Podcasts about Take Flight

“The traditional story of the ugly duckling is quite sad because the ugly duckling, which is just a cygnet, she got into the wrong nest, she's sort of just abandoned by the duck family, and we've changed that around because we wanted the message to be a bit different, so duck family embraces baby swan and I think it's so special and so relatable,” Assistant Artistic Director Madissen Fujimoto says.

In a study inspired by a field of dandelions, researchers wanted to know why, when you blow on a dandelion seed head, only the seeds closest to you take flight. They found that a dimple in the seed heads where the seed attaches is larger on one side than the other, and that the seeds consistently broke off from the smaller side of that dimple. Once they take flight, each dandelion seed uses its unique shape to catch a ride on the wind.PLUS: Infrasound, not ghosts, may be why old buildings give us the heebie-jeebiesThese arms are made for lovin'. How male octopuses find their matesFrom the archives: Donald Johanson on the discovery of 'Lucy,' our missing linkVirtual hearts help doctors fix patients' life-threatening irregular heart beatsQuirks Question: What's the benefit for trees being evergreen?

C&R look at the NFL teams who will have the most miles flying this season! Rich cries & gets ready to use the travel as an excuse when his Niners underperform. They talk stars at weddings & Covino's dance skills. Plus, the Spurs are rolling & there's a new LeBron story about "being taken for granted!"See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are joined by our good friend, entrepreneur and pilot, Victor, as we get into his start up and goals as a pilot, the logbook, discovery flights, dream destinations, owning a business and much more.

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Abby Falik is constantly thinking about what it actually means to prepare for a life - not just a career. She took a year off during undergrad to travel Latin America alone, then convinced her university to give her credit for it. She went to business school not because she cared about business, but because she wanted to learn how to work with power. This was the mindset that led to her founding Global Citizen Year, which encourages graduating high school students to take a gap year, and now The Flight School, which takes that thinking one step further, providing fellowships to graduating students for a “launch year” - and for an education that she says is “higher than higher ed.” Abby's thinking about travel, entrepreneurship, self-discovery and lifelong learning is fascinating, and I loved this conversation. We talked about where self-permission comes from, why the most formative learning often happens outside the classroom, and why real change is *always* an inside job. SHOW NOTES AbbyFalik.com The Flight School Taking Flight on Substack Social: https://www.instagram.com/abbyfalik https://www.instagram.com/launchyear https://www.linkedin.com/in/abbyfalik Croutons: Will we choose love, or fear? "We were born to fly." "How does my inner work intersect with my work in the world?" *** The Breadwinners" Season 7 is a joint production between Reworking Leadership and The Smart Friends Network, generously supported by Ruth Ann Harnisch. The Breadwinners" was founded by Rachael Lowell and Jennifer Owens in 2019. Host: Rachael Lowell Executive Producers: Rachael Lowell, Rachel Sklar Audio Engineer: Ron Passaro Original Music: "Perfect" by Hannah Bakke Rick Snell: Guitar Cesar Moreno: Banjo Nyssa Grant: Fiddle Erik Alvar: Bass Justin D. Cook: Keyboard, Percussion, and Orchestration Vocals: Hannah Bakke, Cassidy Stoner Hannah Bakke: Music and Lyrics To stay up to date with The Breadwinners, please follow us on Instagram:  Find Rachael Lowell at https://reworkingleadership.com & take the SHIFT assessment here: https://leadtheshift.ai If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, rate, review & share! Thank you for listening. Still we rise! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this special Easter Suze School, Suze reflects on why it’s so important to have faith, especially right now. She explains that faith isn’t only for the religious. If we have faith in ourselves, we can rise up to be truly be happy and successful. Check out Suze’s NEW website: SuzeOrman.com Watch Suze’s YouTube Channel Jumpstart financial wellness for your employees: https://bit.ly/SecureSave Protect your financial future with the Must Have Docs: https://bit.ly/3Vq1V3GGet your savings going with Alliant Credit Union: https://bit.ly/3rg0YioGet Suze’s special offers for podcast listeners at suzeorman.com/offerJoin Suze’s Women & Money Community for FREE and ASK SUZE your questions which may just end up on the podcast. Download the app by following one of these links: CLICK HERE FOR APPLE: https://apple.co/2KcAHbHCLICK HERE FOR GOOGLE PLAY: https://bit.ly/3curfMISee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A classic round of “Posted & Toasted” delivers laughs, surprises, and a few ego checks as old tweets resurface and spark lively reactions. What starts as a fun guessing game quickly turns into a mix of nostalgia, confusion, and sharp banter, with plenty of moments that show just how much (or how little) has changed over the years. The conversation takes a turn when a strong opinion on airplane seat reclining ignites a passionate debate about etiquette, fairness, and personal space. Along the way, the crew riffs on everything from sports media and streaming nostalgia to workout myths and social media polls, blending humor with real-life annoyances in a way that keeps the energy high and the takes even higher.

Breaking The Silence with Dr Gregory Williams Guest, Sula Lael, Survivor's Pastor, Author of 6 books and an Abolitionist This Week's Guest will be Sula Lael. Sula is the Survivor's Pastor, an author of 6 books, an abolitionist, and has het own podcast: Take Flight. She is a survivor of sex trafficking. She has experience profound healing and freedom through Jesus Christ and dedicates her life to helping others. You can find all of Sula Lael's books on her Amazon Author page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Sula-Lael/author/B00MIHL0NY?ref=ap_rdr&shoppingPortalEnabled=true In this episode of Breaking the Silence, host Dr. Gregory Williams and guest Sula Lael discuss the harrowing realities of child abuse and sex trafficking. They explore the path to recovery through the "Three A's" framework and the transformative power of faith, specifically focusing on the often-overlooked area of Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) and the establishment of specialized spiritual communities for survivors. The Framework of Healing and Personal Testimony Dr. Gregory Williams opens the session by sharing his personal struggle with ALS and his history as a survivor of familial trafficking. He emphasizes that healing is rarely linear, often involving "three steps forward and two steps back." Central to his recovery is a three-part psychological framework: Acknowledging the event to break the silence, Accepting that the trauma does not define one's identity, and Announcing the truth to reclaim stolen power. He argues against the term "voiceless," asserting that survivors have voices that simply require amplification and active listening from organizations that should ideally be led by those with lived experience. Unveiling the Reality of Occult Trafficking Guest Sula Lael, a pastor and author, provides a rare look into the world of Satanic Ritual Abuse (SRA) and occult trafficking. She recounts being exploited by an occult group starting at 18 months old, a trauma so severe it led to the development of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) as a survival mechanism. Lael explains that this specific type of trafficking is often less about financial gain and more about spiritual influence and power. She notes a growing global awareness of these "secret" elite organizations, suggesting that society is finally ready to confront these darker layers of exploitation that have historically been suppressed. The Ministry of Restoration and "Survivor-Led" Support Lael has transitioned from victim to "Survivor's Pastor," founding the first-ever online survivor-led church. Her approach shifts from merely informing people about trafficking to "equipping" them with biblical strategies for healing. She describes the "Survivor Church" as a community where complex trauma is met with specialized spiritual care, including live prayer sessions, Bible studies, and faith-based courses designed to mend "fractured" souls. Both Williams and Lael conclude that while triggers and "warfare" may persist, true freedom is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ, who provides the "core power" necessary to overcome a history of horror. The dialogue between Dr. Williams and Sula Lael serves as a powerful testament that no trauma is too deep for restoration. By moving from silence to announcement and from information to equipment, survivors can transition from merely surviving to thriving. As Dr. Williams notes, as long as there is breath, there is always hope.

Humanity dreamed of flight for a very long time, but the reality of it was mostly failure. The first woman to truly fly went up in a hot air balloon in 1784. Visit the ⁠⁠⁠website⁠⁠⁠ (herhalfofhistory.com) for sources, transcripts, and pictures. This show survives on the support of listeners like you. Support the show on my ⁠⁠⁠⁠Patreon page⁠⁠ (https://www.patreon.com/user?u=83998235) for ad-free episodes, bonus episodes, and polls. Or make a one-time donation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Buy⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠Me a Coffee⁠. Your support helps me keep bring the stories of past women into the present. If you support during March 2026, you'll be entered into a prize drawing for free Her Half of History merch. Join ⁠⁠Into History⁠⁠ for a community of ad-free history podcasts plus bonus content. Visit ⁠⁠Evergreen Podcasts⁠⁠ to listen to more great shows. Follow me on ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ as Her Half of History. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

