winslow:                   All right. Well I think my very first job was I had a coloring job at home. I would color pictures for my dad and we would have meetings when he got home from work. My sister was my secretary. I used to file them under the cushions in the couch, but that was my first job. And then he would check in with me at the end of my day. How was your day? And I would, you know, I would ask my dad, how was your day Raymond, because I think I was three possibly at the time. So I have always worked with a lot of different entrepreneurs. Jane Winslow:                   So when I got started working, you know, my dad owned a small business. It was a small family owned insurance company. They've been in business over 110 years now. It's still in the family. I think we're on generation five. And so I'd hear my dad talk about working with small businesses and some of the challenges and things. And as I grew one of my first jobs kind of in my field because I've done a lot of things. I worked for a glass and ceramic decorator, I worked for a truck driving school in the textbook printing division. And when I moved to the Tri-Cities I worked for Eagle Printing. So I kind of came up through print and my degrees in graphic design, and at the time, before Al Gore invented the internet, print was the thing. Paul Casey:                         What did you learn from influencers along the way at some of those positions? Were you associated with some people who became like mentors to you or gave you good advice? Jane Winslow:                   I was really fortunate in my opinion, really fortunate to work with pretty much all small businesses. And when you work in a small business you have the opportunity to work directly with the owner and you get a real sense for what's happening in the business. They share things with you, and they make sure a lot of times, at least the ones that I worked with, they make sure that you understand why what they've asked you to do is important. You know, it may be go clean the conference room table and reset the chairs before this meeting. Why? Why can't somebody else do that? Well, because it makes a difference to make a great first impression. Jane Winslow:                   You know, why should I send this proof to them again? Because they said they needed this by a certain date and that they don't sign off on the artwork, we can't get it ready in time. That's why. So really great communication and all through the way. When I moved to the tri cities and I worked for Dude Bodie and Dave Henry who owned Eagle Printing, worked a lot with Dude Bodie and he said to me, "I want you to treat this division, this department," which was graphic design and fairly new for them, "I want you to run it like it's your own business. You make the decisions, you work with the customers, you send the invoices and you get to collect the money." That part I didn't like so much, but I learned how to do it and he said, "I trust you and when you run into a problem you come to me." Paul Casey:                         I love how you shared a leadership principle there of giving people the why, because if you just bark out orders, people are wondering in their head why anyways, so give them that upfront. That answer, which again creates more of the purpose. It's also like delegating vision where if you just delegate a task, well they might just bang that out, but they're going to be going, "Why am I doing this?" Jane Winslow:                   Exactly. Exactly. And you know, without telling me as you know, this minimum wage employee with absolutely no skill, not at Eagle, but in Indianapolis when I started working, you know, it gave me a bit of a sense of purpose. I felt that the job I was doing was important, that if I wasn't there, there was a noticeable difference. Paul Casey:                         Yeah. Connect tasks to the greater purpose. And that's why people stay engaged at work. And when they're disengaged at work, that's usually a disconnect there. Jane Winslow:                   It's pretty much always the boss' fault. Paul Casey:                         That's right. People keep leaving their bosses, not their companies. Jane Winslow:                   Yes. Paul Casey:                         Well, when you created this business, what was your original vision and then how has that sort of morphed along the journey? Jane Winslow:                   You know, it's been interesting. So I quit my job at Eagle Printing and I quit because I wanted to do more design work, the kind of design and the kind of printing that Eagle wasn't doing in house, but that the customers were asking for. So I saw a need that they couldn't actually fulfill. So I left and I thought, well, this will be great. Maybe I'll start a family, you know, I'll do all these things. Well, inside 10 months, I had a few clients that followed me, and inside 10 months we were so busy, I had hired five people. We were working in an eight by eight, I'm bad with measurements, could have been 10 by 10, bedroom in my house. Jane Winslow:                   When one person had to get up and leave the room, everybody had to get up and leave the room in single file. It was really that hilarious. But I thought start a family. So we finally had to move out. Eagle Printing actually came to me and offered me my old space to run my business because the person they hired to replace me was leaving and they knew I was looking for space. So they actually let me come back and run my business in my old office, which was kind of cool. Little did I know I was pregnant. Had no idea. Jane Winslow:                   So it's really morphed into something completely different. You know, we've been very fortunate that our clients have come to us over 22 years through other client referrals and things that they've seen people, people have seen us doing in the community. So we haven't had to do a lot to drive business. And a lot of times I really feel like I'm holding onto the tail of a wild animal that is dragging me. And sometimes it's really nice when it slows down enough that I can say, "Okay dog, we're going this way." You know, and kind of make a few more strategy plans where you say more, I want more of this kind of customer and less of this kind of customer and so you start navigating. But it has been quite the whirlwind, which is funny because it's been 22 years of whirlwind. Paul Casey:                         Yeah, that's a great way to describe the entrepreneur journey. Holding onto the tail of a wild animal. We're along for this ride. But that's what makes it fun too, right? Every day is different. Jane Winslow:                   Every day is different. Every day is a new challenge. Every day is a new adventure and I'm the kind of person that I love challenges. I'm not somebody that is afraid of change or challenges. I love challenges. Let's solve a problem. I love puzzles. Paul Casey:                         What are you most passionate about in your business right now and why? Jane Winslow:                   My team. I have the absolute best people surrounding me. They're multi talented, hardworking, they care about each other, they care about me, they care about the business, they care about the client, they care to be engaged with the client. Every one of my people treats the business as though it is their own. In fact, frequently I have been introduced by a client to someone else who introduces my staff member as the owner because they think that they're working with the owner when it's- Paul Casey:                         That's cool. Jane Winslow:                   One of my staff members and it just, and it's awesome. And I don't usually correct them, plus it's important and somebody had to sign a check. But you know, I think it's fantastic. I get such incredible reviews from my people. Different people lead different projects and I get so much great feedback from them. They love each other, they love the company, they love me, they love the clients. And that creates an incredible atmosphere to work in. Paul Casey:                         It does. And how did you get such great people? I mean what did you look for in the hiring process? And we're not going to say their names because then they're going to get poached away. No, no, just kidding. Just kidding. Just kidding. Jane Winslow:                   Stay off my website. Paul Casey:                         But what do you look for to create a culture that you have this wonderful team right now? Jane Winslow:                   Well, I can tell you I've done it wrong a lot of times. Frequently I have hired for resume experience or the look in their portfolio and those things. But what I have found is that if I hire for fit and I know they have the skills, everything else falls into play. You know, I need people that feel the way that I do about them, that feel the way that we all feel about each other and that feel good about coming to work and putting their skills to the best possible use for the client. Because we've got a culture and I don't know, a work environment of everybody is willing to pitch in at any time. Jane Winslow:                   If somebody finds themselves with kind of a lack of things to do in the afternoon because so many things are out with clients waiting bids, they visit every single person. "Do you have anything that I can help you with?" Every single day. It's awesome. It's really an awesome experience and I haven't always had that. You know, I've had people that are secretive, that are undermining, that allow their personal life to come in and dominate the workplace and it's just... It pulls everybody down. Paul Casey:                         So those people were not in the right seat on the bus as Jim Collins would say. Jane Winslow:                   True. Paul Casey:                         And so how did that come to your attention where you realize this is not a good fit? This does not fit the culture I'm trying to create here? Jane Winslow:                   Well, when I start seeing my staff struggle to tell me something because you know, I do have an office, it is an environment, I am the boss. And so sometimes they struggle with, do I really want to tell her she made a bad decision here, you know? And I have always encouraged them to be open and honest with me and I've told them sometimes I'm going to do what I want to do anyway. But just like I tell my clients when I advise them and they say, "I'm going to do the thing you told me not to do anyway." When it blows up, they come back to me and say, "You were right." Well, same thing in the office. So if I make a bad call, they find sudden... Well subtle ways to let me know that this isn't working. And if they're very concerned, they come out and tell me and we can either try to work with that person or that person needs to go. I've gotten a lot better about pulling the trigger on the person just needs go. Paul Casey:                         Mm-hmm (affirmative). Very difficult day to let somebody go. Jane Winslow:                   It is. It is. But I can tell you that most of the time when I have let someone go, they have come back and thanked me for it, which is a weird position to be in, but it's nice. Because I don't, not an angry fire person. I'm not. It's just not the right fit. It's not working for what we need at this time. And you know, we try to mitigate some of those things beforehand, but if it just isn't going to work, it isn't going to work. And ultimately people spend most of their life at work. You need to be doing the things that make you happy. You need to be doing the things that you're good at and you need to feel valuable and you need to feel part of a team. Jane Winslow:                   And if you don't feel that way, if you're not happy going to work, you don't really want to be there anyway. It's not about the paycheck. It's really about cultivating a life that you want to live. So you're dragging me down and we're dragging you down. This isn't working. You know, I know you need a job, we all need a job. I would be happy to give you a great recommendation and a great reference and I'll help you find something if I can. Paul Casey:                         Yeah, that probably means you did it well. If they come back and thank you after getting let go. Jane Winslow:                   Hopefully. We're all learning, we're always learning. Paul Casey:                         Well I'll take that rabbit trail. So then there's people on your team that do fit the culture. But they might be in the wrong seat on the bus. In other words, you've probably