From combat missions in the F-22 Raptor to more than five months aboard the International Space Station, Lt. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers '11 has seen it all. SUMMARY In this episode of Long Blue Leadership, Col. Ayers reflects on mentorship, teamwork and building the next generation of warriors and astronauts.   SHARE THIS EPISODE LINKEDIN  |  FACEBOOK     TOP 10 TAKEAWAYS 1. Leadership is fluid: sometimes you lead, sometimes you follow. On Dragon and the ISS, command shifted between Anne McClain and Takuya Onishi. Everyone alternated between being commander and flight engineer, showing that strong teams normalize moving between leading and supporting roles. 2. Team care starts with self‑care. Vapor repeatedly links sleep, rest, hydration, and health to leadership performance. You can't be present for others if you're exhausted or burned out; taking care of yourself is a leadership duty, not a luxury. 3. People first, mission second (to enable mission success). Whether on deployment with 300 personnel or in space with 7, she focuses on taking care of the human—family issues, logistics, burnout, and emotions—trusting that performance and mission execution follow from that. 4. Trust is built long before the crisis. ISS emergency training with all seven crew, plus years of joint training in multiple countries, builds shared understanding and trust. When emergencies happen, the crew isn't figuring each other out for the first time. 5. Quiet, thoughtful leadership can be incredibly powerful. Takuya Onishi's style—observant, calm, speaks only when it matters, and brings thoughtful items for others—shows that you don't need to be loud to command respect. When he spoke, everyone listened. 6. Leadership means being fully present, especially on others' hard days. In both combat and space, you can't “hide” when someone's struggling. Being reachable, attentive, and emotionally available is a core leadership behavior, not a soft add‑on. 7. Normalize mistakes and share lessons learned. From F‑22 sorties to NASA operations, it's expected that you openly admit errors and pass on lessons so others don't repeat them. A culture where “experience is what you get right after you need it” only works if people share that experience. 8. Plan for “seasons” of intensity, not permanent balance. She frames life as seasons: some are sprints (deployments, intense training, big trips); others are for recovery. Wise leaders anticipate these cycles, push hard when needed, then deliberately create room to reset afterward. 9. Model the behavior you want your team to adopt. If the commander is always first in, last out, everyone else feels pressure to match that. By visibly protecting her own rest and home life, she gives permission for others to do the same and avoid burnout. 10. Lean on—and be—a support system. Her twin sister, long‑term friends, and professional peers form a lifelong support network she turns to when she fails, doubts herself, or hits something “insurmountable.” Great leaders both rely on and serve as those trusted people for others.     CHAPTERS 0:00:00 – Introduction & Vapor's Journey (Academy, F‑22, NASA) 0:00:38 – Launch Scrub, Second Attempt & What a Rocket Launch Feels Like 0:03:33 – First Moments in Space, Floating & Seeing Earth (Overview Effect) 0:06:11 – Leadership & Teamwork in Space: Roles, Trust, and Small-Crew Dynamics 0:10:19 – Multinational Crews & Leadership Lessons from Other Cultures 0:14:47 – No‑Notice F‑22 Deployment & Leading a Squadron in Combat 0:18:14 – Managing Burnout: Scheduling, Human Factors & “Crew‑10 Can Do Hard Things” 0:19:46 – Self‑Care as Team Care: Seasons of Life, Rest, and Being Present 0:26:02 – Family, Being an Aunt, and Balancing a Demanding Career 0:28:14 – Life After Space: Mentoring New Astronauts & Evolving as a Leader     ABOUT NICHOLE BIO U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Nichole "Vapor" Ayers is a trailblazing pilot, leader and astronaut whose journey began at the United States Air Force Academy, where she graduated in 2011 with a degree in mathematics. An accomplished F-22 Raptor pilot, Ayers is one of the few women ever to fly the world's most advanced stealth fighter — and she's one of even fewer to command them in formation for combat training missions. Col. Ayers earned her wings through years of training and operational excellence, logging over 200 flight hours in combat and playing a critical role in advancing tactical aviation. Her exceptional performance led to her selection in 2021 by NASA as a member of Astronaut Group 23, an elite class of 10 chosen from among 12,000 applicants. As a NASA astronaut candidate, Col. Ayers completed intensive training at Johnson Space Center, which included spacewalk preparation, robotics, survival training, systems operations and Russian language. Now qualified for spaceflight, she stands on the threshold of a new chapter that led her to the International Space Station. Throughout her career, Col. Ayers has exemplified the Academy's core values of Integrity First, Service Before Self and Excellence in All We Do. Her journey from cadet to combat aviator to astronaut is a testament to resilience, determination and a passion for pushing boundaries.   LEARN MORE ABOUT NICHOLE NASA Astronaut Nichole Ayers   CONNECT WITH THE LONG BLUE LINE PODCAST NETWORK TEAM Ted Robertson | Producer and Editor:  Ted.Robertson@USAFA.org Send your feedback or nominate a guest: socialmedia@usafa.org   Ryan Hall | Director:  Ryan.Hall@USAFA.org  Bryan Grossman | Copy Editor:  Bryan.Grossman@USAFA.org Wyatt Hornsby | Executive Producer:  Wyatt.Hornsby@USAFA.org     ALL PAST LBL EPISODES  |  ALL LBLPN PRODUCTIONS AVAILABLE ON ALL MAJOR PODCAST PLATFORMS     FULL TRANSCRIPT SPEAKERS Host: Lt. Col. (Ret.) Naviere Walkewicz '99 Guest: Lt. Col. Nichole "Vapor" Ayers '11   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 0:00 Vapor, welcome to Long Blue Leadership. We are so thrilled you're here. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 0:11 Thank you. Thanks for having me. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 0:12 Absolutely. So the cadets get to spend some time with you at NCLS. Here the Long Blue Line is going to get to hear from you. And you know, we can actually go through the list. You know, F-22 pilot, USAFA 2011 graduate, you've been in combat, you're a NASA pilot. The list is probably shorter what you haven't done. But, frankly, I'm just excited that you're here on Earth with us, because the last time we spoke, you called me from outer space. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 0:35 Yeah, that was a lot of fun. That was a lot of chat with you then too. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 0:38 So let's just jump right in. So if we can just kind of catapult you, and let's do it in the way that they that NASA does, into space, maybe starting with the countdown, and then the Gs you take, what is that experience like? And maybe, what are some things you were thinking about in those moments? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 0:53 Oh, yeah. So, you know, we launched on March 14. First attempt was March 12, and we actually scrubbed the first launch. So we got all the way down to T minus 42 minutes right before we armed the launch escape system. So that's kind of a big milestone on the countdown. We were having issues with some hydraulics in the clamp that actually holds on to the rocket wall and then let's go. We weren't quite sure whether it was gonna let go, so they scrubbed the launch then, and it was a fascinating — you don't feel like you've got a ton of adrenaline going, but, you know, you feel kind of like you're in a sim. We do some really phenomenal training. And so when you're sitting on top of the rocket, it feels like you're in a simulator, except it's breathing and living, and the valves are moving, and you can hear the propellant being loaded and all of that. And so there's a very real portion to launch date. But then, coming down off of that adrenaline, we got a day off, thankfully. We could just kind of rest and relax and then go again. So everything went smoother the second try. Of course, you know, everybody's nerves are a little less, and everything was — it just felt calmer the whole way out. But, yeah, when that countdown hits zero, I like to say you're being slingshotted off the Earth. That's how it felt. You know, in that moment, you're going. There's over a million pounds of thrust, and it's going. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 2:10 I mean, that sounds like a lot. I can't really fathom in my mind what that feels like. Can you describe it? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 2:17 You know, so I talked about in an F-22 and an afterburner takeoff, which is the most thrust that we have basically in any airplane on Earth. You know, you get set back in your seat really far. And, if you think of an airliner takeoff, you kind of get set back in your seat a little bit. Multiply that by, like, 10 or 20, and then that happened for nine minutes straight on a rocket. You're just being forcefully set back in your seat for nine minutes straight and just thrown off of the Earth, and in nine minutes, you're in orbit. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 2:49 So when you had your practice, did you experience that level for that long as well? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 2:54 For the simulators? So they can't that. We can't necessarily simulate the Gs in the sim. So that's like the one part that, you know, we go through the whole launch, but you're sitting at one G the whole time, and throughout the launch, you know, the Gs build, then we back off the thrust and the Gs build again, and then you have an engine cut off. And I like to explain, like, if you could visualize, like an old cartoon, and everybody's in the car driving, and Dad slams on the brakes, and everybody hits the windshield. And then he slams on the gas again, and everybody goes back to their seats. Like, that's what it felt like when the engine cut off and, you know, main engine cuts off, and then within a few seconds, the second engine lights, and you're set back in your seat again. So I like to give that visual. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 3:33 That's really helpful, actually. Wow. OK, so you're there, you're in space. And I guess my first question would be, what's something that, in that moment, you're either thinking or you're just, are you still just orienting yourself? What is that like? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 3:45 Oh, man, you know, we're still in the seats for the first few moments in space, and we have to open the nose cone. There's some other things that are happening on the spacecraft, and getting ready for a burn, for a phasing burn, to get up to and catch up with the International Space Station. But, you know, then eventually you get to unbuckle and get out of your seat and floating for the first time. I got out of my seat and I'm floating there. It felt like, you know, Captain Marvel when she's, like, hanging out. Yeah, that's, that's how I felt. And, you know, I like to give the visual, because it's like, it's just nothing you've ever experienced in your life, you know. And then you look out the window and the view is something, it's indescribable. You know, I don't think we have the right words in the English language to describe what it feels like to look back at Earth from space. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 4:35 Was there a moment when you're looking out at Earth — did you kind of play back just different things in your life? Did you think about, you know, significance of things, or, like, scope of things, or even just the vantage point? Did it kind of just change things or were you just in awe at the moment? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 4:49 No, I think, you know, we talked about the overview effect, when astronauts specifically look back at Earth, and it hits everybody kind of differently. And for me, I think the biggest thing you know, when you look at a map of the states or a map of the world, you know, every country is a different color, or every state's a different color, and there are lines that describe the borders, right? And those don't exist in in space. Those don't exist like when you can't see different colored states, right? But you can see the Grand Canyon, and you can see the mountains, and you can see the Amazon, and you can see the desert in Africa. And you get to, you know, you get to learn the world geography by colors and terrain. And it's just a really good reminder that, you know, we're all humans, and we're all on this little fragile marble, just trying to take care of each other and trying to take care of Earth. And so I think that's what hit me the most, was just there are no borders, and we're all the same. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 5:44 Gosh, well, it's a unique and probably highly impressive team that you're with. I mean, we know the road to get to becoming a NASA astronaut is certainly one that is very difficult. Starts from many, many, in the 1000s, down to 10. And so, you know, when we think about leadership, and I've heard you share this before with others, you talk about teamwork and leadership, maybe explain a little bit what that's like in space when you're all so highly effective leaders. You know, what does that look like? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 6:12 That's a great question. You know, I think for us, it is a very fluid movement, right? You lead one day; you follow the next. And you know, I'll give you an example. So Anne McClain was the commander of SpaceX Crew-10 for NASA. So she was in charge of Crew-10 is our ride up to the space station, and our ride home, right? It's the capsule, the rocket and the capsule. And then we were on Expedition 73 aboard the International Space Station, where Takuya, who it was, Takuya Onishi, who was our mission specialist on Dragon, soon as we crossed into the hatch and he took command. He is now the commander of the Space Station, and Anne and I are flight engineers, and so it's a pretty fluid movement in terms of leading and following. But ultimately, you know, it's just about being a good team and taking care of each other. And I think that being a good leader is taking care of other people. And, you know, we talk about team care — self-care, and team care are like the huge parts that we actually train and learn about at NASA as we go through our training, because you're on this really small space in the vacuum of space for five-plus months at a time, and it's — there are only seven people up there and everybody's going to have a bad day. We're all humans, and you can't, there's no hiding.   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 7:30 What's a bad day like in space?   Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 7:32 People make mistakes, right? We're all human. You might make a mistake on something, you might mess up a procedure. You hope that it's not something that causes a safety incident, right? The main goal for me, at least, was, I know I'm going to make mistakes. As long as I'm not unsafe, I'll be happy. And I think that a lot of us have that conscious decision-making process. But I think that we're also humans and have Earth lives, and your Earth life doesn't stop when you go to space. And so bad days could be something going on at home. Bad days could be something going on in space. Could be an interaction that you had with somebody on the ground that, you know, there's a lot of communication that happens between us on the ground. There are thousands of humans on the Earth that keep the Space Station running. So that day could be anything but it's tough to hide up there. Here, you can kind of like, duck and cover and maybe you just spend the day in an office. But it doesn't happen up there. We have to continue to work and continue to function. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 8:32 So you mentioned that there are seven of you in this tight space. Now, when you go up there, your crew, is it the same seven?   Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 8:38 For the majority of the time. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 8:42 OK, excellent. So one of the things we think about whenever we're leading or we're working with teams is trust, and obviously you have a great amount of trust with the crew that you're going up there with. But then you mentioned you went on to the ISS and you're working with others. What does that look like when it's someone maybe you haven't worked as closely with in a really important mission? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 9:03 So for the seven expedition members, we actually do train together for a little bit of it, not nearly as closely as, you know, the four of us training for Dragon mission. But because the most dynamic parts are launch and landing, we do a lot of training together, just as the four of us, but we train all over the world. So we go to Japan and Germany and Canada, and we go to, you know, Hawthorne, California, and we go to Russia, and we train with them, and we learn about the Russian segment, and we train with our fellow cosmonauts there. And we do emergency training specifically all together, because it takes all seven of us in an emergency doing the right thing and knowing everybody's roles. And so we train that together as well. And then anytime you're in the same country or same city together, then you get to spend the time outside of the training to get to know each other. And so you actually know your crew fairly well. But obviously, everybody's from a different nation. And we had Americans, we had a Japanese astronaut, we had Russians, so you learn everybody's culture, and it's actually, you know, to your point on being in that small — and not necessarily knowing everybody. There's also a cultural aspect; we get to know each other. We get to learn about other people's cultures and figure out how to communicate and live and work, even across the whole world. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 10:19 What was something that you learned from another culture of astronaut, maybe in the leadership realm, or just something that you took away, that's really something that surprised me, or like to emulate? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 10:30 I love Taku's leadership style. So Takuya Onishi — he's one of those more quiet humans, and he's super kind, but he is the most intelligent human I've ever met, and he is super-efficient with everything he does, and he pays attention to all of the little things. And so he only speaks up when he thinks something needs to be changed, or when he thinks that, like, we need to go in a different direction, otherwise, he's pretty happy to let you go, like, let you go as far as you want to go on something. And then when he thinks you're gonna run off a cliff, he pulls you back. So when he speaks, everybody listens. And I love that. I think some of that is cultural, obviously, him being from Japan, but I think it's also just his personal leadership style, but I learned a ton from him in terms of how to interact with people, how to let people be themselves, but also how to run a ship, and everybody knew exactly who was running the ship. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 11:22 Wow. And it shows that respect lens that you're just kind of talking about when he spoke. Everybody listens. Is that something that you feel you already had that kind of leadership style or is that something that you've kind of evolved in yourself? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 11:37 I like to think that that's the way that I lead. That's kind of how I try to be a leader. But we're not perfect, right? Nobody's perfect. And watching him, you know, taking notes from how he interacted with everybody, the things that he thought of, the things that he brought with him for us on station, you know, we get a very limited amount of stuff, personal things that we get to bring with us. And he brought things for the crew that were like, huge milestones for professional careers. You know, just the attention to detail on the human beings around him was pretty phenomenal. So it's one of the things I'm working on to be better at, because I like to think I'm good at it. But I saw the master work. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 12:18 I love that. And something you said about him, he always has attention to detail, and he saw the little things. He paid attention to the little things. I remember a past conversation we had. You had a little nugget from Col. Nick Hague, also USAFA — '98 I believe. And I think he said to you, something about, you know, “Nicole, don't forget that you're squishy,” or something like that. And so have you had more of those moments in there where they're like little nuggets or little moments that actually give you a big return or big lessons in your life? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 12:46 Oh, definitely, yeah, that one's a funny one, because the space station is metal. Everything is metal, and it's hard and so we still have weight, well, mass. We still have mass. We don't have weight, right, because we're in microgravity. But if you're cooking around a corner and you run into a handrail, it's gonna hurt, you know, if you imagine going 10 or 15 mph into something metal, it's gonna hurt — you're squishy. So that was a great lesson in slowing down and making sure you're watching your surroundings. But one of the things that Anne McClain says that cracks me up, but every time it happens, like, “Yep, this is definitely—," she says, “Experience is that thing you learn right after you need it.” And so we had a lot of those moments where you learn a lesson and you're like, “Ah, I wish I knew that five minutes ago.” And so that's something that applies everywhere. Experience is that thing you always needed right before that happened. But we also like to say Crew-10 can do hard things. That's another thing that was just kind of our motto, whether it's training — some of the training can be really physically demanding. It's really mentally demanding. And it's a lot of travel. When you get assigned to a mission, it's probably a year and a half to two years of training, and then you're gone for six months. So out of that two to two and a half years, you're not home for over a year. So you're all over the world, traveling to train and work. And like I said, we're all humans. We have Earth lives, we have homes, you get situations back home. And so navigating personal lives, navigating professional lives, navigating tough training. Crew-10 can do hard things. We like to say that. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 14:22 I like that. It also talks a bit about your grit. Crew-10 grit. So, talking about hard things, I'd like to take us to the time when you've been piloting the F-22 and you've seen combat. I heard you speaking a little bit before about a no-notice deployment. Let's visit that time in your life. What were you doing? What was your role, and what was something you experienced? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 14:47 Sure. So I was actually flying the day that we got notified. And, you know, just a standard training sortie — had landed, and some of the maintainers were like, “Hey, have you heard what's happening?” And I was like, “No, what's happening?” And then we had a big squadron meeting, and that's when we got notified, like, “Hey, we're deploying.” We were on the GRF, is what it was called at the time, Global Response Force, and I think some of that structure has changed since I left that squadron, but we knew that once we were on the GRF, there was a chance that we would get activated and get moved somewhere. Didn't necessarily expect it to be quite that quick. I think it was like the next week we got this deployment. So we got notified on a Thursday, I think, and then on Monday, I was taking off.   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 15:31 Oh, really no notice.   Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 15:33 Yeah, so, four days later, we were taking off, and then seven days later, we were flying missions from — we were stationed at Al Udeid Air Base, so we're flying out of Al Udeid within a week. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 15:45 How many with you?   Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 15:47 So when we deploy, we actually deploy with our maintenance squadrons, 300 people. Twenty to 30 of them are the pilots, and then the rest are the maintainers. And so it's the entire squadron. We morph into an expeditionary squadron. And so there are 300 people that head out. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 16:03 So I imagine, you know, on top of the fact that it was such a rapid movement, there's probably things that people had to obviously work through family. This needs to happen. But what were some things that you experienced in that deployment, or even in just that transition? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 16:21 Again, I go back to taking care of people. I was a flight commander at the time. We had two flight commanders, so I'm in charge of basically half the squadron, and we had a really wonderful commander who gave us the authority and the autonomy to leave the squadron. So, you know, it's about saying, like, “How are you guys doing at home?” Half our squadron didn't even have tan flight suits. You know, we're trying, we're working with logistics. We're trying to get everything ready. Like, does everybody have a go bag? Does everybody even know what a go bag is? Do you have the things you need? So working all of that. And then do you have the childcare figured out? Do you have the — how is all your family doing? Are you ready for this? And then we had to do a bunch of last-minute training before we left. And so it's a really busy time, but it was one of the first times where I felt like I had an influence on the people that were under me, that I had supervised. And so it was a really great experience to solve those problems, figure it out and help people get off the ground in four days successfully, and leaving something, some semblance of structure at home. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 17:24 So you said it was the first time where you kind of really felt that you had that impact. What would you say kind of maybe crystallized within yourself in learning that? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 17:36 I think it really solidified. I think I said, “I try to lead by taking care of people,” right? I truly believe if you take care of the human, they're going to do a really great job. You don't have to ask much of people at work and in their professional life, if their personal and the human side of them is taken care of and so that's kind of what I mean when I say that solidified it for me, like, make sure that the humans are good to go, and they'll go do anything you want to do. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 18:04 Wow. So while on that deployment, you're leading half of that squadron. What were some of the challenges maybe that you experienced, and how did you grow as a leader during that timeframe? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 18:14 Scheduling is definitely a tough one. So we flew daytime and nighttime. We basically had an F-22 airborne for almost 24 hours a day for the entire six months, six and a half months. We left and we were told it might be two- or three-month deployment, and then it turned into six months. And then we got delayed up coming home. And so then we stayed through Christmas. And those are the things that really are tough for people. But we have a limited number of jets that we took. We have a limited number of pilots; we have a limited number of maintainers and parts. And so I think for us, managing a schedule between me and the other flight commander, managing a schedule, managing quality of life for everybody, and make sure that we're not burning people out, or that they're not —we're flying eight-, nine-, 10-hour sorties, right? And that's exhausting. It's just you and that airplane with your wingman and a different airplane. And so you have to manage, again, that human factor. The human capital is probably the toughest thing to manage. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 19:15 Wow, and you talked about how the deployment kind of got extended. What were some things, because many of our listeners and our viewers are leaders, and at different levels of leadership and different times in their lives where they're doing that. When you were leading, and you had some of those subordinates, or those that were working with you that really experienced some troubles, through emotions, through some of that. How did you help navigate them through that when you were all in that as well? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 19:46 Right. You know, I think at NASA especially, we talk about self-care being a huge part of team care. And so making sure I do this in my regular life too, but, you know, making sure that you're getting enough rest, making sure that you're taking care of yourself and your personal life, so that you can truly be present for the other people that need you. And I think being present for others is one of the biggest things that you can do. You know, they may not need a ton of help, or they may not need the solution, but being there, being available and being present for people is really important. But you can't do that unless you're good to go yourself. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 20:18 Did you see that from someone? Did you learn that from someone you saw doing that? Or just, how did, I mean NASA's — you said, NASA, but did you see that at the Academy? Or where did you kind of gather that? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 20:28 You know, I think one of the things that hit me hard about showing up and being present was actually more professional. I kind of skated through the Academy on minimal sleep, and I was able to manage everything. But I wasn't flying a $143 million airplane. And so, in pilot training, we started to talk about crew rest and pilot rest. That's the first time that I had heard this concept of, “You need to go home and get rest so that you can be on your game.” Because flying airplanes, your decisions have real consequences, right? And you have to be present and available, and you have to be on your game to fly airplanes and do well in airplanes. And then the faster and the higher and the better the airplane gets, the more on your game you have to be. So I think it's something that has just kind of evolved in me. And then, as a leader, I realized, if you don't have any gas in the tank, you cannot help somebody else. And so for me, it's just kind of been, over the last decade and a half, of, wow, I need my sleep. I need to make sure I'm good to go. I need to make sure my human is good, so that way I can help other humans. And yeah, when your decisions have real consequences, it's important that you're present and you're ready to go. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 21:43 Have you seen some of the fact that you prioritize that for yourself, for you as your own human? Have you seen others kind of like see that, view that, and actually take that on as well themselves. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 21:53 Yeah, I think they do. And I think, as a leader, it's really important to set that example. The commander cannot be the first one in last one out. Like, you just can't do that, because everybody's going to stay until you leave. So setting the example, setting the example of having a good home-life balance as well. Like, home and work have to be balanced. Sleep has to be balanced. Again, self-care is the biggest part of team care, I think. And if you model that, people start to realize it's important. You know, the younger people that might burn themselves out trying to get somewhere, trying to get to the next step, or trying to impress somebody, or whatever the case may be, if they see you taking a step back and they see your success, maybe then they can start worrying about themselves too. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 22:34 I think that's a great lesson, leading by example. For sure. There are probably moments that you experience both at the Academy, while flying the F-22 or as an astronaut, where you don't have the luxury of balance. How do you navigate that and how do you help others get to that space maybe quicker? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 22:53 I think of everything as a season in life. It might just be a busy season, and you might just have to put some time in but making sure that you are planning ahead and know that you're gonna be able to take some time and reset. And that could be anything, right? That could be personal life, professional life. That could be the four-week training trip that we've got is going to be rough, and its multiple time zones, and it's a ton of training, it's a ton of information. You just have to get through it. But then, that week, when we got home, I made sure my schedule was a little lighter. Whatever the balance is, I think of things in seasons. Crew-10 can do hard things, right? And that came from — you can get through this next training session, right? But we're gonna do a mask-to-suit transition, which is like in a fire, you've got a mask on. You have to get from that mask into your spacesuit. It's a significant physical event. And there's limited oxygen; there's limited ability to breathe in the suit when in that specific environment. And so how do you slow down, take the breaths you need to get in there to not then get to a point where you're panicking, right? Or that you're too exhausted or too hot or overdid, or whatever it is, right? So I think even just that, that is a season. We're going to do two hours of this. That's my season, and then we'll get out of the simulator, we'll take a break, right? And if it happened on orbit, it would be like, “We're going to get through this. We're going to solve the problem. We're going to manage the emergency, and then once things are set, we'll have a moment to breathe.” So that's kind of how I think of it. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 24:21 Did seasons come something, a term that you kind of realized maybe at the Academy, you were a volleyball athlete at the Academy, and so volleyball has a season. But my question is, like, how did you come to that realization? Like, “Oh, I can get through this, and I put it in a bucket of time.” Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 24:35 You learn a lot of time management at the Academy, and when you're in the fall, you're really busy, spring season is less busy, and so you kind of learn early how to manage. Like, “OK, I've got to run. I gotta sprint,” right? “And then I can jog later, or I can walk later.” So, I think you learn that growing up in school, and you know, if you play sports or you do extracurricular activities or other things like that, or even just seasons in life at home, life ebbs and flows. I don't even know when I started saying it, but my sister and I started saying “seasons of life” to each other a long time ago. You know, she's got three kiddos, so she's been in all sorts of seasons. But, yeah, it's just, you know, I think I started to time block things, or block things off and just, and that's the only way you're going to get through life, is if you focus on what you need to do right now, be good at it, and then move to the next thing. You can have an idea of what's coming next, but you have to be present and do what you're doing there. Yes, so, yeah, seasons, time, blocks, whatever you want to call it. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 25:39 I like that. Well, you brought up your sister, and so you're an auntie of three. Let's talk about your personal life and leadership, some experiences you've had navigating your schedule. You're on the road so much. How do you prioritize? I guess the things that are important to you when you have such a heavy schedule, yeah, being on the road and the people that are important to you, right? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 26:03 Man, I think that for me, my family has been a huge support system my whole life. My twin sister — built in best friend.   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 26:13 And who is older? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 26:14 She is. She's got me by a minute. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 26:18 OK. Does she hold that over you?   Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 26:20 Yes, of course she does. We've just always supported each other 100% and everything. She's been my biggest cheerleader through all of my life, and I've been her biggest cheerleader through all of her life. And you know, my main goal in life is to be the coolest auntie, like the best auntie, and I would die happy. And they're a huge priority to me. I see them every couple two to three months — since my oldest has was born. So for the last 14 years, just made it a priority, even if it's like, leave late on a Friday night and then get home late Sunday night, I make the effort to go see them and to interact with them. And you know, to help foster them. You know they're growing up. And I love watching kids grow up and experience the world and see what can be done. Their dad's a Marine, their mom's this really successful real estate agent, their auntie' a pilot-slash-astronaut. You know, they've got, like, all these no family that's really not doing very much. Yeah, you know, they've got all these really great role models. And my goal is to just show them that it doesn't matter who you are, like they only ever know me as auntie. Like they know I'm an astronaut, and they love that. Their friends know that I'm an astronaut. Anti vapor, no, no, yeah. But, you know, like, they're always gonna get a big hug from auntie, like, that's, that's what's important to me. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 27:36 Well, you mentioned, going into space, being an auntie. So, would you describe your time and space is, it's probably out of this world. I mean, that's, wow, that's terrible. That's terrible I said it that way. But I think you've mentioned it is kind of the best time in your life. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 27:52 Yeah. Best five months my life. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 27:56 Best five months of your life, and it's passed. Now, when we think about our evolution, whether personally, professionally, as leaders, etc., we have these ideas in our mind, like, this is the pinnacle. How do you navigate what's next after you've experienced that pinnacle? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 28:14 Yeah, that's a great question, and I think it's something that a lot of us struggle with when we come home. What's next? We get six months, some time to think and kind of get reintegrated. And you don't necessarily have to go back to work right away. I was able to spend a ton of time with my sister and her kiddos. Yeah, what's next. And I think for me, like the drive out to the launch pad, I was like, “Man, I've made it.” You know, the first time I looked out the window from Dragon, “I've made it.” First time we crossed the hatch, and I went and looked out the glass like, “Wow. The hard work paid off.” And I still feel like that to this day. I would have spent four more months in space if they had asked me to, and I would have turned around and launched right back then the day that we landed, and it was because of the crewmates that I spent it with and the fulfillment that I got from the mission. But I think you can find fulfillment in a lot of ways. And you know, my job, now that I've been back, I'm going to be working with the new class of astronauts and their training for spacewalk. So in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab, our big pool, like, my job is to be their mentor as they go through the spacewalk training. And you know, like, I cannot wait. I'm so excited. I cannot wait to have an impact and try to help teach this next generation of spacewalkers, this next generation of astronauts, to be better than us. I find a lot of fulfillment in making the next generation better. So I think, however the fulfillment shows up for people, I think as long as you can find something, there you'll be happy. Going to space was great, but teaching and instructing and mentoring is also really fulfilling for me. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 29:54 And that will be 10 of them? How many will that be? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 29:55 Ten.   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 29:56 Ten. So then you'll have 13. You'll be auntie to 13. Oh, that's wonderful. What have you learned about yourself since then? You know, you've evolved as a leader through different situations, high threat, high risk. Safety is paramount. All of those different experiences. And now you're back on Earth and you're about to, you know, mentor. How have you evolved your leadership, and where would you say you're trying to go? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 30:23 Where am I trying to go? I think, for me, leadership is also about being vulnerable and being open and honest with people about failures or hardships and so, you know, like in the flying community, if you make a mistake, you're immediately like, “Hey, I messed this up. Here's how we fix it.” And that's something that we do at NASA as well, especially on a grand scale, right? Thousands of employees and everybody like, that's the only way that we get to space is by admitting when we've made mistakes, talking to each other about how we fix it and sharing those lessons learned. And so I think that especially when you get into the higher roles of leadership, it's important to go, “Hey, I messed up,” or, “Hey, I don't know the answer.” And being transparent with the people that you're working with. And if you don't know it, but you know where to go find it, like, “I'll get that answer for you,” instead of making up an answer, trying to figure out how to look like you're in charge, right? It's really important to me to also show that we don't know everything. We're human. We make mistakes, and it's OK to make mistakes, as long as you share it, and you share the lessons learned, and you make the next person better. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 31:32 Did you experience that personally? Did you have a moment in which you had to say, “Hey, I made a mistake,” and that's helped you realize that being vulnerable is really important or is that just something you've seen done really well? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 31:40 Oh, I've admitted a lot of mistakes. You know, I made a couple pretty big mistakes in the Raptor. Everybody's gonna make a big mistake at some point in their life. And, you know, I think that that was something that was modeled really well in the flying community early on. And it's something that's not tolerated if you're not willing to share your lessons learned. It's not tolerated in that community. That's a really good thing. I learned that in pilot training, right? If your buddy in your class makes the same mistake the next day that you made, you get in trouble because you didn't tell them how to how to prepare. And so it's fostered early on, especially in the flying community. I can't speak to any other community because I grew up there, but it's fostered early on, and so it's just something that comes naturally. I think eventually, because you just, you've seen it done so many times, and if you want other people to succeed, you're going to do it. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 32:29 All right. Well, we have two questions left. The first one is, what's something you do every day to be a better leader? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 32:37 That's a good one. This is gonna sound silly, but I sleep. Like, I'll go back to the self-care thing, right? Like, I put a lot of attention into being healthy, being hydrated, sleeping well. Like, if you take care of your body, your mind is going to do way more for you. And so I think you can show up as a better leader if you show up, rested, hydrated, fed, worked out whatever you need to do to be the best human you can be. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 33:09 That's what I try to do. OK. I like that a lot, and I think that's a good indication for me that six hours is probably not enough. Naviere needs a little bit more. And it's truth, because you told me, though I'm gonna do that. The second one is, if you could go back in time, maybe what's something you would have told yourself — your younger self — or maybe, as our cadets are listening, that you've learned and what they can be doing now to be a better leader down the road. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 33:34 If you run into a hardship or you fail at something, or something feels insurmountable, or you don't feel like you're ready, good enough, or whatever the case may be, doubt starts to seep in, right? I would say, rely on the support system that you have. Rely on the people around you. Talk about it. Figure out, you know, “Hey, I failed this GR, like, man, this kind of sucks.” And you know, maybe you just need to hear me say it out loud, and maybe I just need to get it off my chest, or maybe I need help trying to figure out the solution for whatever the case may be. So, you know, I had a built-in team on the volleyball team. I had a built-in friends and teammates that I could lean on. Maybe that's your squadronmates or your classmates, or whoever it is, right? And I think finding the friends that you can rely on for the rest of your life. Professionally, I've got a friend here that I met in the F-22 community. We've been friends for almost a decade now, and he's still one of the first people that I call when something happens, like, “Oh, I messed this up today. Help.” So, you know, finding a support system. My sister's the other person that I call first off. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 34:38 She probably knows you're gonna call when you call. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 34:39 Yeah, we talk way too much. But, you know, having that support system around you and finding people that really bolster you and get you across that line and help you find the courage to take the next step, I think that's really important. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 34:54 I know I said there was only two, but as I've listened to you, I just think you're just you're just remarkable, and maybe what's something that you're proud about yourself as a leader. I would really love to hear that in your, you know— Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 35:05 I think the thing that makes me the most proud as a leader is when somebody succeeds and it's something that I helped them do. I've had somebody come back and say, “Thanks for saying that.” That pushed me out the edge, you know, like, I'm really into building the next generation and make them better than us. And so if I see somebody succeeding, that's good. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 35:27 Well, this has been incredible. Is there anything that we didn't cover that you would love to share with the Long Blue Line in our community? Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 35:33 Oh, man, the community is great. I think I would just say thank you to the community. I've gotten so much love and support from Coloradans, but also the Long Blue Line and the Air Force in general. You know, I love the community that we have. It goes right back to what I just said, right, finding a community that supports you and pushes you to do better and be better. And this is that community. Col. Naviere Walkewicz 35:55 Well, Vapor, I promise I'm gonna get more sleep, and I just want to thank you for being such an incredible leader and guest here on Long Blue Leadership. Col. Nichole “Vapor” Ayers 36:03 Thanks for having me back. Absolutely.   Col. Naviere Walkewicz 36:05 Thanks. You know, this conversation was really incredible with Vapor. I think some of the things that really stood out to me is just how incredible as a human she is. She brings humanity into leadership. She puts people first. She thinks about the team. She works hard. Don't forget to prioritize sleep. But I think really, some of the lessons that we can all take away can hit us all personally, because if you think about people first and taking care of them, and the fact that you have to take care of yourself too, you can go really far in leadership. So I really appreciate her today on Long Blue Leadership. And I'm Naviere Walkewicz, Class of '99. Until next time.   KEYWORDS Joel Neeb, Long Blue Leadership, Air Force Academy leadership, USAFA leadership, military leadership podcast, leadership development, leadership lessons, character-based leadership, leadership under pressure, leading with integrity, decision making in leadership, mentorship and leadership, values-based leadership, service before self, leadership mindset, leadership podcast interview, military leadership stories, leadership for professionals, leadership for entrepreneurs, how to be a better leader, leadership growth.       The Long Blue Line Podcast Network is presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation        

Sam Vadas explains why airline stocks like Delta (DAL) and American Airlines (AAL) took off on today's session and previews Wednesday's interest rate decision from the Fed. Sam Vadas explains why airline stocks like Delta (DAL) and American Airlines (AAL) took off on today's session and previews Wednesday's interest rate decision from the Fed. ======== Schwab Network ========Empowering every investor and trader, every market day. Subscribe to the Market Minute newsletter - https://schwabnetwork.com/subscribeDownload the iOS app - https://apps.apple.com/us/app/schwab-network/id1460719185Download the Amazon Fire Tv App - https://www.amazon.com/TD-Ameritrade-Network/dp/B07KRD76C7Watch on Sling - https://watch.sling.com/1/asset/191928615bd8d47686f94682aefaa007/watchWatch on Vizio - https://www.vizio.com/en/watchfreeplus-exploreWatch on DistroTV - https://www.distro.tv/live/schwab-network/Follow us on X – https://twitter.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/schwabnetworkFollow us on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/schwab-network/ About Schwab Network - https://schwabnetwork.com/about

Sports parents - how are you finding the journey? Rewarding? Stressful? Exciting? Anxiety inducing? Relationship enhancing? Expensive financially? Expensive emotionally? Any of those? All of those! Either way, I honestly believe that today's episode will help you. Help you with the approach you take as a sports parent! Today's guest is Garry Linton, Garry is US based and is a leading voice in parenting and youth sports. He publishes Instagram posts which are ace under takeflightcoach . Posts you'll learn from and want to share with those you care about. Garry's sport is basketball but as you'll hear his guidance is relevant to all sports.In this podcast, we'll work through some of Garry's amazing Instagram posts and go deep on the messages he conveys. The original posts are amazing - the additional insight Garry gives in this episode even more so.I wish I'd known about Garry's posts and his approach when I was starting out on the sports parenting journey - if you like what you hear today how about sharing this episode and Garry's Instagram account with any sports parents you know who it might help! I think you'll be doing them a favour…Follow Garry's Take Flight Instagram account Find out more about Garry's sports parenting journey and book a consultation. Music CreditsEarth by MusicbyAden https://soundcloud.com/musicbyadenCreative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported — CC BY-SA 3.0

6pm: Video Guest – Ryan Clarkson – Clarkson Law Firm // Meta sued over AI smart glasses’ privacy concerns, after workers reviewed nudity, sex, and other footage // OpenAI is being sued for training ChatGPT with 'stolen' personal data // Meta is also facing unrelated lawsuits over their platforms being intentionally addictive, while multiple AI companies are being sued for liability in cases where users were driven to suicide or murder over conversations with their chat-bots // Phone Guest – Attorney Sumeer Singla // The City of Seattle continues to engage in a cover up over allegations against former SPD Chief Adrian Diaz // Sumeer is filing a lawsuit against SPD and the city of Seattle alleging public records violations in relation to his case involving four women who claim they were victims of sexual harassment, retaliation and subject to a hostile work environment by Diaz // Electric air taxis are about to take flight in 26 states

What happens when a land gets rethemed but an existing attraction no longer fits the story?This week, Stephen is joined by Kaity and Jenny as we head to Disneyland to reimagine The Rescuers in Bayou Country. We explore how Imagineering uses story cohesion, ride systems, and immersive details to make a space feel intentional and alive. It is about using every element of a land from lighting to animatronics to emotional beats to tell a story that guests can fully believe in without relying on a mega-IP.Along the way, we dig into small-footprint creativity, clever queue storytelling, and why Disneyland thrives with subtle story-driven experiences. Plus, soaring on sardine cans, albatross shadows, and all the details that bring this classic story to life.Don't forget to check us out on Instagram!