had to move people into different roles, responsibilities. Talk to me about maybe situations where that happens. Jane Winslow:                   So one of the tools that my coach gave me- Paul Casey:                         Who's that? Jane Winslow:                   Who may or may not be Paul Casey. So one of the tools that you recommended a long time ago was the StrengthsFinder test and a long time ago was probably a year ago. So you recommended that we do that. And so my whole team did it and we found it really, really cool. We're all nerds at heart, we love data, we love compare, contrast, those kinds of things. I mean we're designers so a little bit of friction is good, right? So we came up with our top five strengths, excuse me, we put them all out on a board. We looked at where people matched and where people were standing alone in a strength. Alysha, who's my office manager, printed out top five strengths for every single person with a picture and our name on it. And it sits on everybody's desk every single day and we've all learned what all those strengths mean and so it's been really, really nice to figure out and apply to our work what skills are needed for this type of project. Jane Winslow:                   Why when I say Lynette thinks differently than I do, how awesome that is because I don't want people that think exactly like me on a creative team. I want more ideas because more ideas is better options for the client and better results, right? So we've got more things to choose from. So it has really helped. And then conversely, if I've tried to ask an employee who seem to have more time or bandwidth to do something that I needed to delegate and then comes back to me and says, "I'm really not strong in this area, I want to help tell me which pieces I should do and then when to hand it off, because I think that Vanessa would be better than this, or Michael or Nathan." And it's been great. It's been really great. It's been a great communication tool and a great learning tool. Paul Casey:                         Let's stay on that staff topic. How do you keep your staff inspired and affirmed? Jane Winslow:                   So one thing is, two of the people on my team decided to make themselves into the sunshine committee, which is awesome because everybody needs a little joy or a lot. And so they plan monthly events for staff. Now, depending on where we are and how busy we are or what budget is, you know, sometimes they're office potlucks and they'll have a theme or sometimes we go out, we'll go to a movie, we're all nerds. So we all went and saw the Spider-Man movie together. We also saw the Men in Black movie together, you know, we also seen Avengers: Endgame. We had to see that in stages. But you know, we go out and we do things, we go to the Americans game and we go out to dinner and we do things together. Jane Winslow:                   We all really like each other, which we have been told, I've been told numerous times by clients and vendors both, it's really weird how much you all actually get along. I'm so used to going into offices where everybody's super happy and then they're dissing each other, you know, on the back. And that doesn't happen with these people. That doesn't happen with my team and that's reiterated with clients. The other thing is transparency. I am overly open and honest with my team about exactly what's going on in the business. Good, bad, ugly, all of it. They know. I personally believe because I have been on the receiving end of this as a staff person, when the boss is really upset, the boss is in a bad mood, the boss is constantly locking themselves in their office or storming in and out and it doesn't have time for anybody. You're short with people. I don't ever want to be that person. Jane Winslow:                   I've worked for horrible managers, none of whom I've talked about today, so don't go looking. I've worked for those people and I don't like it. I don't like the culture. I don't like going into work scared every day. I don't want to be afraid for my job. I want people to know. And what's great about this is that when my team knows, my team all pulls together to help every way they can. And when it's a great thing, they are all on board with celebrating. Everybody loves to party. But they get it and they get that work comes first and they get that this is how we have fun and we have lots of opportunities and we want to do something that everybody will enjoy. But we also want to push people to try new things. So, it's good. Paul Casey:                         A spirit of celebration. Jane Winslow:                   Yes. Paul Casey:                         Well no one wants to get stale in their leadership. So how do you stay relevant? How do you stay on the cutting edge yourself and how do you foster innovation in a creative company? Jane Winslow:                   So as I said, we're all nerds, so we all are looking and trying to develop new skills, looking into other uses for software. We all love to look at different marketing trends and we all kind of do that in our own way. Look at different creative tools, look at different drawing tools. You know, what are the trends and not that I care really what the trends are because I would rather be different. You know, but looking at what's going on and even different industries because we do a lot of work in healthcare, we do a lot of work in construction, we do a lot of work in arts and in education. So looking at what things are going on there, so in terms of research and just being aware. I'm in your mastermind group, the small business mastermind, which I absolutely love. I'm in a BNI chapter, I'm in the dream team right now, but I know and network with several of the other chapters as well. Jane Winslow:                   I'm in several different Facebook groups that are groups for entrepreneurial women or local business owners or graphic designers or restaurant groups because we've got a product that's specifically for restaurants and entertainment venues. I do some of the more laid back networking events like chamber and Link and just some different things. And then I've got a network with my clients. I talk to my clients. I love to learn what's going on in their industries and how it can apply to my industry or how I can put that client with another client and come up with something new. And then I've got a really great group of fellow business owners that I call brain trust and it's good to just really look, and I use the mastermind group that way as well, as these people that are leaders in their fields who are seeing different things that I'm seeing. We look at trends, we look at, you know, buying habits. We look at all kinds of different things, but they're just great resources. Paul Casey:                         People, people, people. I mean you just really- Jane Winslow:                   Yeah there's always people. Paul Casey:                         I mean you just mentioned dozens of people in your life that you surround yourself with to grow from. Jane Winslow:                   Yes. Yes. I am an active learner. I am a hands on, active learner. I love to read, but I don't make time for it anymore because I would rather be able to ask questions back because that's how I process information. I process it best that way. My brain is already engaged and I want to know why. And so instead of writing a thousand questions in the margins of a book as I go through it or talking to the air or my dog on a podcast, I am an active, engaged networker. Paul Casey:                         Extrovert, you. Jane Winslow:                   Yes, maybe a little. Paul Casey:                         Well, before we head to our next question on what makes a great day at work and at home for Jane, let's shout out to our sponsors. Paul Casey:                         Jason Hogue, American Family Insurance. Jason, what is the biggest pushback you get about life insurance? Jason Hogue:                     Hey Paul. Yeah. One of the biggest push backs I get from life insurance is from folks that are single. They usually ask me, "Why do I even need this? I don't have kids. I don't have, you know, any dependents or a spouse. Why do I need this?" Ultimately whenever you pass on, there's going to be somebody there to pick up the pieces. There's going to be somebody to deal with your affairs and I would say it's your responsibility to make sure that there is funds, that there's money there so that person can take the time needed to go through it properly and not make it their responsibility. Paul Casey:                         Awesome, Jason. So tell us how can our listeners get in touch with you? Jason Hogue:                     You can swing by our office on Road 68 and Pasco, or give us a call. (509) 547-0540. Paul Casey:                         So Jane, what makes it a good day? Just overall for you personally and on a good day at work, you look back at the end of the day and you go, "It was really a good day today." What happened in that day? Jane Winslow:                   I love new client meetings, absolutely love new client meetings. I love to learn about a business. I don't care if I have five clients or 10 clients that do the same thing. I love to learn about a business. I love to learn their story. I love to learn their why, because those are the things that truly make marketing a unique experience for them. You know, we work with a lot of real estate agents and I asked them what makes you different? And they all tell me exactly the same thing. Exactly. Well, excellent service and I'm very attentive to detail. And they are. They are. So I don't want to belittle that, but that's not what makes them different. Jane Winslow:                   What makes different is why they chose real estate. What is their passion? Give me some stories of your favorite customers because now we get back to the why. You know, in the mortgage industry and the banking industry and the insurance industry, in education, it doesn't matter what it is. We all believe the brochure copy that we're doing, all the script, not the copy I wrote, by the way, we all believe we're doing this great service. But at the end of the day, your passion for why you do what you do is what makes you unique. It is what makes you special. And it is the thing that people respond to. Paul Casey:                         It's not that I've been in business since 1985? Jane Winslow:                   It is actually not. In fact, if you have a meeting with me, and you give me that information as something you'd like in your brochure. What are the words I will say to you, Paul? Paul Casey:                         Nobody cares. Jane Winslow:                   Nobody cares but you. Paul Casey:                         So that's a great reminder. It's the why. Jane Winslow:                   It's the why. Paul Casey:                         It's the why. So it makes it a good day for you when you get to meet with those clients and brainstorm and attack their challenge and- Jane Winslow:                   Yes. Yes. And it's energizing. I absolutely love it. That's my favorite part of it. Paul Casey:                         Well, take us behind the scenes of your life a little bit. What's your best habit and what's your worst habits? Jane Winslow:                   All right. Personally or professionally? Paul Casey:                         Yes. Jane Winslow:                   Oh no. Okay. So personal best habits, I drink a ton of water, I eat clean, I take my vitamins and I have a wicked awesome skin care regimen. So those are good things. You know the things every woman is supposed to do. But my worst habits, I'm a pack rat, not hoarder level, but I do have all of my projects from college. I graduated a thousand years ago and I still have all of them there. Yeah, it's kind of ridiculous. I'm not hoarder level, but it could get that way. Paul Casey:                         You've given stuff to Goodwill, I know this. Jane Winslow:                   I have, I have, I've gotten rid of a lot of clothes. So professionally I am very honest. I'm very honest with clients and I do, I can usually tell when they kind of are not ready for the truth but they're asking me my honest opinion and I tell them, "You are paying me for my advice and my recommendations. This is what I see, this is what I recommend." And if they come back at me and say, "Yeah, no, I really want to do it this way." That is okay. You're the client, it's your budget. We're going to do the best we can in that direction. Jane Winslow:                   And then if