February 17, 2026 ~ Chris Renwick, Lloyd Jackson, and Jamie Edmonds spoke with Christianne Malone, AVP Economic Development at Wayne State University, about TechTown's impact on Detroit's startup and small business scene. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Florida lawmakers propose tax incentives to encourage the development of flying car technology, aiming to position the state as a leader in innovative transportation solutions. The legislation seeks to reduce financial barriers and streamline regulations to attract developers and investors. This initiative is expected to stimulate economic growth by creating jobs and attracting tech companies, with related industries such as maintenance and infrastructure likely to benefit. Challenges include addressing safety, air traffic management, and environmental impact.Learn more on this news by visiting us at: https://greyjournal.net/news/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit sempremilan.substack.comJoin Oli and Isak as they talk through RedBird's refinancing of the vendor loan, the NBA Europe franchise talk and what it all means for AC Milan. Note: this was recorded just before the official announcement.

Albannach shakes the walls. Adam Agee & Jon Sousa fly through reels. Heather Dale summons the fair folk. From ancient pipes to fresh voices, this episode is pure Celtic power on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #744  -  -  Subscribe now at CelticMusicPodcast.com! Adam Agee & Jon Sousa, Albannach, Alex Sturbaum, Tradify, Dan Possumato, Low Power Trio, Heather Dale, Low Lily, Stephen MacDonald, Tony Christie & Ranagri, Brad The Piper, Mary Frances Leahy, The Crazy Rogues, The McDades GET CELTIC MUSIC NEWS IN YOUR INBOX The Celtic Music Magazine is a quick and easy way to plug yourself into more great Celtic culture. Enjoy seven weekly news items with what's happening with Celtic music and culture online. Subscribe now and get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20 FOR 2026 This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. You can vote for as many songs and tunes that inspire you in each episode. Your vote helps me create this year's Best Celtic music episode. You have just three weeks to vote this year. Vote Now! You can follow our playlist on YouTube to listen to those top voted tracks as they are added every 2 - 3 weeks. THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC 0:02 - Intro  -  Na Geocaigh 0:10 - Adam Agee & Jon Sousa "The Maids of Holywell / Cor Pheait Uí Thuathaigh (Pat Tuohey's Reel) / Moneymusk" from Ceol na gCarad 3:55 - WELCOME 6:04 - Albannach "Auld Nick's A Piper" from Eye Of The Storm 8:43 - Alex Sturbaum "Gulls Of Invergordon" from River Run Wide 12:11 - Tradify "Waterman's, Waterman's Jig & Superfly" from Take Flight 16:36 - Dan Possumato "The Boys of Mullaghbawn (feat. Mick Mulcrone, Dan Possumato, Teresa Baker & Kevin Burke)" from An Teachín Gorm 20:13 - FEEDBACK 26:04 - Low Power Trio "Jug of Punch" from Dirty Old Town 28:55 - Heather Dale "Fair Folk" from Fairytale 31:44 - Low Lily "Night Lament" from single 35:46 - Stephen MacDonald "Chapter One  -  Hold Me Close" from The Legend of John Lally 39:13 - THANKS 41:01 - Tony Christie & Ranagri "Paddy's Green Shamrock Shore" from The Great Irish Songbook Volume ll 46:17 - Brad The Piper "The Truth" from The Forgotten Game 52:19 - Mary Frances Leahy "Celticumbia" from First Light 56:16 - The Crazy Rogues "Lady With a Lily Crown" from Advanced Roguery 59:36 - CLOSING 1:00:52 - The McDades "Peggy - O" from single 1:05:29 - CREDITS Support for this program comes from Dr. Annie Lorkowski of Centennial Animal Hospital in Corona, California. Support for this program comes from International speaker, Joseph Dumond, teaching the ancient roots of the Gaelic people. Learn more about their origins at Sightedmoon.com Support for this program comes from Cascadia Cross Border Law Group, Creating Transparent Borders for more than twenty five years, serving Alaska and the world. Find out more at   www.CascadiaLawAlaska.com Support for this program comes from Hank Woodward. The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather and our Patrons on Patreon. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs. Visit our website to follow the show. You'll find links to all of the artists played in this episode. Todd Wiley is the editor of the Celtic Music Magazine. Subscribe to get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. Plus, you'll get 7 weekly news items about what's happening with Celtic music and culture online. Best of all, you will connect with your Celtic heritage. Please tell one friend about this podcast. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to support any creative endeavor. Finally, remember. Clean energy isn't just good for the planet, it's good for your wallet. Solar and wind are now the cheapest power sources in history. But too many politicians would rather protect billionaires than help working families save on their bills. Real change starts when we stop allowing the ultra - rich to write our energy policy and run our government. Let's choose affordable, renewable power. Clean energy means lower costs, more freedom, and a planet that can actually breathe. Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/. WELCOME THE IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST * Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. I am Marc Gunn. I'm a Celtic musician and also host of Pub Songs & Stories. This podcast is for fans of all kinds of Celtic music. We're here to build a strong and welcoming Celtic community. One that lifts up artists. One that shares great music. These musicians give their music to you. Freely. With heart. If you hear a song you love, please tell the artist. Send them an email. Let them know you heard them on the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast. These artists are not part of big companies. They are indie musicians. Small bands. Real people. They rely on fans like you. Your support helps them keep making music. If you can, please be generous.  Buy a CD. Grab an Album Pin or a shirt.  Download the music.  Or join their Patreon. You'll find links to every artist in the show notes. Plus show times and more. Just visit us at celticmusicpodcast.com. Email follow@bestcelticmusic to learn how to subscribe to the podcast and you will get a free music - only episode. IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODFEST AND ARTS MARKET This is a one  -  day music festival and arts market that will take place on Sunday, March 8, 2026 at The Lost Druid Brewery in Avondale Estates, GA, 15 minutes from downtown Atlanta. There are four bands performing at the festival. I am performing one show solo and one show with May Will Bloom, where my daughter takes the lead. Kinnfolk will join us as well as I mentioned last week. But the final band performing at the festival is a 3  -  piece version of The Muckers, our local Celtic punk band. That will complete our lineup. Follow our event page on Facebook for more details. Or Follow us for Free on our Patreon page. Now my next goal is to raise $2500 so that all of the bands are paid a decent wage and to promote our first  -  ever Celtic festival. To that end, I added three new rewards for Kickstarter. Each is a chance to sponsor individual bands at the festival. When you do, you'll get one of the first album pins from each of these amazing Celtic bands. That's because we are highlighting album pins at the festival as well, as another means to promote the music of bands. Our album pins are wooden lapel pins themed to a particular album released by a band. The buyer gets a digital download of the album, then they can wear their album! There's just 8 days left on this Kickstarter. So please make a pledge to support Celtic culture through music. THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST! Because of you, this podcast exists. Because of your generosity, we release new episodes almost every week. You make that possible. Truly. Your support does more than pay the bills. It keeps Celtic music moving forward. It helps us share this music with listeners all over the world. It helps grow a global Celtic community. Your patronage covers everything behind the scenes. Audio editing.  Artwork. Weekly issues of the Celtic Music Magazine. Promotion. And most important of all. It helps us buy music from indie Celtic artists. So they can keep creating. And we can keep sharing it. If you are already a patron, thank you. You are the heart of this show. And if you're not yet a patron, you are always welcome.  Patrons get early access to episodes. Music - only editions. Free MP3 downloads. Exclusive stories and artist interviews. And a vote in the Celtic Top 20. Join us today. Help keep this music alive. Independent. And full of magic.

Dr. Mordechai Kedar on Iran, Israel and the current state of the Middle EastPODCAST INFO:Podcast website: https://yishaifleisher.com/podcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/YishaiFleisherTVSUPPORT & CONNECT:Buy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/yishaiFight4Israel: https://fight4israel.givecloud.coTwitter: https://twitter.com/YishaiFleisherLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yishaifleisherFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/YishaiFleisher  Support the show

Get the watered down drinks ready in Utah because the Mammoth are playoff bound, book it! The Ducks can't lose since the boys hit the Take Flight button. And what's the deal with goalie play in the NHL these days? Gavin McKenna and Penn State might have learned how to putt. American Football and movies are the greatest friend hangs in the world. And the beer league hotline will warm your heart NEW EPISODES EVERY TUESDAY & THURSDAY! Watch full episodes, shorts, and clips right here on YouTube. Listen to the podcast on Spotify or anywhere you get your pods. Subscribe & follow Empty Netters everywhere: YouTube: / @emptynetters Instagram: @EmptyNetters TikTok: @EmptyNetters X: @EmptyNetters PRESENTED by BetMGM. Download the BETMGM app and use code “NETTERS” and enjoy up to $1500 in bonus bets if you lose your first wager! Thanks to our Sponsors! BetMGM: Use bonus code NETTERS when signing up to receive up to $1500 in bonus bets if your first bet loses. Bauer: Get your hands on Bauer's newest innovation — the PULSE stick — and feel the difference. Get your hands on one at https://Bauer.comLUCY: Order your LUCY Today by going to https://www.lucy.co/Friday and use promo code FRIDAY for 20% off your first order Seat Geek: Use our code for 10% off your next SeatGeek order*: https://seatgeek.onelink.me/RrnK/EMPTYNETTERS10 Sponsored by SeatGeek. *Restrictions apply. Max $20 discount Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER (Available in the US) 877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY) 1-800-327-5050 (MA), 1-800-NEXT-STEP (AZ), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-981-0023 (PR) 21+ only. Please Gamble Responsibly. See BetMGM.com for Terms. First Bet Offer for new customers only. Subject to eligibility requirements. Bonus bets are non-withdrawable. In partnership with Kansas Crossing Casino and Hotel. This promotional offer is not available in New York, Nevada, Ontario, or Puerto Rico. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Apparently, we all are going to take flight whether we want to or not...See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

It's Déjà Vu for the Packers, Eagles, and Steelers: they're eliminated in the Wild Card Round once again. I am joined by Bryant and G to discuss why these teams keep on disappointing in the exact same way, and how the cycle can be broken. Plus, we preview the upcoming Divisional Round games and make our picks on who advances to the Conference championships.(0:12): Intro(3:32): Wild Card Recap(4:30): Eagles Offense Fails to Take Flight(12:52): Packers choke - is it on LeFleur?(21:51): Steelers and Mike Tomlin Part Ways(31:31): G's pick(s) for Steelers Next Coach(35:30): Bills vs Broncos(41:59): 49ers vs Seahawks(52:15): Texans vs Patriots(1:01:20): Rams vs Bears(1:10:23): OutroCome connect with Sports Counsel via:TwitterInstagramFacebookThreadsJoin our Discord as well! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Round Guy Radio introduces a new sponsor and announces it will broadcast the Cedar Rapids Titans arena football season, then shifts to an in-depth conversation with the Fairfield Trojans coach. The episode recaps recent games, highlights strong team effort, and examines key performances from Isaiah Zillman, Ethan Bisgard, Drew Myers and other contributors. The coach discusses improvements in free-throw shooting, ball control, rebounding, and defensive discipline, while praising JV development and bench depth. The show previews a busy post-Christmas stretch of road games and home matchups, and emphasizes the team's growth and competitive outlook for the remainder of the season.

This edWeb podcast is sponsored by Robolink, creators of CoDrone EDU.The edLeader Panel recording can be accessed here.What happens when you combine inclusive design with emerging educational technology?CAST's Take Flight study explored that question, and now YOU can get first access to the study's impact with actionable recommendations to help any school transform STEM learning.Across 11 states, more than 1,100 middle school students learned to code and fly drones through UDL-aligned lessons (Universal Design for Learning) that significantly increased their STEM interest, skills, and sense of belonging. Plus, with Take Flight's curriculum-based professional learning (CBPL), teachers reported a 40% boost in confidence and strong intent to continue the program.In this edWeb podcast, moderated by CAST's Dr. Amanda Bastoni, Dr. Jessica Hall (CAST Senior Research Scientist), Chris Hesselbein (Director of Oregon's Northwest STEM Hub), Laurie Prewandowski (Digital Learning Specialist and DoD STEM Ambassador), and Adrienne White (Robolink Director of Marketing) share data-driven strategies that educators in rural communities and beyond can use to expand STEM pathways through UDL and drones. Learning objectives include:Discover data-backed strategies to meet district priorities for STEM, CTE, and computer science standardsAlign drone lessons with career-connected learning goals, emphasizing local and industry-relevant applicationsCenter CBPL that sustains teacher growth and instructional equityWhether you're in a rural community or an urban one, the free Take Flight curriculum offers a replicable model to help all students see themselves in STEM—and soar. This edWeb podcast is of interest to grades 5–12 teachers, librarians, school leaders, district leaders, and education technology leaders.RobolinkRobolink creates robotics and edtech solutions that equip students with skills for STEM careers.Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Learn more about viewing live edWeb presentations and on-demand recordings, earning CE certificates, and using accessibility features.

On this final Take Flight Weekly episode of 2025, Episode 306, I break down the ten characteristics that consistently show up in the top 10% of ELPs (Elite Level Producers). Success leaves clues. The gap between the 97% and the 3% is real. The gap inside the 3% is even more fascinating. These are the attributes I've seen across different markets, ages, backgrounds, and personality types. In Episode 305, I discussed the Top 10 Things I Learned in 2025. During that time, I was asked: "Jim, tell me what separates that top, top group of advisors from everyone else." So I kept writing. I connected dots from coaching calls, team meetings, and private conversations. What showed up was honest and consistent. The super achievers are not lucky. They're operating from high-performance characteristics that compound naturally. The 10 Characteristics of Super Achievers → 1. Something Drives Them They often cannot pinpoint the origin of their drive. It's not always money. It's deeper. They operate with unconscious competence—the highest stage of mastery. Their execution feels effortless but is built on years of repetition. → 2. They Are Borderline Obsessed with Winning They've learned the fine line between healthy and destructive obsession. They possess a gear most don't have. → 3. They Built a Powerful Network Ninety percent or more of their business is driven by referrals and repeat business inside their Top 100. → 4. They Care Deeply But Struggle with Boundaries Their empathy is a strength but becomes a liability without structure. Finding that boundary line is one of the final steps. → 5. They Are Risk Takers Who Invest in Themselves Not every investment pays off but they fail forward. They keep placing bets. → 6. They Are High D, High I, or Both on DISC They naturally default to action, influence, and competitive drive. They hire the S's and C's to manage details. → 7. They Know Their Strengths and Own Their Weaknesses They hire to their blind spots. They delegate without guilt. → 8. Their Growth Outpaced Their Structure Success arrived before they had systems to support it. They built structure while flying at full speed. → 9. They Often Peak Later in Life When you hit the 7th inning of your career, urgency kicks in. → 10. The Bigger Their Brand, the More They Qualify Leads High brand equity attracts unqualified opportunities. They learn to separate true opportunities from consumers who misunderstand pricing realities. → Bonus: The Basics Work Every Time As their business grew, they realized the basics just take more thought, design, and support. What's Next This is my final episode of 2025. I'll be back January 5th with an Introduction to Take Flight. Take the remainder of this year and think about your VISION, your goals, and if 2026 is the year you go from the 97% to an ELP or from an ELP to a Super Achiever. In 2026, you'll get my evolved thoughts on building a scalable, enjoyable, and profitable business. Take Flight is "The How." It's the operating system for your goals. Thank you. I'm grateful for you and I'll be back in 2026. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

On this 305th episode of Take Flight Weekly, I pull back the curtain on the 10 lessons that shaped me the most in 2025. I'm the President of Jameson Sotheby's International Realty, I coach elite-level producers across dozens of markets, and I continue to build my own business. That combination gives me a front-row seat to what separates the 3% from the 97%. These are the real patterns that separate the people who grow from the people who stay stuck. The 10 Patterns That Separate the 3% From the 97% → Lesson 1: Vision Is an Emotional Destination A true vision is a feeling. It's the emotional state you want to experience three years from now—clarity, control, energy, confidence, margin. → Lesson 2: An Extra 0.25% on Every $10M in Production Is $25,000 Elite producers understand the compounding effect of precision. Micro improvements stack, scale, and matter. → Lesson 3: Is Planning Actually Procrastination? Too many advisors hide behind "planning" because it feels productive. But planning without execution is avoidance. Planning becomes procrastination the moment it delays action. → Lesson 4: The 3% Are Willing to Fail to Learn and Grow Failing in public is the entry fee to elite performance. The 3% don't fear failure. They fear stagnation. Most optimize for safety. The elite optimize for growth. → Lesson 5: The Basics Will Always Work. Less Is More. Top performers master the basics at a higher level. When business gets noisy, the elite simplify. Excellence is built through subtraction, not addition. → Lesson 6: The Next Frontier Is Marketing Your Hyper-Local Market Advisors who master hyper-local expertise will own the next decade. The buying public chooses location first. AI is indexing geography at a micro level. Build a brand tied directly to location. → Lesson 7: Only 4% of People Receive Two or More Handwritten Notes Per Year Authenticity stands out. A handwritten note has the highest open rate in the world. Low cost. High impact. Underutilized. → Lesson 8: If You Don't Plant, You Will Not Harvest Input always precedes output. You cannot take a season off from marketing, database management, and relationship nurturing and expect predictable revenue. Keep planting during your busiest months. → Lesson 9: The Top 1% Are Obsessed with Reaching Their Goals Not committed. Obsessed. The top 1% live in complete alignment with their outcomes. Their habits, calendars, and relationships match their goals. Elite performance is engineered. → Lesson 10: Rightsize Is My Word for 2026 Rightsizing is about stripping away clutter. It's about aligning your business, commitments, team, and inputs with your emotional destination. It's not about shrinking. It's about recalibrating to grow in the right direction. Here's my promise heading into 2026: I'm going to keep doing the work, connecting the dots, and bringing you the truth about what separates elite producers from the 97%. You show up and do your part, and I'll show up and do mine. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

On this Thanksgiving week 2025 and episode 304 of Take Flight Weekly, I revisit one of the most powerful performance basics in my playbook: gratitude. Not the soft version. The real thing. The kind that rewires your brain and anchors you when life is chaotic. I'll walk you through my personal affirmation that starts with "I am so happy and grateful," unpack why I built it the way I did, and connect it to what the science of gratitude is proving right now. Then we'll get tactical with a simple, elite-level gratitude strategy you can execute in five minutes a day. In Q4 2010, I was under real financial pressure. The business was hard, the numbers were tight, and I realized I had zero chance of winning if I didn't get control of what was happening between my ears. My goal was simple: Keep my emotional frequency at 51 percent or higher. Slightly more optimistic than pessimistic. Around that time, I was studying Bob Proctor and John Assaraf. They made one point that landed hard: Success starts in your mind long before it shows up in your bank account. So I wrote my own affirmation, and I've now said it tens of thousands of times. Meta-analyses of gratitude interventions show consistent gains in life satisfaction and mental health. Neuroscience work shows that gratitude practices light up reward and regulation centers in the brain. It's not just a "nice idea" anymore. It's a proven performance tool. The Anatomy of My Affirmation → "I AM" – The two most powerful words. Your subconscious accepts whatever follows. → "So happy and grateful" – Happiness and gratitude are inputs, not trophies. They're a frequency you decide to live in. → "That money, success, and introductions" – Gratitude keeps you focused on opportunities you already have. → "Flow to me" – The kind of flow that shows up when your mindset, actions, and relationships are aligned. → "In ever increasing quantities from a myriad of different sources" – Gratitude is a flywheel that compounds over time. → "For the betterment of all those involved" – I never wanted success that only worked for me. → "My life is perfect" – I choose to see my current reality as raw material, not punishment. → "Every day, in every way, I am getting better and better" – Pure 1% better math. What the Science Says → Gratitude improves mental health – Reduces anxiety and depression → Gratitude changes the brain – Activates reward and regulation regions → Gratitude improves physical health and sleep → Gratitude strengthens relationships → Structured gratitude tools work in as little as 6-10 sessions Three Gratitude Habits for Advisors → The 60-Second Morning Affirmation Before you touch your phone, stand up, breathe deeply, and say your affirmation. Say it like you mean it. → The Weekly Gratitude Text or Voice Memo Once a week, send one client, mentor, or team member a note saying specifically why you appreciate them. No pitch. Pure appreciation. → Gratitude Reset in Real Time When anxiety spikes, stop for thirty seconds. Name three things you're grateful for in that exact moment. Use gratitude as a pattern interrupt. I coach to happy and grateful results, not production. Production is a lagging indicator. Execution of being grateful is a leading indicator. When you're grounded, happy, and genuinely grateful, your business expands with less friction. That's not woo-woo. That's strategy. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

On episode 303 of Take Flight Weekly, I walk you through one of the most overlooked yet powerful opportunities in our relationship business—holiday gifting and handwritten notes. Every advisor knows they should send something during the holidays, but few do it strategically. The difference between an average gesture and a lasting impression comes down to timing, thoughtfulness, and execution. This isn't about spending more money; it's about being intentional. Your goal isn't to impress—it's to express. The power of a well-timed, authentic note or gift lies in its ability to make someone feel seen, appreciated, and remembered. Timing is Everything USPS 2025 Domestic Mailing Deadlines: → First-Class Mail: December 18 → Priority Mail: December 19 → Priority Mail Express: December 21 Send early to stand out. Once you cross December 15, mailboxes explode. You want your message to land before the clutter. Best Practice: → Send cards between November 29–December 8 → Ship gifts between December 10–15 → Send New Year's cards between January 2–10 Strategic Playbook for 2025: → November 15: Finalize your Top 100 list → November 22: Order cards, gifts, and packaging → December 1–10: Send handwritten notes → December 10–15: Deliver gifts → December 26–January 5: Send "New Year Gratitude" notes Handwritten Notes: The Data → Open Rate: 90–99% versus 20–30% for email → Response Rate: 10–15% engagement versus 1–3% for printed mail → ROI: Nearly double compared to printed equivalents → Retention: Clients receiving 2+ handwritten notes per year are 80% more likely to refer or transact again → Physical mail activates stronger memory and emotional response centers than digital communication → 70% of consumers say handwritten notes make professionals appear more trustworthy Real-World Results: → Local company tested printed versus handwritten: handwritten cards generated more than double the conversion rate → Luxury brands saw 16–56x ROI with handwritten direct mail → Open rates increased from 42% to 90% by switching to handwritten notes How to Write the Card 3–5 sentences is the sweet spot. Structure: → Greeting – Use their name → Personal Connection – Reference something specific → Gratitude – Acknowledge their trust → Forward Look – End with optimism → Signature – Hand-sign it. Always Time: Plan 3–4 minutes per card. 50–75 cards = 4–5 hours total. Break into two or three 90-minute sessions. A four-minute handwritten card can sit on a client's desk for four months. That's marketing you can't buy. Gifting Principles → Keep It Local and useful → Stay under $100 per client → Personalize with a handwritten note → Align with your brand Birthdays Matter If holidays are your annual gratitude statement, birthdays are your year-round connection opportunity. Clients receiving 3+ personalized touches a year are 70% more likely to reach out first when they have a need. The Close Compare the ROI: → $500 postcard campaign: 1% response rate → $5 handwritten note: 10–15% response rate and deeper loyalty That's the kind of ROI you can't buy with clicks. It's earned through authenticity. If this resonated, share it. Subscribe at @askjimmiller. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The New England Patriots beat the New York Jets 27–14 on Thursday Night Football, their eighth straight win behind a monster 3-TD night from rookie TreVeyon Henderson and another MVP-caliber performance from Drake Maye. The Jets fall to 2–8, their offense stalls again, and the questions around Justin Fields and Aaron Glenn get even louder. Then we spin it forward to Sunday at MetLife: Giants vs. Packers. It's Mike Kafka's debut as Giants head coach, Jameis Winston's first start of 2025, and a banged-up 2–8 Giants team trying to upset a 5-3-1 Packers squad fighting for NFC playoff position. We'll break down Jets–Patriots drive by drive, talk about Henderson's breakout, Maye's MVP buzz, the future at QB for the Jets, and then dive into matchups, injuries, and keys to Giants–Packers plus the biggest games on the Week 11 slate, including Lions–Eagles, Seahawks–Rams, Bucs–Bills and the Madrid game. #NFL, #NFLWeek11, #Jets, #Patriots, #JetsNation, #TakeFlight, #GoPats, #Giants, #GiantsPride, #GoPackGo, #GiantsVsPackers, #NewYorkFootball, #LockedUpSports, #NYCSports, #FootballPodcast