it doesn't work and they come back and, "You were right, we should probably do the other thing instead." And sometimes I'm wrong. It has happened a couple of times. Not totally wrong, but kind of a, well this was pretty amazing that this works. Let's try that again and let's grow this way now because we saw some increase in revenue, let's add this other strategy and see what happens. And 11 times out of 10, the second strategy takes off way better than the first one. But it's important that the business owner is engaged. They know more about their business than I ever will. And that's important. I only want to work with people that are engaged in their businesses and care about the direction it goes and their why. It is their why. And that's important. And if their big why is that we've been in business since 1920, I will work with it. I can absolutely work with it. Paul Casey:                         But you found the direct approach is the best approach. You're not going to schmooze them, you're not going to try to sell them other stuff. You're going to shoot straight with them. Jane Winslow:                   Exactly. Paul Casey:                         This is what I think is going to make you successful. Jane Winslow:                   Exactly. And I'm really good at leaving money on the table quite frankly. I would rather somebody come to me with a realistic budget and then we say, in fact, I had a client meeting today and she gave me her budget and I said, "I know you can do a lot of the pieces, the execution work that I'm going to recommend and what I would like to do is factor that into my proposal to say, you'll handle this once I give you the tools to do it and use your budget for these other things that I know you can't do. But I don't want to just take all this for you and have you at the end of the day say I could have done 75% of that myself." So trying to help people use their budget and hire the experts for the pieces that they can't do or don't want to do or just have me make it easier for you to deploy it. That's what I want. Paul Casey:                         Those are three good outsourcing rules of thumb. You said can't do, don't want to do and was the third one? Jane Winslow:                   Well, it takes too long. I mean, I like to make it easier for them. It's like, let's just tighten this up and make it easier for you so that it is super easy for you to create that brochure within these tools that I've given you. Paul Casey:                         How about a favorite quote, Jane? Jane Winslow:                   Favorite quote? Well, this is on my screen at my office is, "Empowered women empower women." And I am, not that I have anything against you guys out there, I totally don't. I have a lot of male clients too so, and colleagues, but women business owners are a very strong vertical who don't believe enough in themselves. And as a female entrepreneur doing far more than I ever thought that I would as far as growth in my business. And, and I mean sideways and vertically because I mean, you know, I've got a lot of different pieces going on. But we all struggle, men and women actually, with this self doubt and we need each other to hold each other up and support each other and learn from each other and network with each other. And I think women in particular don't want to be seen as vulnerable or failing or anything else. Jane Winslow:                   Men don't either, but it's a little bit different because women an awful lot of the times, you know, we have to be successful mom, we have to be successful wife, we have to be successful boss, business owner, networker, colleague, vendor, salesperson, all the things. And I think that our ownership of all the things as a woman is different than the ownership of all the things for men. I think that men see them as different size responsibilities and women see them all as huge and full-time. Paul Casey:                         And that can be overwhelming. Jane Winslow:                   Yeah, absolutely. So I mean I know I struggle with it and I've got a great team of people around me and that is the secret. Paul Casey:                         And that's why we have to keep pumping each other up because who knows that that positive comment, "You can do this," is going to take that person and push past that obstacle. Jane Winslow:                   Exactly. Exactly. Paul Casey:                         How about favorite book that everybody should read? Jane Winslow:                   So my favorite book or the one that has I think impacted my style first and foremost is Eat That Frog, which is what, 12 pages? Paul Casey:                         Oh yeah. Jane Winslow:                   I think it's maybe, you know. It's a super fast read, but of course the gist is, do the hard, awful thing first. You know, if you get up every day and eat the frog and just do the worst possible thing, the thing you're dreading first and get it out of the way, the rest of the day is so much easier. And it's hard because sometimes that eating the frog thing, it's the really long thing that you can't make time for and you have made it up into this giant thing in your head. And if you just get through it, everything else is so much easier. Paul Casey:                         Yup. I'd rather cross off all those little things that give us the endorphin rush. But if we get the one big thing done, oh. Then we get so much more done after that. Jane Winslow:                   That's true. Paul Casey:                         It's just like a snowball effect in a good way. How about an influencer in town that Tri-Citians should meet? Jane Winslow:                   So I don't spend a lot of time looking at other business people and what they're doing and how they're doing it and try to figure it out and modeling myself after that. I'm just not that person. I've never been that person. And I try to not get externally competitive. I'm very competitive with myself. So I asked some friends, you know, it's like, okay, I know Paul's going to ask me this question, what should I say? And four out of five of them said, "You, it's you." Okay, so we're just going to answer this way. Well, thanks. But why? I'm like, okay, really? It's like, yeah, why me? Jane Winslow:                   They said, "Well, you're a power networker and you see solutions that other people can't see. And your ability to collaborate and put people together to make something completely different happen is unlike anybody else in the Tri-Cities. What you do with your clients and your friends and your power groups is completely different. And it sends businesses in a completely different direction and elevates them in a way that traditional marketing can't do and doesn't do or hasn't done." Paul Casey:                         Yeah, I would totally describe you as a connector. Totally. Jane Winslow:                   Thank you. Paul Casey:                         Totally. This person, I know this person over here. And of course that's how BNI is built. Givers gain. Jane Winslow:                   It is. Well, and that's what attracted me to BNI. Dana Mundy and I started BNI in the Tri-Cities, so a thousand years ago. I'm bad with dates, so I don't know however long it's been in the Tri-Cities, Dana and I started it. And really Dana started it. She researched networking groups and she came to me and called me and said, "Hey, would you join this?" I'm like, yeah, sure. I'll come and check it out. I didn't realize I was the second call and that we were doing this together, so I- Paul Casey:                         And nine chapters later or whatever it's at now- Jane Winslow:                   I don't know how many there are now. But it was a natural fit for me. It was just a natural fit because that's how I work anyway. So yeah, I would be a power connector in BNI. Paul Casey:                         If you left a letter on your desk for the leader who comes after you at WinSome, Inc., what would it say? Jane Winslow:                   Run! No. Seriously, if I were to leave my desk tomorrow, with the current team in place, I would tell the new me to love these people, trust them, encourage them and be honest with them that they will push this company to new heights and you just get to enjoy the view and ride the wave. Paul Casey:                         Great letter. All right. Finally, what advice would you give to new leaders or anyone who wants to keep growing and gaining more influence? Jane Winslow:                   Well, I think it's kind of been the theme of this podcast and that would be network. Get out of your own head. I frequently when in our masterminds, we've got a couple of people in the masterminds that are really good at telling me that I am the one in my own way. And it's really hard as a business owner because we're responsible for everything. We're product, we're development, we're staff, we're office, we're bills, we're management, we're vision, we're mission, we're everything. We're absolutely everything. We are the lifeline. Jane Winslow:                   So get out of your own head to get out of your way. Surround yourself with people that you trust, who look at things differently than you do and have a different skillset. There's no business that can succeed by itself in a vacuum. You can't be successful personally and professionally doing everything yourself, you know? So create that brain trust. When I worked for Eagle Printing, my boss said to me, you know, "You need to surround yourself with people who can do things that you can't do." You know, ask them questions and let them ask you questions because you are an expert in your field. Ask them questions. Work together. Don't be afraid of the competition. Learn how to work with the competition. Jane Winslow:                   We all have our own whys. I have a lot of competition in the Tri-Cities, but I do things differently than they do even though we technically, just like a real estate agent, offer exactly the same services. You know, why work with me? You've got to understand who your brain trust people are and they'll be honest with you, especially if you're sharing with them and they're sharing with you. Be honest with me. Tell me when I'm in my own way and I've got some great people that are really good at that. Paul Casey:                         Fantastic. Well, how can our listeners best connect with you? Jane Winslow:                   So you can find, let's see. I don't even know the answer to that question. So we've got a website winsomedesign.com W-I-N-S-O-M-E design.com. We've got a Facebook page, WinSome, Inc., and my phone numbers are on there. My office is at 1201 Jadwin in Richland. There. Paul Casey:                         Excellent. Well thanks again for all you do to make the Tri-Cities a great place and keep leading well. Jane Winslow:                   Thank you. Paul Casey:                         Let me wrap up our podcast today with a leadership resource to recommend, actually it's more of a personal resource to recommend and some of the clients I have are thinking about, well I just need a hobby. You know, I just need something to lighten up my life. And so I found a website that's called notsoboringlife.com. notsoboringlife.com/list-of-hobbies. List of hobbies. And it's like 308 hobbies. If you're just thinking, I have got to try something new, I've got to stop working, not be a workaholic anymore. I need a new hobby. Check out notsoboringlife.com, list of hobbies. And don't forget to consider patronizing our sponsors of Tri-City influencer, Gravis Law and Jason Hogue, American Family Insurance. Finally, one more leadership ticket for the road to help you make a difference in your circle of influence. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "It is one of the most beautiful compensations of this life that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself." Keep growing forward. Speaker 3:                           If you enjoyed this podcast or it piqued your interest in learning more about leadership and self leadership, you can continue to glean from Paul and his Growing Forward Services. Check out Paul's blog and the products, tips and tools on his website at www.paulcasey.org and opt in to his Target Practice inspirational e-newsletter. You'll get his 33 top tips for becoming a time management rockstar when you subscribe and consider buying one of his three books. The most recent one being Leading the Team You've Always Wanted. Paul Casey:                        This podcast has been produced by Bonsai Audio at Fuse Coworking Space.  

Have you ever walked through the woods a little bit chilly and felt the unexpected warmth from a different breeze? That is how our kindness touches the world around us. The fruit of kindness, when produced in us by the Holy Spirit, has such a tremendous impact—in a world of harsh, jagged edges, kindness is smooth. Join me as we dig into week two of the MSI Bible study on the Fruit of the Spirit! Transcribed version of the podcast is below Today’s Scripture Writing Challenge Verse * Romans 12:14-21 Resources Mentioned In Podcast * MomStrong International * Scripture Writing Challenge * My Events Calendar * Homeschooling for Rookies Scripture Mentioned in Podcast * Proverbs 19:22 * Romans 2:4 * Psalm 17 * Psalm 23 * Romans 12:10 * Romans 12:16-21 Join us at MomStrong International for our newest Bible Study and Scripture Writing! Submit your questions to MailBox Monday: podcast@thebusymom.com Don’t Miss These! TRANSCRIPTION: Hey everybody. This is Heidi St. John. Welcome to the Heidi St. John podcast. Today is Wednesday, August 14th, this is episode number 805 and we’re going to be digging into the MomStrong International study this week. The topic is kindness and how it can change a generation.  Stick around,  I think you’re going to be encouraged So I want to say happy birthday to my friend Jane Lambert. Jane is the author of Five In A Row and one of my most favorite people on the entire planet. So Jane, my friend. Happy Birthday. Wish I was there to hug you in person, but I will be there pretty soon because Jane and her hubby Steve live in Kansas City. I’m going to be traveling to Lee’s Summit, Missouri— just outside of Kansas City— for my women’s conference Faith that Speaks and that will be happening at Abundant Life Church on August the 24th. I hope you guys are going to come out and see me. I cannot wait to see what God is doing in your life and to spend the day with you. After that. I’ll be in Fredericksburg, Virginia on September 14th and then in my neck of the woods on October 11th and 12th in Vancouver, Washington— early bird tickets for that event end on September 2nd. Before I get any farther today into it, I want to just tell you that I’m doing something very special in just a few days. On Monday the 19th of August, I’m going to be holding a live webinar called Homeschooling for Rookies. I get so many questions about homeschooling this time of the year, particularly for people who are just starting out—and so I’m going to be coming online and teaching homeschooling for rookies for you. You can find out more about that in the show notes. Feel free to reach out to me if you guys got questions for the podcast podcast@thebusymom.com. We’d love to hear from you. Also, I would love to hear from you via snail mail. You can reach out to me at Heidi St. John c/o Firmly Planted Family 11100 NE 34th Cir, Vancouver, WA 98682.   This is the MomStrong International Bible study week. A couple of things I want to tell you about the study. We’ve been studying the fruits of the Spirit all summer long... --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/heidistjohn/support

Jane:                                  Hi everyone, welcome to episode five of Getting Personal: A Mix of the Harsh. I'm Jane Ferguson an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and chair of the FGTB Professional Education and Publications Committee. This month we start off by discussing a topic that isn't strictly scientific but may have just as big of an impact on your career as your science, mentoring. I'll talk to Anna Pilbrow from the FGTB Early Career Committee on how you can find the right mentor for you. And if you've been around long enough that you know longer need any more mentoring, keep listening as we would love you to sign up to become a mentor and share your wisdom with the next generation. Then I'll talk to Naveen Pereira from Mayo Clinic, about some of the papers we've been reading this month.                                            So I'm here with Anna Pilbrow, who is a member of the FGTB Early Career Committee. So welcome Anna, and could you take a moment to introduce yourself? Anna Pilbrow:                  Thanks Jane sure. So I'm a senior research fellow at the Christchurch Heart Institute at the University of Otago in Christchurch, New Zealand, and I'm really interested in trying to understand the mechanisms underlying inherited susceptibility to heart disease and also trying to find new biomarkers that predict incident cardiovascular events in asymptomatic people. And it's those interests really that lead me to the FGTB Council and to becoming involved in the Early Career Committee. Jane:                                  Yeah that sounds really interesting and as part of your involvement in the FGTB Council I know you've been doing a lot of outreach and today we're here to talk about mentoring. So mentorship is something that I think we all recognize is really crucially important but sometimes the mentor-mentee relationship can fall short of people's expectations, it can subject both mentees and mentors to a lot of frustration. So is this something that you've been hearing from Early Career members? Anna Pilbrow:                  Yes, yes. Unfortunately, stories of mentoring relationships going wrong is something we hear all too often. I should stress that there are many wonderful mentors out there, but there are also plenty of empty mentors and that's something that we all need to be aware of. Jane:                                  Absolutely. You know this podcast is focused mostly on personalized medicine, but I think personalization and precision are things that we also need to apply to our careers. So I've heard the excellent advice that you should seek out multiple mentors, really as many as you can handle. I think most of us would never say, "I already have a friend. I don't need another one." You know but some people think that, "Oh I have a mentor, I'm good." But, I think even if you have a supervisor who does act as your mentor, which not all supervisors do also act as mentors, but even in that case I think it's still important to try to find other mentors who can offer different perspectives.                                            You know even, very wise senior mentors are limited by their own experiences and their own implicit biases, they can never give you everything that you need and I think they shouldn't. That's not what a mentor should do. So in an ideal scenario, people I think would build up their own personalized network of mentors spread across different locations, who can each offer something unique on an as-needed basis. But, as a junior person it can be really intimidating to go up to someone and just ask them to mentor you, which I think it can be sort of like asking a complete stranger to be your new best friend, which isn't always the most comfortable interaction. But, are there any ways to make that process easier? So say you're early in your career and you'd like to find a mentor, how would you go about doing that? Anna Pilbrow:                  Oh gosh, that's a great question. I completely agree with all you've said and this is exactly why the Early Career Committee has initiated the FGTB Mentoring Program. So as an Early Career member, all you have to do is sign up and we'll do the rest. Jane:                                  Well that sounds fantastic. Can you explain more about how that process works and what's required? Anna Pilbrow:                  Sure. So the aim of the FGTB Mentoring Program is to connect Early Career members within the council to a senior or a peer mentor also from within the council, and the senior and peer mentors will have expertise in the field of functional genomics and translational biology, and they'll also have expertise in the area that the individual want mentoring in. So if you're looking for a mentor, or you'd like to be a mentor, all you need to do is fill out a short form on our website. The full web address is really long and I actually find it easiest to get the add simply by Googling AHA FGTB Mentoring Program, or you can go to the FGTB council webpage, click on the early career tab and if you scroll all the way down to the bottom you'll get to a link that will take you to the Mentoring Program page. And so once you're on that page, you'll find the links to the mentee and mentor application pages.                                            And one tip I have for Early Career members looking for a mentor, is to think quite carefully about the kind of mentoring that they want. Is it particular aspects of their career development? Things like grant writing, maybe applying for their first job? Or is it more technical things to do with a particular experimental design or something like that? And Early Career members can be really specific when they fill out that form on the website, that will help us match them with the best mentor that has the expertise in that field.                                            And so once it's set up a match between a mentee and a mentor, what we would typically expect is that the mentoring relationship would last between sort of four to six months, and during that time we'd expect there to be regular contact between the mentor and the mentee, and that can be either by phone or email or some other electronic communication. Ideally, we'd really like the mentor and the mentee to make face-to-face at least one time during that four to six month period. So, a great way to do that is to meet up at a conference such as AHA Scientific Sessions and once the four to six months is completed, then we ask the mentor and the mentee to complete a short exit survey so we can get some feedback on how things have gone. I must say, I've been delighted with the positive feedback we've received so far with the program. Jane:                                  That sounds really really great. So who do you think could benefit from taking part in this program? Anna Pilbrow:                  Everybody. Absolutely everybody. So the advantage of this program is that mentees are individually matched with their mentors so that each match should uniquely address the requirements of that mentee. And so, because you can enter exactly what you're looking for when you sign up so you have the best chance of being matched with someone who can help. So one particularly unique aspect is that we have peer mentors as well as the senior mentors, and sometimes you know someone who's just a little bit ahead of where you are now can actually offer you really valuable advice and give a really neat perspective you know compared with somebody who is many years or decades ahead of you in their career. And the other thing I'd mention is that to encourage FGTB members who live outside of the U.S. to also apply to this program. So I'm based in New Zealand and sometimes that makes me feel a little bit isolated compared with colleagues in other countries around the world, and this program really is a great way you know for everybody to expand [inaudible 00:08:04] and become engaged with the council no matter where you are. Jane:                                  I think that's a really great point and it sounds like a great program. So the peer mentoring thing is interesting to me as well. How would you know if you should sign up as a mentee or a peer mentor? Anna Pilbrow:                  Oh that very much depends on what you need, and it's important to remember that you can actually do both. So, if you're still early in your career, you can still offer something to people who are just behind you and would really love to have you become a peer mentor. But that doesn't also mean that you can't be a mentee yourself and be matched with a senior mentor of your own. Jane:                                  So is there a limit to how many mentors you can be matched with through the program? Anna Pilbrow:                  Absolutely not. So we ask that mentors and mentees try the relationship out for four to six months and to try a face-to-face meeting at AHA Sessions in November for example or some other time. And if that doesn't work out or if you just want another mentor, you can sign up again the following year. So there's absolutely no limit to how many times you can sign up and additionally, if you're looking for mentorship in several distinct areas and need a few mentors simultaneously, that's fine as well. So just let us know that when you sign up and we'll try to find appropriate mentors for you. Jane:                                  That sounds great. So I know registration for the AHA Sessions in November just opened up, but people are probably just starting to plan their trips. So what can they do now? Anna Pilbrow:                  Right. It's a great time to start thinking about this. So if you're early in your career and you want general mentorship on navigating AHA Sessions or career planning or if you are looking for specific mentorship in a given topic area, sign up now to become a mentee. And if you're further along in your career and you've developed expertise that could be useful to others, it'd be great for people to sign up as a mentor. So, make sure that you thinking about Sessions coming up, make sure that you schedule time to meet with your mentor or mentee during the meeting. And also, this is a great time to also sign up and plan to attend the early career day which is held the day before the main meeting on Saturday November 10. Jane:                                  So if when people have signed up, do you have any advice for people who are going through the program? Anna Pilbrow:                  That's a great question. So, for both mentors and mentees it's really important to communicate throughout the process but particularly at the beginning to set expectations. So talk about how often you plan to meet, whether it's going to be by email, phone or in person, and be very clear about what you hope to gain from the relationship. And also, be nice. Like mentors tend to be really busy people so if your mentor doesn't respond to you right away, it's probably because they have a grant deadline or a pile of reviews to get through or a manuscript or back to back meetings or family things are going on. And we've all been in that position starting out, so having lots of questions and not knowing where to start this is all part of the normal process of being a mentee. So mentors need to keep that in mind as well and meet the mentee where they are. I guess it's all about being respectful of that relationship and being very clear about what you want to achieve. Jane:                                  I think that's fantastic advice and of course, as members of the FGTB Council we can assure all prospective mentees that really everybody on the council is already very nice so we think that you won't have any problems being matched with some great mentees, great mentors and we really encourage people to sign up for this program. It's really valuable, you have nothing to lose and lot of potential things to gain from being part of this. So thank you so much for joining us Anna. Anna Pilbrow:                  Thank you very much. Jane:                                  Hi Naveen, how are you doing? Naveen Pereira:              I'm doing well Jane. You know, I was reading "Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics" and in the April issue of this year, there's a manuscript titled Non-familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Prevalence, Natural History and Clinical Implications. The senior author on this paper is Chris Semsarian and he's from Australia. And essentially this manuscript highlights the fact that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which in large part is thought to be inherited, is also not inherited and perhaps it's important to differentiate the two phenotypes. And so they studied 413 patients coming to their clinic with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and they found that 61% of these patients had no familial history and 40% of these patients had no sarcomeric mutations. And so, they deemed these patients to be a form of non-familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. These were older patients, males, patients with a history of hypertension and a non-asymmetrical septal morphology. What is important is that these non-familial type of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients usually have disease onset at the later stage in life and they also have less severe disease.                                            So, I think when we try and prognosticate these patients and aim certain medical therapies towards these patients, we've got to consider whether they're familial or non-familial. And this work has also been highlighted before in the form of an article by Mike Ackerman and his group in Mayo, where they looked at the yield of genetic testing in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. And essentially patients who are younger at the time of diagnosis, age less or equal to 45 years, patients who have severe left ventricle wall thickening greater or equal to 2 cm and patients who have familial history hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are more likely to have sarcomeric mutations than those who don't.                                            So, both these papers kind of highlight the fact that we got to start thinking of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as familial or inherited, or non-familial or non-inherited, because initially people thought, "Well you know, maybe we are missing mutations," but with whole genome sequencing, whole exome sequencing these patients with the non-familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy tend not to have causative mutations. So I really wonder if it's a different disease entity from a molecular perspective. Jane:                                  Yeah, that's really interesting and sort of raises the question of, "Is this non-genetic? Are there other genes? Is this sort of a multi-genic, poly-genic phenomenon where you know the just sort of whole exome sequencing or whole genome sequencing may not be able to identify the causal genes in a lot of these cases?" It's really interesting. Naveen Pereira:              Right. And then, you know there was this other paper in Journal of American College of Cardiology that was published again in the April 4th issue, 2017, and it's titled "Autosomal Recessive Cardiomyopathy Presenting as Acute Myocarditis." And the senior authors are Bonnet, Gelb and Casanova. They shared equally senior authorship. And really, this paper addresses the issue as to why some children are predisposed to acute viral myocarditis, which can present fairly fulminantly, while some children don't despite a lot of kids having viral infections.                                            And so, they tested the hypothesis that perhaps genetic variation in Toll-like Receptor 3 or in the interferon alpha beta immunity system can predispose these children to developing acute myocarditis. However, when they tested this hypothesis in vitro by using induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes, looking at expression, looking at these genes, deficient cardiomyocytes, they weren't able to show a definite role as far as predisposition towards developing myocarditis for Toll-like Receptor or interferon. And what they surprisingly found was that 7 of the 42 patients that they studied by holding some sequencing that is about 17% of these patients, actually had a likely pathogenic mutations in six cardiomyopathy associated genes.                                            So this raises the question overall that perhaps if you have genetic mutations in the cardiomyopathy associated genes, could you be predisposed to these cardiomyopathies or cardiovascular specific disorders, and should we be searching for mutations in these cardiomyopathy genes in other types of cardiomyopathy, like tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy or Takotsubo's disease, etc. Jane:                                  Yeah, that's really interesting. It's sort of a perfect example of a gene environment interaction where you know the genetic predisposition alone is not enough to cause disease, but then when combined with an environmental hit like a viral infection that's when the disease manifests. Very interesting. Naveen Pereira:              Right. And I heard that you have found something interesting as far as machine learning is concerned, Jane? Jane:                                  Yes, yes. So I was reading this paper, which was published in PLOS ONE in April. So the first and last authors of that paper are Steven Weng and Nadeem Qureshi. And the title of that paper was, "Can Machine Learning Improve Cardiovascular Risk Prediction Using Routine Clinical Data?" So, as the title suggests the authors were interested in whether they could improve on standard risk prediction algorithms by using an unbiased approach ... like machine learning approach. So they used the identified electronic health record data for over 350,000 people, and this was in the UK from UK Family Practices, and they took the baseline variables from people who were free of cardiovascular disease at the start of the study and then they looked to see if they could predict the risk of CVD events over the following 10 years.                                            So they decided to compare four different machine learning approaches to see the efficacy of the different approaches and then they used the American College of Cardiology guidelines as the standard to compare these new computer approaches to. So in that model they included eight primary variables, which are included in the ACC/AHA algorithm such as age, sex, smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes. And then for their machine learning algorithms, they added additional variables that were present in the EHR. So they had 22 variables in total and that included things like triglyceride, CRP, creatinine, also ethnicity and presence of other diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or CKD, and then also whether there were certain prescribed medications.                                            They took the first 75% of the sample as a training set, so that was over or just under 300,000 individuals. So they used this to train their various algorithms and then they used the remaining 25% just selected randomly, which was a little over 80,000 subjects, as a validation set to assess the efficacy of these algorithms. So over the 10 year period in total, 6.6% of the subjects developed incident CVD and they found that all of their four different algorithms, so that included random forest, logistic regression, gradient boosting machines and neural network approach, they all outperformed the established risk algorithms. So they all did slightly better than the current ACC guidelines. And the best one that they found was the neural network approach. So that correctly predicted 7.6% more patients who developed CVD compared with the established algorithm.                                            So, it's really quite a significant improvement [inaudible 00:21:46] within their data set there were several hundred additional cases that were identified using this machine learning approach compared with what would have been predicted just using the standard algorithm. So I think it's quite exciting, it shows how using sort of a more unbiased approach, but still using variables that are generally present in the electronic health record can actually improve risk prediction. And this sort of approach might help us to do a better job of identifying you know, the really quite large number of people who do go on to develop incident CVD or have MIs without having the standard risk factors that we know about.                                            Then I actually saw a second paper. So, for people who are interested in this sort of approach, there was a really nice review article that was published recently in JACC and this came out on 30th of May of this year, 2017, so just recently. The first and last authors of that paper are Chayakrit Krittanawong and Takeshi Kitai. The title of their paper is "Artificial Intelligence in Precision Cardiovascular Medicine." So in this review article, they discussed the potential of artificial intelligence to improve cardiovascular clinical care and they highlight both the challenges and the potentials. Overall, they emphasized how important it is for physicians to try to understand these new computational approaches. I think both so that we can harness the potential of these approaches, but also so that you know we who are in charge of patient care can understand the inherent limitations of these approaches.                                            So, the overall message I think from both of these papers is that machine learning, it's really exciting, it has a huge amount of potential, but you know robots aren't going to replace physicians any time soon, so we really need to have physicians working in tandem with these sort of computational approaches to really harness their potential. Naveen Pereira:              So Jane, that is fascinating and it's going to be especially important in the era of big data, where all medical centers eventually transitioning to electronic health records. So we have this wealth of information in the electronic health records, and we should do what large corporations have been doing, that is trying to individualize patient care by incorporating multiple parameters from the electronic health record to understand these patients better and come up with risk scores. About two years ago, we had published in the journal Studies in Health Technology and Informatics in 2015, a similar analysis trying to discern better incorporating multiple co-morbidities from the electronic medical record using machine learning techniques. We could improve predicting prognosis in heart failure patients and we found an 11% improvement in the area under the curve by using electronic health record data and incorporating co-morbidities by using machine learning techniques. So I think there's great promise for the future in medicine for this.  Jane:                                  Yeah absolutely, and as you point out as more and more places are moving towards fully electronic health records, it's something that's actually relatively easy and very cost effective to implement, so it's definitely an exciting approach. Naveen Pereira:              So Jane, this is very interesting talking to you about these various topics, but if I didn't pay particular attention to the author of the publication how can I access these manuscripts that we discussed? Jane:                                  So actually all of the links and links to the full article on the PubMed abstract for all of the papers that we've talked about are on the website. So the podcast website you can access that at fgtbcouncil.wordpress.com and if you go there you'll see a post for every episode of the podcast that we've done. So you can click on the episode you're interested in and then you'll find links to all of the papers and topics that we've discussed. Naveen Pereira:              Wonderful Jane. Look forward to talking to you again next month. Jane:                                  Me too. Okay, thanks Naveen. Naveen Pereira:              Bye Jane. Jane:                                  Bye.

Jane Ferguson:                Hello, and welcome to episode one of Getting Personal: Omics of the Heart, a podcast from the Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Council of the American Heart Association. I'm Jane Ferguson, the current chair of the FGTB Professional Education and Publications Committee. This monthly podcast will bring you up to date with the latest in genomics, other omics technologies, and precision medicine as they relate to cardiovascular and metabolic disease.                                            In each episode, we'll give you an overview of some of the latest research to be published, and delve deeper into topics of particular interest. Whether you're a clinician, researcher, genetic counselor, or other healthcare or science professional, we hope these podcasts will be informative, and help you stay up to date with the latest developments in this exciting field.                                            In this episode, my colleague Naveen Pereira talks to Amit Khera about his recent publication with Sek Kathiresan and colleagues in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled Genetic Risk, Adherence to a Healthy Lifestyle, and Coronary Disease, and we highlight a recent AHA scientific statement on the use of genomics. But first, Naveen and I will give you a round up of some interesting papers from the past month. Naveen Pereira:              So Jane, there was this really interesting paper in the American Journal of Medicine whether we can use gene expression signatures along with other clinical covariates to predict the presence or evaluate whether symptoms are suggestive of obstructive coronary artery disease. Jane Ferguson:                Yes. This paper was published online on the 16th of December 2016. It comes from Joseph Ladapo, Mark Monane and colleagues. They carried out this study in 566 patients from the PRESET Registry, which enrolled stable, nonacute adults presenting with typical or atypical symptoms that were suggestive of obstructive coronary disease.                                            What they did was calculate an age/sex/gene expression score, or ASGES score. They included gene expression, which they measured in a blood sample collected in a PAXgene Tube, and this score ranges from 1 to 40. They've previously validated this, and a score less than or equal to 15 indicates that a symptomatic patient is very unlikely to have obstructive coronary artery disease. The genes they measured include 23 genes that are selectively expressed in circulating neutrophils, NK cells, and B- and T-lymphocytes. Naveen Pereira:              So really, this expression reflects inflammation, and the hypothesis being perhaps these inflammatory markers are very indicative of the presence of obstructive coronary artery disease, or plaque rupture I guess, huh? Jane Ferguson:                Yes, exactly. What they actually found was that individuals with high scores were referred to cardiology or advanced cardiac testing at far greater rates, and then even of subjects with low scores who did undergo additional testing, none of them had any detectable abnormality. Then, in subjects with high scores who did undergo further testing, 14% had abnormal findings. So after a year of followup, 1.2% of patients with an ASGES score below 15 had an adverse event, compared to 4.5% of those with elevated scores. Naveen Pereira:              So a fairly high negative predictive value, huh Jane? Jane Ferguson:                Right. Right, exactly. Naveen Pereira:              Did you find any limitations, Jane, in this study? Jane Ferguson:                There were some. Well firstly, it's worth noting that the score itself, and this test, has been developed by CardioDx, and a number of authors on this manuscript are affiliated with CardioDx. In addition to that, they did not include a control group in this. That certainly is somewhat of a limitation, but the authors say that this is probably still useful, and it may have some clinical utility in guiding decision making for patients with obstructive CAD. However, whether or not this is actually true will probably require some additional testing. Naveen Pereira:              So quite a foray into using this perhaps in the emergency room or in hospital. So I guess our audience should look out for this in the American Journal of Medicine, December 2016. Jane Ferguson:                Yeah. Naveen Pereira:              So there was another paper that we kind of thought was interesting, Jane, from the European Heart Journal. Jane Ferguson:                Yes, exactly. This comes from Jozef Bartunek, and Andre Terzic, and their colleagues, and they were reporting this on behalf of the CHART Program. Naveen Pereira:              So this was published on January 15, 2017. Jane Ferguson:                Yeah. This was a prospective, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled trial, which was the Congestive Heart Failure Cardiopoietic Regenerative Therapy, or CHART-1 trial. In this trial, they were aiming to test safety and efficacy of delivery of cardiopoietic cells. They recruited subjects who had symptomatic ischaemic heart failure, and they consented to bone marrow harvest and mesenchymal stem cell expansion. They ended up randomizing 315 subjects.                                            They received cardiopoietic cells delivered endomyocardially by a retention catheter, or either a sham procedure. The outcome that they were looking at was a hierarchical score, which is assessed 39 weeks post-procedure. That score comprised all-cause mortality, the number of worsening heart failure events, the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire, a difference in the six minute walk test, change in left ventricular end-systolic volume, and change in left ventricular ejection fraction. So it was interesting. They found a neutral effect on the primary end point, but they did find some evidence of benefit in subgroup analyses, which were based on baseline heart failure severity. Naveen Pereira:              But and this was not designed to show efficacy, because it was primarily a safety trial. Is that right, Jane? Jane Ferguson:                Yes, exactly. Naveen Pereira:              Right. Jane Ferguson:                Overall, they found that there were no indications for concern regarding safety, so I think they've shown that certainly this is a technique that is safe and is well-tolerated, and I think it's really quite exciting. Future studies that are adequately powered, particularly looking at subgroups of individuals, may actually identify patient populations that would derive particular benefit from cardiopoietic cell therapy. Naveen Pereira:              Fascinating, so it'll be interesting to see what the Phase III clinical trial will show. Overall, a new foray into regenerative medicine. Jane Ferguson:                Yeah, yeah. Really interesting. Naveen Pereira:              Hi everybody. My name is Naveen Pereira. I'm from the department of cardiovascular diseases at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and on behalf of the Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Council of the American Heart Association it gives me great pleasure to interview Amit Khera. We are going to be discussing this very exciting paper that was published in The New England Journal of Medicine on November 13, 2016, titled Genetic Risk, Adherence to a Healthy Lifestyle, and Coronary Disease. Amit, welcome. We are so glad you could make it. We really appreciate you doing this for us. Amit Khera:                      Naveen, thank you so much for having me. It's a real pleasure. By way of introduction, as you said my name is Amit Khera, I recently joined as a staff cardiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston where I see both general cardiology patients and also work in the prevention center. But one of the things I've noticed is that many of us have heard a lot about precision medicine, and how we can incorporate genetics into some of our clinical decision making, or risk stratification. So I've really been working with Sek Kathiresan at both Mass General and the Broad Institute to get training in both genetics to complement some of the clinical medicine aspects in order to help us get at some of those questions. Naveen Pereira:              Fantastic. Amit, what got you interested in genomics? Amit Khera:                      Sure. Well, you know for a complex disease like coronary artery disease, and risk of a heart attack, we've really known for a long time, like since the 1960s that there is a familiar pattern, meaning that if your brother or your father had a heart attack at a young age, your risk of having one is increased by almost a factor of two. It's really been only recently that the technology has allowed us to get at those questions, and really isolate the exact genetic determinant.                                            So really in the last 10 years, we've been able to identify a large number of variants that influence an individual's risk of coronary artery disease. So it really an opportunity to be in a place where the technology was coming along, where we have discovered all these variants, clinical medicine of course has come a long way since the 1960s as well. So the idea was to really put these two bodies of work together, and see what we could come up with. Naveen Pereira:              Yeah. This is very exciting. Amit, I completely agree with you. In our clinical practice we see patients with strong familial history of coronary artery disease, so certainly inheritance has been suspected for some time, and in fact genome-wide association studies have been done to identify loci for coronary artery disease.                                            As you know, the effect size of these individual variants have been small. And so groups have got together to form genetic risk scores, where they take kind of an aggregate of the effect of these individual variants, and we think this is more helpful. And this is what you did for your paper, so can you describe to us a little bit about how you derived the genetic risk score that you applied in this great paper? Amit Khera:                      Sure. The first aspect of our paper involved proving basically that we could quantify someone's genetic risk for having a heart attack. So in order to do that, as you said, we took advantage of a number of previously published genome-wide association studies. There are about 50 genetic variants all across our genome and different chromosomes that we know are strongly linked to coronary artery disease from a statistical standpoint, but actually might only have a very modest impact on coronary disease.                                            So let's say any individual could have a maximum of 100 risk variants. Now, some people might have inherited just by chance 80 variants, and other people might have inherited only 20. So we basically genotyped, meaning measured all 50 genetic variants in a large number of people, and then we said, "Those who are in the top quintile," meaning the top 20% of the genetic risk score, we're going to say "those people are at high genetic risk." And by contrast, if you're in the lowest quintile, we said, "Okay, those people are at low genetic risk." Naveen Pereira:              Right. Amit Khera:                      Then the question became okay, well does that categorization actually predict your risk of having a heart attack? So in order to do that, we analyzed over 50,000 individuals from three different prospective cohort studies, and what we found actually was that if you compare the high genetic risk to the low genetic risk people, their risk for having a coronary event over prospective follow up was increased by about 91%, meaning almost two fold. Naveen Pereira:              Wow. Oh, that's amazing. So using the genetic risk score, you could almost predict a doubling of the risk for coronary events. That's fantastic. Can you describe these populations briefly, Amit? Who are these people that you applied the genetic risk score to? Amit Khera:                      Sure. So we took advantage of three prospective cohort studies. The first was a Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study, and that was a community based population of about 8,000 people. The second was the Women’s Genome Health Study, over 20,000 women who were originally recruited as part of a randomized control trial, and the third was the Malmö Diet and Cancer Study, which again had more than 20,000 individuals.                                            The really nice thing about these studies was that they were asked questions in a similar way, and they were followed ... in each case, participants were followed for about 20 years. So we really had a long time to observe what happened to these folks over time. Naveen Pereira:              So these are really longitudinal cohorts, not specifically disease oriented cohorts, but just community based, Amit? Amit Khera:                      That's exactly right, and in fact none of the individuals had coronary disease at baseline. They were all disease free- Naveen Pereira:              I see. Amit Khera:                      ... and then we followed them over 20 years to see who developed the coronary artery disease and who did not. Naveen Pereira:              So this is really applicable to the general population. Amit Khera:                      I do believe that these risk estimates would for sure hold true. Naveen Pereira:              Okay, wonderful. So Amit, you know you have the genetic risk score for coronary artery disease, and you have some great longitudinally followed population based cohorts, and you were studying a specific phenotype, so can you describe to us the phenotype? Amit Khera:                      Well, the primary outcome phenotype was incident coronary events, and those were all adjudicated by different committees, but it basically involved individuals who had either a new heart attack or myocardial infarction, they had to have one of their vessels either stented or bypassed via revascularization, or in fact it was determined that they died from coronary artery disease. So that was the outcome which we were trying to predict. Naveen Pereira:              Amit, let's get straight into it. What did you find? Amit Khera:                      So as a preventive cardiologist, I often see patients in my clinic who come to me and they say, "You know, almost everyone in my family has had a heart attack." Oftentimes at a very young age, and in some cases that can lead to almost a sense of determinism, where they feel like maybe they are unable to control their fate. So our primary question was a really a pretty simple one, which is to what extent can a healthy lifestyle offset someone's genetic risk of coronary disease.                                            So as I mentioned, we had a way of quantifying someone's genetic risk, and then we next said, "Okay, we want to quantify someone's lifestyle risk." So for that we kept it pretty simple. We had four criteria of what makes up a healthy lifestyle. First, no current smoking. Second, avoiding obesity. Three, regular exercise, and fourth, adhering to a healthy diet. And we said, "Okay, if you have at least three out of those four," we gave you a pass and said "you had a favorable lifestyle." Now if you had only zero to one out of those four, you had an unfavorable lifestyle.                                            One of the interesting things was that actually the genetic risk and the lifestyle risk actually were totally independent. There was no association for example between those who had high genetic risk and what their lifestyle was. So it really reinforced longstanding views that genetics and lifestyle are really independent axes of someone's individual level of risk. Now- Naveen Pereira:              So both, Amit, both could contribute to your individual risk for coronary artery disease? Amit Khera:                      Exactly. As I mentioned, the high genetic risk versus low genetic risk, there was about a two fold difference in risk, and we saw an almost identical pattern versus a favorable lifestyle versus an unfavorable lifestyle. There was about a two fold risk [inaudible 00:17:08]. Naveen Pereira:              Interesting. Amit Khera:                      Then that got us to the next question, which is to say if we analyze only those at high genetic risk so everyone had a similarly increased degree of genetic risk, to what extent could that risk be offset by a favorable lifestyle? This really gets back to the questions and the conversations we have with our patients who have a family history all the time. What we found there I think was a nice message, was that if you are at high genetic risk, you could actually decrease your risk by about 50% if you adhered to a favorable lifestyle, as compared to those with an unfavorable lifestyle.                                            So for example, when we looked at it in absolute terms, in terms of a 10 year risk of having a coronary event, in one of the cohorts, those with a high genetic risk but an unfavorable lifestyle had about an 11% chance of having a coronary event, versus if you had the same high genetic risk but a favorable lifestyle, your risk was only about 5%. And we saw that, a very consistent pattern across all the cohorts and all the categories of genetic risk, that those who had a favorable lifestyle ... the risk was decreased by about 50% in those with a favorable lifestyle. Naveen Pereira:              So that's fascinating, Amit. When physicians see a patient who have a really strong history of coronary artery disease within the family, and come up to you and say, "Doc, am I destined to have a heart attack?" You know, now with the availability of genotyping, with direct to consumer testing, people can find out their genetic risk. So they may not necessarily be doomed. Their fate is not predetermined. What you're suggesting is that fate can be modifiable. Amit Khera:                      Right. I think certainly for coronary disease your DNA is not your destiny, at least for these common variants. I think we provide evidence that really lifestyle factors powerfully modify your risk, really regardless of your genetic risk profile. Naveen Pereira:              So Amit, can we make any recommendations based on the results of your paper? Amit Khera:                      Well, I think ... The American Heart Association has really endorsed these four lifestyle criteria as a way of improving the population's health in the population as a whole, and I think actually that our results actually support that. Which is to say that this really supports the fact that these healthy lifestyle parameters are critically important for everyone, and I think that's a good starting point.                                            Genomic medicine is actually in its early days, but really what we hope to do is first to identify individuals, a subset of the population, who are at increased risk for a disease like heart disease, and I think we've shown that we can actually do that reasonably well. Like 20% of the population has a double risk. And the second part is actually to disclose this risk to both the patients and their providers in a way that's meaningful. And third, is actually demonstrate that we can actually implement the therapy to mitigate this increased risk.                                            So I think we, in this paper, we provided evidence that a healthy lifestyle can mitigate that risk. Papers from our group, both published and some in press, have actually demonstrated that taking a statin can also powerfully modify this increased risk. And you might imagine that there may be other interventions that ... especially if an intervention has increased risk, you really may want to target it to those people who actually ... if a medicine has increased side effects, you may want to target it to those at the highest risk. I think that, you know, this polygenic risk score does provide at least one way of stratifying people into those high risk groups. Naveen Pereira:              Yeah. Amit, really impressive results, 50% relative risk reduction in a high genetic risk population. You make a compelling argument. Obviously, however, this is not a prospective randomized clinical trial. It's really hard to do these. You had the advantage of well designed cohorts to study this in a cross sectional way. We don't know how these behaviors change. So these are some of the limitations, but the results are quite compelling, and contribute to the literature. Any other comments, Amit? Anything else that we should take home here? Amit Khera:                      No, I think as you said, there are some limitations. I think our really goal was to lay the foundation for future efforts where we really think about what the optimal way is for genetic information to be integrated into routine clinical practice to help prevent disease, and that's really what our group is planning on focusing on for the future years. Naveen Pereira:              We look forward to hearing more exciting results from your laboratory, Amit. It's been a pleasure. We should end I guess with a quote from William Shakespeare, "It's not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves." Correct? Amit Khera:                      Thank you very much. Sounds great. Naveen Pereira:              Thanks, Amit. Jane Ferguson:                So as we just heard from Naveen and Amit, the combination of genetic risk and modifiable lifestyle parameters are crucial in determining CAD risk. A recent AHA statement from the FGTB Council focused on this topic. The statement, entitled Nutrigenomics, the Microbiome, and Gene-Environment Interactions: New Directions in Cardiovascular Disease Research, Prevention, and Treatment, focused on how dietary and genetic contributors to disease have been studied in the past, and how emerging omics technologies can be used to rapidly advance these fields.                                            Genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, proteomics, lipidomics, epigenetic profiling, and metagenomic characterization of the microbiome can all be used alone or in combination to better understand mechanisms underlying gene-environment contributions to disease. While the ultimate goal would be the development of improved therapeutic options, including personalized and precision approaches, a considerable amount of research remains to be done before this goal can be clinically implemented. You can read this statement in the June 2016 issue of Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics. Naveen Pereira:              So, Jane, this has been an exciting first podcast. I really look forward to doing more with you. Jane Ferguson:                Yeah. I think this is great, so thank you everyone for listening, and happy heart month. We will look forward to bringing you a podcast again next month. Naveen Pereira:              Thank you.

 What's up, everyone? Hoje eu falo sobre as intenções de alguém em inglês. Como dizer a intenção dele foi boa, ou de boas intenções o inferno está cheio? Confira também duas expressões para dizer "falar bem de alguém" neste episódio. Transcrição What's up, everyone? You're listening to the new episode of the Inglês Online podcast. Thank you for telling everyone you know about this podcast and, enjoy! So you know when someone behaves in a way that ends up doing more harm than good, but you just know they had the best intentions when doing so? They were just trying to help; they really meant well. You know this person is well-meaning. When someone is well-meaning, that means they... mean well. However, you were there when they did what they did or said what they said and you know that the end result wasn't that great. Rather than being mad at them, though, you're just lamenting the sad outcome. You know that their heart was in the right place. So that's our first idiom of today: their heart was in the right place when they did that or said whatever. It may not have helped, it may even have made matters a bit worse, but... in the end, their heart is in the right place. You may just need to have a quick word with them to maybe make them aware of the effect of their actions. For example: Steve offered to put in a good word for you with his boss, knowing that you're coveting a new position in his department. He goes ahead and does just that: he tells his boss you're great to work with, and very competent too. However, he goes and says that you've been doing an awesome job in project XYZ, which is a top secret project that you're not supposed to be talking about to other people. So now Steve has basically made clear to his boss that you can't keep your mouth shut. Great. That kinda ruins the whole point of talking you up to the boss. You were sure Steve knew that project XYZ was confidential. Maybe he didn't. Anyway, you have known Steve for years now and you know he's a good guy. You know he would never do anything to harm your chances at getting that job. You just know that his heart is in the right place. He screwed up a little, but his heart is in the right place. ...Which leads me to the second one of today's episode - I guess we can call this one a proverb: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Obviously, people often mean well but end up doing bad things or even wreaking havoc sometimes. We say something very similar in Brazil, don't we? However I could never work out whether that saying applies to someone who really meant well; someone whose heart is in the right place but ends up making things worse. Now that I'm thinking about it, I think that's exactly the case and that is how this saying came about: good intentions that end up causing trouble. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And, as we do in Brazil, you can say that proverb in order to imply that someone knew full well what they were doing when they were "trying to help", so to speak. Basically you're accusing them of not being honest: "So Jane, now I know why you offered to bring me lunch. You were trying to give me food poisoning! This sandwich is the worst thing I've ever had." And you finish your rant by telling your colleagues "The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Beware of Jane and her lunch runs." So I guess we can all think of great examples of people who meant well but ended up making things worse. Let me know in the comments, and talk to you next time! Key expressions someone's heart is in the right place the road to hell is paved with good intentions Vocabulary put in a good word for you with = falar bem de você para coveting = querendo, desejando talk someone up = falar bem de alguém mean well = ter/tem boas intenções wreak havoc = arruinar, causar muito problema work out = figure out lunch run = a ida até algum lugar de comida pra comprar o almoço pro grupo/pessoal do escritório

 What's up, everyone? Hoje eu falo sobre as intenções de alguém em inglês. Como dizer a intenção dele foi boa, ou de boas intenções o inferno está cheio? Confira também duas expressões para dizer "falar bem de alguém" neste episódio. Transcrição What's up, everyone? You're listening to the new episode of the Inglês Online podcast. Thank you for telling everyone you know about this podcast and, enjoy! So you know when someone behaves in a way that ends up doing more harm than good, but you just know they had the best intentions when doing so? They were just trying to help; they really meant well. You know this person is well-meaning. When someone is well-meaning, that means they... mean well. However, you were there when they did what they did or said what they said and you know that the end result wasn't that great. Rather than being mad at them, though, you're just lamenting the sad outcome. You know that their heart was in the right place. So that's our first idiom of today: their heart was in the right place when they did that or said whatever. It may not have helped, it may even have made matters a bit worse, but... in the end, their heart is in the right place. You may just need to have a quick word with them to maybe make them aware of the effect of their actions. For example: Steve offered to put in a good word for you with his boss, knowing that you're coveting a new position in his department. He goes ahead and does just that: he tells his boss you're great to work with, and very competent too. However, he goes and says that you've been doing an awesome job in project XYZ, which is a top secret project that you're not supposed to be talking about to other people. So now Steve has basically made clear to his boss that you can't keep your mouth shut. Great. That kinda ruins the whole point of talking you up to the boss. You were sure Steve knew that project XYZ was confidential. Maybe he didn't. Anyway, you have known Steve for years now and you know he's a good guy. You know he would never do anything to harm your chances at getting that job. You just know that his heart is in the right place. He screwed up a little, but his heart is in the right place. ...Which leads me to the second one of today's episode - I guess we can call this one a proverb: the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Obviously, people often mean well but end up doing bad things or even wreaking havoc sometimes. We say something very similar in Brazil, don't we? However I could never work out whether that saying applies to someone who really meant well; someone whose heart is in the right place but ends up making things worse. Now that I'm thinking about it, I think that's exactly the case and that is how this saying came about: good intentions that end up causing trouble. The road to hell is paved with good intentions. And, as we do in Brazil, you can say that proverb in order to imply that someone knew full well what they were doing when they were "trying to help", so to speak. Basically you're accusing them of not being honest: "So Jane, now I know why you offered to bring me lunch. You were trying to give me food poisoning! This sandwich is the worst thing I've ever had." And you finish your rant by telling your colleagues "The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Beware of Jane and her lunch runs." So I guess we can all think of great examples of people who meant well but ended up making things worse. Let me know in the comments, and talk to you next time! Key expressions someone's heart is in the right place the road to hell is paved with good intentions   Vocabulary put in a good word for you with = falar bem de você para coveting = querendo, desejando talk someone up = falar bem de alguém mean well = ter/tem boas intenções wreak havoc = arruinar, causar muito problema work out = figure out lunch run = a ida até algum lugar de comida pra comprar o alm...