Welcome to episode 302 of Take Flight Weekly. Today, I walk you through one of the most critical conversations an elite-level producer can have: the client qualification and selection process. Too many advisors blindly accept every opportunity. I learned 2 things: No listings are better than listings that never get sold because of unrealistic expectations. And 20% of your clients steal 80% of your joy. Today, I'll break down a simple three-strike qualification framework that protects your time, energy, and brand integrity. The Elite Producer Mindset Elite-level producers aren't order takers; they're curators of fit. They operate like true fiduciaries. Their time, expertise, and marketing dollars are reserved for clients who respect their process. When you qualify leads effectively, you attract clients who value your professionalism. This isn't about arrogance; this is about protecting your time. Tactical Framework: The Three Strikes Rule → Strike One: Source of Business Ask: "How did you hear about me?" If it isn't a referral within two degrees of separation, note it. Referrals indicate trust. Cold leads require more time and energy. → Strike Two: Competition Check Ask: "How many agents are you interviewing?" If you're the only one, great. If they're talking to others, note the second strike. Multiple interviews mean they're shopping, not selecting. → Strike Three: Motivation and Mindset Ask: "Are you looking for full-service marketing, or focused on a specific net number?" If the conversation turns to net proceeds, not market value, that's strike three. The Professional Walk-Away Script "I don't think I'm the right fit for your listing. I'm not the cheapest in the marketplace. I'm full-service and full exposure. I invest heavily in marketing and my team. Most of my business comes from relationships built on trust. Talk to other advisors and decide the best fit. If it doesn't feel right, call me back." That's not rejection. That's disciplined leadership. Building Your Championship Roster Look at every spot on your client roster like a GM building a sports team. You only have so many roster spots. Choose carefully. Remember: "Fit." Does a client "fit" your business model? ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Welcome to the 301st episode of Take Flight Weekly. Today, I introduce my word for 2026: RightSize. It's more than a word—it's a mindset I'll use throughout 2026. RightSizing is about creating alignment between who you are, what you want, and how you operate. For some, it means scaling back; for others, expanding. It could mean eliminating the unnecessary, moving up in quality, or moving down in volume to make room for what truly matters and creates an ROI or ROT (return on time). RightSizing is a philosophy rooted in awareness and discipline. It's about resisting the pull toward "more" and choosing what's right. It's making decisions based on energy, alignment, and outcome. In a world that glorifies growth at any cost, RightSizing is the counter-move. Over time, we accumulate commitments, systems, and clients that no longer fit. We add before we edit. We say yes because we can, not because we should. The result? Overwhelm, inefficiency, and a business that feels heavy instead of freeing. RightSizing forces you to create boundaries and audit your time. Are your goals still yours, or have they become someone else's expectations? Is your business operating at 30,000 feet, or are you still in constant takeoff mode? 10 Areas to RightSize in 2026: → Your Business Model – Built for profit, predictability, and joy? → Your Team – Right people in the right seats? → Your Client Base – Working with clients who energize you? → Your Time – How much is proactive vs. reactive? → Your Marketing – Focus on consistency over complexity → Your Systems – Eliminate what's redundant → Your Financial Structure – Align expenses with your vision → Your Health & Energy – Peak performance or running on fumes? → Your Space – Inspiring or cluttering your headspace? → Your Vision – Does your 3-Year Vision still excite you? RightSizing sets you up for the next level. In 2026, refuse to live on autopilot. Audit your commitments, align your priorities, and design 2026 to reflect what truly matters. What is your word for 2026? If this resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it. Subscribe via email at @askjimmiller. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Step into the twilight of the Celtic year with songs and stories of magic and mystery. From faerie dances to ghostly gatherings, celebrate Samhain with the spirit of Celtic song On the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast #732 - - Subscribe now! Téada, Banshee in the Kitchen, Bealtaine, Open The Door For Three, The Darkeyed Musician & Grimwater, Jared Bogle, The Secret Commonwealth, Tiller's Folly, The Drowsy Lads, Cathy Jordan & Kevin Burke & Seamie O'Dowd, The Friel Sisters, Kris Colt, Tradify, Alexander James Adams, Ockham's Razor, Brobdingnagian Bards GET CELTIC MUSIC NEWS IN YOUR INBOX The Celtic Music Magazine is a quick and easy way to plug yourself into more great Celtic culture. Enjoy seven weekly news items with what's happening with Celtic music and culture online. Subscribe now and get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. VOTE IN THE CELTIC TOP 20 FOR 2025 This is our way of finding the best songs and artists each year. You can vote for as many songs and tunes that inspire you in each episode. Your vote helps me create this year's Best Celtic music of 2025 episode. You have just three weeks to vote this year. Vote Now! You can follow our playlist on YouTube to listen to those top voted tracks as they are added every 2 - 3 weeks. THIS WEEK IN CELTIC MUSIC 0:06 - Téada "Jigs/Slip Jig: The Jig of the Dead / I Have a House of My Own with a Chimney Built on the Top of It / Paddy Breen's / The Bird's Call" from Ainneoin na stoirme / In spite of the storm 4:12 - WELCOME 5:52 - Banshee in the Kitchen "Banish Lisa" from The Last Pint - Not 9:10 - Bealtaine "The Fairy Session" from It's Pronounced Bealtaine 11:37 - Open The Door For Three "Billy from Bruff" from A Prosperous Gale 17:00 - The Darkeyed Musician & Grimwater "The Faerie Ring" from Illumina 20:40 - Jared Bogle "Sí Beag Sí Mhór / Loftus Jones (O'Carolan Tunes)" from The Old Road Home 26:49 - FEEDBACK 30:02 - The Secret Commonwealth "Samhain Feis" from Uninvited Guest 33:14 - Tiller's Folly "Dancing With The Dead" from Two Dark Ditties 35:23 - The Drowsy Lads "Double Drum (live at the Milwaukee Irish Festival)" from Time Flies 40:40 - Cathy Jordan & Kevin Burke & Seamie O'Dowd "Faery Song (from The Land Of Heart's Desire)" from I Am of Ireland / Yeats in Song 43:33 - The Friel Sisters "Born for Sport/The Fairy Jig/Kissing & Drinking (Jigs)" from Northern Sky 47:21 - THANKS 49:32 - Kris Colt "Spirit of the Woodland" from The Voyage 53:45 - Tradify "The Fairy Dance & the Bucks of Oranmore" from Take Flight 57:18 - Alexander James Adams "Samhain" from UnSeelie Self 1:00:45 - Ockham's Razor "King of the Faeries" from Secrets and Silence [Explicit] 1:03:32 - CLOSING 1:04:50 - Brobdingnagian Bards "Lady Faery" from Marked By Great Size 1:08:38 - CREDITS Support for this program comes from International speaker, Joseph Dumond, teaching the ancient roots of the Gaelic people. Learn more about their origins at Sightedmoon.com Support for this program comes from Cascadia Cross Border Law Group, Creating Transparent Borders for more than twenty five years, serving Alaska and the world. Find out more at www.CascadiaLawAlaska.com Support for this program comes from Hank Woodward. Support for this program comes from Dr. Annie Lorkowski of Centennial Animal Hospital in Corona, California. The Irish & Celtic Music Podcast was produced by Marc Gunn, The Celtfather and our Patrons on Patreon. The show was edited by Mitchell Petersen with Graphics by Miranda Nelson Designs. Visit our website to follow the show. You'll find links to all of the artists played in this episode. Todd Wiley is the editor of the Celtic Music Magazine. Subscribe to get 34 Celtic MP3s for Free. Plus, you'll get 7 weekly news items about what's happening with Celtic music and culture online. Best of all, you will connect with your Celtic heritage. Please tell one friend about this podcast. Word of mouth is the absolute best way to support any creative endeavor. Finally, remember—our planet's future is in our hands. The overwhelming evidence shows that human activity is driving climate change, from record - breaking heat waves to rising sea levels. But the good news? We have the power to fix it. Every choice we make—reducing waste, conserving energy, supporting clean energy, and lobbying our political leaders—moves us toward a more stable climate. Start a conversation today. The facts are out there, and the future is ours to shape. Promote Celtic culture through music at http://celticmusicpodcast.com/. WELCOME THE IRISH & CELTIC MUSIC PODCAST * Helping you celebrate Celtic culture through music. I am Marc Gunn. I'm a Celtic musician and also host of Folk Songs & Stories. This podcast is for fans of Celtic music. We are here to build a diverse Celtic community and help the incredible artists who so generously share their music with you. If you hear music you love, please email artists to let them know you heard them on the Irish and Celtic Music Podcast. Musicians depend on your generosity to release new music. So please find a way to support them. Buy a CD, Album Pin, Shirt, Digital Download, or join their community on Patreon. You can find a link to all of the artists in the shownotes, along with show times, when you visit our website at celticmusicpodcast.com. Email follow@bestcelticmusic to learn how to subscribe to the podcast and you will get a free music - only episode. You'll also learn how to get your band played on the podcast. Bands don't need to send in music, and you will get a free eBook called Celtic Musicians Guide to Digital Music. It's 100% free. Again email follow@bestcelticmusic IRISHFEST ATLANTA Join us at IrishFest Atlanta on Nov 7 - 9, 2025. You'll enjoy exclusive concerts with Open the Door For Three with Special Guest dancer Kevin Doyle on Friday and Teada on Saturday night. Plus enjoy music from Kathleen Donohoe, O'Brian's Bards, Olivia Bradley, Roundabouts, The Kinnegans, The Muckers, Irish Brothers, Celtic Brew, Station 1 2 3 and special set from Inara and Marc Gunn. There are music and dance workshops, Irish cooking competitions, IrishTea, Irish Films, and of course, LOTS of Irish dancing. Celebrate your Irish heritage at IrishFest Atlanta in November. Bring a friend! Learn more at IrishFestAtlanta.com THANK YOU PATRONS OF THE PODCAST! Because of generous patrons like you, the Irish & Celtic Music Podcast releases new episodes nearly every single week. Your support doesn't just fund the show—it fuels a movement. It helps us share the magic of Celtic music with thousands of new listeners and grow a global community of music lovers. Your contributions pay for everything behind the scenes: audio engineering, stunning graphics, weekly issues of the Celtic Music Magazine, show promotion, and—most importantly—buying the music we feature from indie Celtic artists. And if you're not yet a patron? You're missing out! Patrons get: Early access to episodes Music - only editions Free MP3 downloads Exclusive stories and artist interviews A vote in the Celtic Top 20 Join us today and help keep the music alive, vibrant, and independent.

We introduce our upcoming series, BatChat, premiering on November 5th. The series will explore the intriguing world of bats while also highlighting wildlife conservation and the amazing people working to conserve them. We conduct field interviews with bat conservationists to gain insights into their efforts and the challenges they face. In this series we'll be speaking to our President Chris Packham, bat workers studying a historical lime kiln in the Yorkshire Dales, an organisation which cares for some of the country's most important roosts and we will also visit a roost in Pembrokeshire which has shed light on how bat pups communicate with their mums. Tune in every other Wednesday to uncover the stories of bats and the individuals dedicated to protecting our natural world.Support the showPlease leave us a review or star rating if your podcast app allows it because it helps us to reach a wider audience so that we can spread the word about how great bats are. How to write a podcast review (and why you should).Got a story to share with us? Please get in touch via comms@bats.org.ukBats are magical but misunderstood. At BCT our vision is a world rich in wildlife where bats and people thrive together. Action to protect & conserve bats is having a positive impact on bat populations in the UK. We would not be able to continue our work to protect bats & their habitats without your contribution so if you can please donate. We need your support now more than ever: www.bats.org.uk/donate Thank you!

On this 300th episode of Take Flight Weekly, I want to teach you one of the simplest, most effective habits for running your business like a professional: the weekly planning session. If you've ever wondered how elite-level entrepreneurs and advisors stay focused, consistent, and calm in the middle of chaos, it's not luck—it comes down to elite-level planning and staying in a rhythm of consistency. Their weeks are built by design. The weekly planning session is your reset button, your opportunity to move from week to week proactively. It sets up each week to ensure that what you're doing each day aligns with your quarterly goals, annual goals, and your 3 Year Vision. Done right, it's the single most important 60 to 90 minutes of your week. When you run a high-performance business, you can't wing it. No one is that good. A weekly planning session ensures you're grounded, focused, and prepared—moving seamlessly from week to week. Without it, you drift into reactive mode, chasing what's urgent instead of what's important. With it, you gain control of your calendar, energy, and your outcomes. Best Practices for a Weekly Planning Session: → Create a recurring calendar invite. Choose the same time every week. Allow 60–90 minutes. Protect this block like a client meeting. → Review all correspondence from the previous week. Ask yourself: Did I miss an opportunity? → Review your previous week's calendar. Identify what worked, what didn't, and what needs follow-up. → Review your upcoming week. What events or meetings need preparation? → Review your CRM. Identify your "Next 10"—the retention and conversion process. → Identify one project that aligns with your quarterly goal. → Review your 3 Year Vision. See it. Feel it. Experience it in advance. When you treat your weekly planning session as a non-negotiable, you'll find yourself more grounded, better prepared, with way fewer missed opportunities. You'll walk into Monday playing on offense without the anxiety of not being prepared. Calculate the monetary value of the missed opportunities with your clients just in the last year. What's that number? $1M, $5M, $15M in production? What did you leave on the table? Get out your calendar right now and schedule a recurring appointment with yourself for 60-90 minutes each week. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Send us a textWe explore how leaders move from try to fly: building self-belief through repeated practice, welcoming help (even when it's uncomfortable), and trusting people, process, and place. We discuss the “pre-flight checklist,” the role of mentors at altitude (the “Eagle”), and how to hold your core identity—your map—through transformation.In this episode, you'll learn:Why Fly is the climax of the Unfolded arc (Dream → Play → Try → Fly)How self-trust is built (not bought) through reps and reflectionWays to receive help without judging its shape (encouragers, planners, critics)The triple trust: people, process, placeMentoring at altitude: finding (and being) the EagleWhy your creases and crumples are reminders, not flawsMentioned/Related:Leadership Vision Consulting: leadershipvisionconsulting.comUnfolded: Lessons in Transformation from an Origami Crane (book)Subscribe to our newsletter & follow on social (links on our website)Try This: Ask: What does flying mean to me right now? Name one small step—even if it scares you—and tell a trusted friend.

On this 299th episode of Take Flight Weekly, I want to recognize all of you who are toggling between your life and your business and navigating an industry that never slows down. Will it ever be easy? No. But here's what I know for certain: you've earned the right to want things and achieve things. You've put in the work, you've weathered the storms, and now it's time to claim what's yours: clarity, fulfillment, and a business that is predictable, sustainable, and enjoyable. Over the past year, I've watched many of you wrestle with uncertainty—new compensation models, big industry changes, rising costs, new pressures, heightened expectations. But beneath the stress is something else: proof. Proof that you belong here. Proof that you've earned the right to design a business that rewards your expertise, not your exhaustion. In this episode, I walk you through the hard truths of what you've overcome: Working for months in a 100% commission environment with no financial reward until closing Tending to your family and friends while negotiating deals with stressed clients Rebuilding your systems, protecting your compensation, and staying composed when everyone else is overly emotional Caring for clients at all hours while trying to nurture your own mental and physical health Resisting the constant pull to compare yourself to others You've developed a craft that looks effortless because you've mastered what few ever will. Your value isn't in the transaction—it's in your consistency, your resilience, and your ability to lead with calm during chaos. We have entered a new chapter in this business. The hobbyist era is ending, and that's good news for true professionals. The transactional model is fading. The relationship model is the future. Your clients don't just want service; they want stewardship. They want you. That's why the rest of this year and into 2026 is about right-sizing: simplifying what no longer serves you and doubling down on what does. It's about moving from wide and shallow to narrow and deep. You've earned the right to stop proving yourself and start refining yourself. Here's your challenge this week: Decide what you want next—financially, personally, and relationally. Ambition is not arrogance. Commit to one decision that honors your growth; something that makes your business work for you instead of against you. Acknowledge how far you've come. Write down five moments this year that prove you've earned the right to want things and achieve things. Own them. You don't need permission to want more. You've already earned that right through every late night, every interrupted dinner, and every risk you've taken. Stop apologizing for your ambition. The life and business you want won't happen by luck—it will happen because you finally decide you're worthy of it. Re-listen to this. Make the decision. Claim it. You! Have Earned! The Right! To Want Things! And Achieve Things!

The Rams are packing their bags - and we've got questions - ahead of a London matchup against the Jags. Erin Coscarelli and Tyler Dragon are joined by NFL Media's Bucky Brooks to figure out who this Rams team really is heading into Week 7. Welcome to Bleav in Rams presented by FanDuel! Fresh off a not-so-pretty 17-3 win over the Ravens, the Rams are 4-2 and favored by 3 over Jacksonville on FanDuel. But with Puka Nacua banged up, slow starts still haunting this offense, and Liam Coen back calling plays, can they find their groove overseas? Bucky weighs in on the Rams' identity, the McVay effect, and whether they belong back in his Top 10. Plus, we debate FanDuel's line - Rams favored by 3, over/under at 44.5 - and what it tells us about where this team really stands one-third into the season. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Rams are packing their bags - and we've got questions - ahead of a London matchup against the Jags. Erin Coscarelli and Tyler Dragon are joined by NFL Media's Bucky Brooks to figure out who this Rams team really is heading into Week 7. Welcome to Bleav in Rams presented by FanDuel! Fresh off a not-so-pretty 17-3 win over the Ravens, the Rams are 4-2 and favored by 3 over Jacksonville on FanDuel. But with Puka Nacua banged up, slow starts still haunting this offense, and Liam Coen back calling plays, can they find their groove overseas? Bucky weighs in on the Rams' identity, the McVay effect, and whether they belong back in his Top 10. Plus, we debate FanDuel's line - Rams favored by 3, over/under at 44.5 - and what it tells us about where this team really stands one-third into the season. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

On this episode of The Insightful Leader, an executive coach offers three tales of leaders who let complacency get in the way of success. 

On this 298th episode of Take Flight Weekly, I'm revealing the five high-performance strategies that have stood the test of time—the fundamentals I would build my entire business around if I had to start over from scratch in 2008. If you study elite-level producers long enough, you'll notice their success looks deceptively simple. They don't chase every shiny object. They master a small set of principles and live them daily. Performance at the highest level isn't about doing more—it's about doing more of what matters, better. Every year, Q4 gives me the time and space to think. This week, during one of those thinking sessions, I asked myself: "If I had to start all over, what five strategies would I build my business around?" In this episode, I break down the five non-negotiable strategies every full-service, full-fee real estate advisor and entrepreneur must master: Use Goals for Fuel. Use Vision for Why. Your goals create structure, but your vision gives it soul. Goals are short-term metrics. Vision is the long-term emotional destination that guides every decision. Declutter Your Life. Fly Light. Simplify your systems, schedule, and surroundings so your energy stays focused on the vital few. Complexity kills execution. Clarity creates capacity. The Weekly Meeting with Yourself. Create your weekly business plan—the most powerful routine for driving consistent results. If you want to win quarters, you have to win weeks. Set aside 1-2 hours weekly to review calls, texts, emails, and DMs. This turns chaos into clarity. Commit to Your CRM. Your CRM is the structural side of the Law of Compensation. It organizes your five lists: Top 100, Top 100 Referral Partners, Warm List, Hot List, and Local Collaborators. Without it, you're operating on memory instead of data. Your CRM is your future income. Use Social Media for Intelligence, Retention, and Conversion. Social media is your digital credibility platform. It serves three purposes: Intelligence (track what clients are up to), Retention (clients confirm you're active and producing), and Conversion (prospects search you first—if you're not verifiable, they move on). BONUS: Create Space to Think. Your best ideas arrive when you pause long enough to listen. Reflection is not idle time—it's strategy. Thoughts create feelings. Feelings create action. Action creates results. These six strategies are the operating system for a scalable business and a sustainable life. When you declutter, plan intentionally, build structure around relationships, and show up online with purpose, you create momentum that compounds. Consistency and simplicity wins. Complexity and chaos fails every single time.

real estate advisor, real estate coaching, real estate boundaries, real estate business tips, real estate systems, real estate productivity, realtor success, realtor coaching, business boundaries, client management real estate, time management for advisors, build a real estate business, sustainable real estate success, entrepreneur boundaries, sales coaching real estate, mindset coaching real estate, predictable real estate business, take flight weekly, #AskJimMiller On this 297th episode of Take Flight Weekly, I cover one of the toughest—but most important—skills every real estate advisor must learn: setting boundaries. Too many advisors chase every client, every deal, and every opportunity. The result? Burnout, frustration, and a business that controls you instead of the other way around. Boundaries are not walls—they're filters. They protect your time, energy, and confidence while allowing you to serve at the highest level. In this episode, I'll walk you through five core boundaries every advisor must establish if you want to build a business that is predictable, sustainable, profitable, and fulfilling: 1. Price Point – Know your range and protect your time. 2. Geography – Define your markets and own them. 3. Degrees of Separation – Prioritize trusted introductions over cold leads. 4. Structure – Hold firm to your value—no discounting. 5. Client Commitment – Require buy-in to your process, systems, and time. Saying “no” to misaligned opportunities is not leaving money on the table—it's creating space for the right opportunities. Boundaries are an abundance play. Top producers who master this do not have less opportunity; they have better opportunity. This is your one-on-one coaching session. Listen carefully, take notes, and most importantly—take action.

What if the only thing separating you from the business and life you want isn't money, the market, or your competition—but you? In Episode 296 of Take Flight Weekly, I dive into the uncomfortable truth that success often comes down to one thing: your willingness to execute consistently on the basics. This is not theory. This is practical coaching designed to give you a mirror. I will walk you through a series of questions that, if you answer honestly and commit to acting on them, could change the trajectory of your business and your life. These are habits and strategies that cost almost nothing—yet they can transform everything. • We are closing out Q3 2025, and now is the time to get honest with yourself: • Are you further ahead today than you were at the end of Q2? • Have you built sustainable daily, weekly, and quarterly planning habits? • Are you connecting with 10 clients or prospects every single week? • Have you created cloud-based systems and standard operating procedures to streamline your business? • Are you converting clients from low-cost lead sources consistently? If you could answer “yes” to those questions by the end of 2026, would you celebrate? The truth is, none of those results require massive spending. They require commitment, discipline, and focus. The difference between finishing another year frustrated or finally building a predictable, enjoyable business comes down to you. I share my personal story of what I call my “real estate heart attack” in 2008, when stress and uncertainty forced me to wake up at 3:30 a.m. to work on my business. Those early mornings, spent learning, planning, and improving myself, built the foundation of everything I teach today. The lesson? You don't have to spend money to get results. You just have to invest in yourself. By early Q4 2025, your 2026 business plan should be written and in motion. That plan is not about doing more—it's about becoming more. Consistency. Execution. The boring, unsexy work that compounds over time into extraordinary results. This episode is your one-on-one coaching session. Listen carefully, take notes, and then take action. Because at the end of the day, the only thing standing between you and success is you.

On this 295th episode of Take Flight Weekly, I tackle one of the biggest traps holding back real estate professionals and entrepreneurs—mistaking endless planning for progress. Too often, business plans turn into procrastination tools. Advisors spend months tweaking spreadsheets, rewriting goals, and polishing strategies—but never actually execute. Elite brokers and top producers take a different path: they plan with purpose, then execute with discipline. In this episode, you'll discover: -Why so many real estate professionals confuse planning with progress -The warning signs that your business plan has become procrastination -The difference between productive planning and perfection-seeking paralysis -How elite brokers and advisors shift from planning to execution -The 5-step system to make your 2026 business plan actionable

Board your dragon (Eric's Hyundai) and ride along with Our Heroes on their way back from BK with the food. They talk live action remakes, Lilo & Stitch, explain how to train your dragon to Eric, and realize this burger is just a whopper. TAKE FLIGHT! Support us directly https://www.patreon.com/100percenteat where you can join the discord with other 100 Percenters, stay up to date on everything, and get The Michael, Jordan Podcast every Friday. Follow us on IG & Twitter: @100percenteat Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices