Podcasts about topdog learning group

IN THIS EPISODE...In today's episode, Dr. Steve Yacovelli, the "Gay Leadership Dude," explores creating an inclusive workplace culture. Steve is the CEO of TopDog Learning Group, a consulting firm in Orlando, FL, specializing in diversity and inclusion, leadership training, change management, and executive coaching.During today's conversation, he highlights the role of employee resource groups in shaping company policies, addresses microaggressions, and offers strategies for leaders to combat silent collusion. Emphasizing courage in leadership, he also explains how authenticity and empathy can build trust and boost employee engagement. Moreover, Steve shares insights on effective leadership, the significance of belonging, and the dangers of performative allyship, drawing from his book “Your Queer Career.”------------Full show notes, links to resources mentioned, and other compelling episodes can be found at http://LeadYourGamePodcast.com. (Click the magnifying icon at the top right and type “Dr. Steve”)Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! ------------JUST FOR YOU: Increase your leadership acumen by identifying your personal Leadership Trigger. Take my free my free quiz and instantly receive your 5-page report. Need to up-level your workforce or execute strategic People initiatives? https://shockinglydifferent.com/contact or tweet @KaranRhodes.-------------ABOUT DR. STEVE YACOVELLI:Steve Yacovelli has over 25 years of experience in leadership development and organizational effectiveness. He has worked with a diverse range of organizations, including Fortune 500 companies, non-profit organizations, and government agencies. He is a recognized expert in LGBTQ+ leadership and has been featured in numerous publications and media outlets, including The Huffington Post, The Advocate, and The Wall Street Journal.In addition to his consulting work, Yacovelli is the author of two books; “Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle” and "Your Queer Career: Workplace Advice From the Gay Leadership Dude." He is a frequent keynote speaker and presenter at conferences and events focused on leadership development, diversity, and inclusion.------------WHAT TO LISTEN FOR:1. What are the six key focus areas for effective leadership?2. How do employee resource groups serve as internal consultants in companies?3. Why is it essential to address microaggressions in the workplace?4. What does "silent collusion" mean, and why is it significant in the workplace?5. How can leaders address microaggressions?6. What is the importance of courage in leadership?7. What is the impact of performative allyship on workplace culture?8. How does a sense of belonging affect employee retention and engagement?------------FEATURED TIMESTAMPS:[03:18] Steve's Personal Updates and Professional Passions[05:25] AI and Inclusion[08:14] Creating Belonging in the Workplace[10:11] Steve's Newest Book: Your Queer Career[13:10] Workplace Values and Continuous Learning[15:46] Retention...

Belonging is the feeling of security and support when there is a sense of acceptance, inclusion, and identity.   “Listen with the intent to understand, not the intent to reply.” Stephen Covey   Dr. Steve Yacovelli (“The Gay Leadership Dude™”) is the Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC – a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL. With over twenty-five years' experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results. His award-winning and critically acclaimed book, “Pride Leadership: Strategies for LGBTQ+ Professionals to be the King or Queen of their Jungle” released in June 2019 and his second book, “Your Queer Career: Workplace Advice form the Gay Leadership Dude” was released in 2024. Favorite snack is cheese.   Top Dog Learning Group LinkedIn Facebook Instagram YouTube   Music-"Homesick" Copyright 2018. Written by Shireen Amini. Produced by Shireen Amini and Mike Davidson of Plaid Dog Recording (Boston, MA).

Episode Summary Dr. Steve Yacovelli ("The Gay Leadership Dude®")... is an award-winning author, speaker, and catalyst for inclusive leadership in and out of the workplace.He's an entrepreneur, having founded TopDog Learning Group, LLC in 2008, and a thought leader in leadership, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and change management. Who's your ideal client and what's the biggest challenge they face? What are the common mistakes people make when trying to solve that problem? What is one valuable free action that our audience can implement that will help with that issue? What is one valuable free resource that you can direct people to that will help with that issue? What's the one question I should have asked you that would be of great value to our audience? When was the last time you experienced Goosebumps with your family and why? Get in touch with Dr. Steve : Twitter, Instagram, Facebook,LinkedIn Learn more about how Uwe helps in-demand professionals and their VIPs to enjoy Unshakeable Two-getherness in their relationship (plus more free time and zero guilt). Or when you feel you'd be interested in working together you can Book A Chat With Uwe

How do you create a more inclusive workspace? For over 25 years, Dr. Steve Yacovelli has been training organizations like Fortune 500 Greats, The Walt Disney Company, and Bayer AG, and amazing not-for-profits like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Steve Yacovelli is the author of the award-winning book Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle.Dr. Steve Yacovelli (“The Gay Leadership Dude™”) is the Owner & Principal of  TopDog Learning Group, LLC – a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA, with affiliates across the globe. He has a mission to create more inclusive workplaces, and in this episode, we talk about: The 6 Competencies of Inclusive and effective leadershipHow to maintain authenticity in a virtual environmentWhat you can do immediately to create a more inclusive workplace - with real examples!What leaders and learning and development professionals can do to create a more Follow Dr. Steve Yacovelli on LinkedIn or InstagramWatch this episode on Youtube Support the show Jill Griffin is on a mission to improve life in the workplace by helping leaders design their next chapter, increase their well-being, intentionality and impact. Jill's executive coaching, strategy, and innovation have generated multi-millions in revenue for the world's largest agencies, start-ups, and well-known brands. She works with individuals, teams, and organizations to create cultures allowing leaders to increase performance and impact while maintaining well-being. Visit JillGriffinCoaching.com for more details on: Book a 1:1 Career Strategy and Executive Coaching HERE CEO Advising and Consulting Gallup CliftonStrengths Corporate Workshops to build a strengths-based culture Team Dynamics training to increase retention, communication, goal setting, and effective decision-making Grab a personal Resume Refresh with Jill Griffin HERE Follow @jillGriffinOffical on Instagram for daily inspiration Connect with and follow Jill on LinkedIn

Dr. Steve Yacovelli s an award-winning author, speaker, and catalyst for inclusive leadership in and out of the workplace. He's an entrepreneur, having founded TopDog Learning Group, LLC in 2008, and a thought leader in leadership, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and change management. Oh, and he likes dogs, too!In this conversation Jerome and Steve talk through how we can be the best leaders that we can be, including:What LGBTQ leadership development looks like now in most workplaces vs what I should look like,What about the LGBTQ community necessitates culturally specific leadership development, andDr. Yacovelli's book - Pride LeadershipGet a free copy of Pride Leadership*: https://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/course/pride-2023*must order by June 30, 2023, customer pays shipping cost, and ship-to address must be in the United States.

We're kicking off our June 2023 Pride series with Dr. Steve Yacovelli, aka The Gay Leadership Dude. Steve is an expert in diversity and inclusion, change management, and leadership both in and outside of the workplace whose not-so-hidden agenda is to make the world a bit more inclusive for us all.He's worked internally for folks like The Walt Disney Company, IBM, Tupperware Brands, and several universities before starting his own consulting firm, TopDog Learning Group in 2008.In this episode, Steve talks about ways that leaders, (and by leaders, he means all of us), can be more inclusive, and he explores the benefits of inclusion and the costs of organizations not getting it right. Steve also shares an actionable framework for tackling silent collusion.  Link to free resource on combating Silent Collusion (MOP+SAM)

In this episode of the Road to Growth podcast, we are pleased to introduce you to Dr. Steve Yacovelli. Dr. Steve (“The Gay Leadership Dude™”) is the Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC – a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA, with affiliates across the globe. Steve and TopDog have had the pleasure of working with some great client-partners who they consider to be members of their “pack.” He's worked with Fortune 500 greats like The Walt Disney Company and Bayer to amazing not-for-profits like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The American Library Association; large universities like The Ohio State University and The University of Central Florida, to small entrepreneurial rock stars like International Training & Development and GovMojo, Inc. Steve and TopDog have thoroughly enjoyed helping their client-partners grow, develop, expand, and be successful with their corporate learning, change management, diversity and inclusion, and leadership consulting goodness. With over twenty-five years' experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results. Oh, and he's quite fond of dogs, too.     Learn more and connect with Dr. Steve Yacovelli by visiting him on Twitter: https://twitter.com/gayleadership Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gayleadershipdude/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegayleadershipdude/ Website: https://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/home     Be sure to follow us on Twitter: Twitter.com/to_growth on Facebook: facebook.com/Road2Growth   Subscribe to our podcast across the web: https://www.theenriquezgroup.com/blog Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2Cdmacc iTunes: https://apple.co/2F4zAcn Castbox: http://bit.ly/2F4NfQq Google Play: http://bit.ly/2TxUYQ2 Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKnzMRkl-PurAb32mCLCMeA?view_as=subscriber   If you are looking to be a Guest on Podcasts please click below  https://kitcaster.com/rtg/  For any San Diego Real Estate Questions Please Follow Us at web: www.TheEnriquezGroup.com Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKnzMRkl-PurAb32mCLCMeA or Call : 858 -345 - 7829 Recently reduced properties in San Diego County * Click **** bit.ly/3cbT65C **** Here* ****************************************************************************

This episode is part two of our look back at the start of the podcast through an anthology of leadership lessons from guests: Erin Barra, Dr. Steve Yacovelli, Rand Fishkin, and Marcel Quiroga.We look at leadership from a broader point of view, tackling topic such as how do you build a music education program that gives access to underrepresented groups, the benefits of adding diversity to an organization, what founders should take into consideration when they build company values and the impact of being a woman of latina descent on the decision to start a wealth management company.KEY TAKEAWAYS[00:08] - Introduction[01:21] - Songwriter, educator, and creative entrepreneur Erin Barra, Director of popular music at Arizona State University, shares how she transitioned from artist to full-time educator.[02:57] - Erin shares her profoundly ingrained sense of community service.[04:41] - Erin shares why leaders who meet people where they are and create a safe space for people to be who they are, are more powerful.[05:58] - Why excellence and empathy don't have to be mutually exclusive.[07:24] - Erin shares why joy should be central to any creative journey. [08:18] - The delicate balance of constructive feedback and accountability that catapults growth.[10:06] - Erin shares the probing questions she asks to garner constructive feedback.[11:58] - Dr. Steve Yacovelli, Founder and Principal of TopDog Learning Group, discusses why self-awareness is the key to improving equity. [13:50] - Steve shares the three-point continuum he uses to introduce the diversity, inclusion, and belonging conversation with his clients to help people get on board.[16:13] - Steve shares why a more diverse business culture is essential to profitability. [18:11] - The FOUR LAYERS OF DIVERSITY created by Gardenswartz and Rowe.[19:31] - Steve shares his decision to lead from who he is - the Gay Leadership Dude™. [21:33] - Why Steve filters all of his branding through the lens of who he is. [24:48] - Rand Fishkin, Founder and CEO of SparkToro shares the pivotal moments in his leadership journey. [26:12] -Rand shares the catalyst that led him to write, Lost and Founder. [27:27] -" It's really terrible to have a set of stated values, of expressed values that you sort of put on the wall and the website that are not lived up to...

What a pleasure and a blast and super insightful to have Dr Steve Yacovelli (https://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/) on the show to chat about Belonging and the importance of true DE&I efforts in the workplace (and the world).   (hint: employee retention, profit, innovation...you know, little things! *sarcasm*!)We talk aboutHow he helps people be more consciously inclusive leadersWhat inclusion is and how it impacts the bottom line and employee retentionWhy employees feeling like they belong is a vital piece of a productive teamHow to create a more inclusive workplaceA wider definition of diversityRussel!  (https://bit.ly/3weF7XS) To download a FREE COPY of Pride Leadership. Use coupon code :  PODONROCKSTAR at this link.   http://topdog.click/pridespeaks For the free MOP+SAM course is here to help eliminate silent collusion at work: https://topdog.click/mopsam Few things we reference in this episode: Project Implicit test to identify your unconscious bias  https://www.projectimplicit.net/To check out Dr Steve's books: https://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/booksBryan Jennewein episode where he talks about making room at the table for everyone.    https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/igniting-courage-podcast-episode-69-bryan-jennewein/id1444223443?i=1000466513043Jeremy Brody where he talks about the emotional intelligence to understand that he would never understand his gay daughter's life experience, and he didn't have to.  All he had to do was love her, support her and listen to her experience.  https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/igniting-courage-with-anne-bon-761764/episodes/episode-103-jeremy-brodey-turn-78699779Dr. Steve Yacovelli (“The Gay Leadership Dude™”) is the Owner & Principal of  TopDog Learning Group, LLC – a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA, with affiliates across the globe. With over twenty-five years' experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results.  Oh, and he's quite fond of dogs, too.  YAY RUSSEL!!!  (no L wasting!)

In this episode, I'm talking with Dr. Steve Yacovelli or what he calls himself the 'Gay Leadership Dude'. This episode is all about creating a sense of belonging for your employees. How can companies build the best environment, the best culture, the best workplace, one that people feel like they belong, and that has this authentic sense of inclusivity. Dr. Steve Yacovelli is a speaker, author, and the owner and principal of TopDog Learning Group. They have nearly 30 years of consultant experience in leadership, change management, diversity, inclusion, and his book, Pride Leadership is one of the first to focus on developing leadership talent, specifically for the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. We cover topics ranging from corporate rainbow washing, how to avoid performative allyship, navigating inclusive language, employee resource groups, and more. There are so many practical tips from this conversation, like Dr. Steve's framework for building a consciously inclusive culture. Think in, speak up, and act out. Creating an inclusive workplace requires listening, empathy, taking action, and this episode has the insight for you to make it all happen. Take a listen! Find episode show notes, podcast blog recaps, and the best SMB news & tips on The Manual! Follow Chris Ronzio for more business insight. Watch video highlights on Youtube here. Learn more about Trainual, the world's top Business Playbook™ software. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/processmakesperfect/message

I'm excited to have The Gay Leadership Dude™, owner and principal of TopDog Learning Group, Dr. Steve Yacovelli. He talks about his main hustle, his success story and how he managed to ride through those difficult times. We talked more about his hiring process and how his experience has been having fans on his own.    Dr. Steve Yacovelli has been in the leadership, learning and development, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting space pretty much his whole career (about twenty-five years). In his consulting experience he's seen some leaders completely excel in their effectiveness, and some completely crash and burn due to their lack of competence in leadership skills. Steve's desire was to help both types of leaders be more effective, through coaching, formal and informal training, and just generally being there to support their leadershippiness.   A few years ago, Steve realized that the focus on specifically developing LGBTQ+ Leaders wasn't really top of mind for many organizations. Sure, there were a few conferences sessions, some random webinars, or even university-sponsored certificate programs, but nothing in a programmatic, cross-association, and at all levels within the leadership savviness scale. In short, a patchwork of effort and not necessarily a cohesive focus or movement.   So, “The Gay Leadership Dude™” was born. It's Steve's brand to “come out” and acknowledge the role he wants to take to give back to the LGBTQ+ Community and awesome Allies: to serve as a “lightning rod” of sorts to start a movement to grow LGBTQ+ Leaders and Allies to be even more effective, in a consistent, thoughtful, and mindful manner, especially those up-and-coming Leaders within the broader movement for equality and fairness for all LGBTQ+ people and well beyond.   Find more of Dr. Steve Yacovelli, his team, courses, books, and more: Web: http://topdoglearning.biz Podcast: http://topdog.click/podcast   Grab a copy of his book: Pride Leadership https://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/books   Giveaway!!! Get 50% off his “Resilience” Masterclass by using the code: RESIL50OFF https://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/course/resilience   ——— I love connecting with Work at Home RockStars! Reach out on LinkedIn, Instagram, or via email   Website

You hit that point in your life where something has got to change. Get that promotion, find that next gig, be more intentional about your passion. Regardless of how you look at this as a gay guy over 40, you lead yourself, and you can lead others to have that impact in the world. Joining me for a candid, fun, conversation about leading your life - personally and professionally is author, leadership expert and all around great guy - Dr. Steve Yacovelli a.k.a. The Gay Leadership Dude. He's a top dog at helping you learn to lead your life more intentionally. About Steve Dr. Steve Yacovelli (a.k.a. “The Gay Leadership DudeTM”) is Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, Florida, USA but with affiliates (“TopDoggers”) throughout the globe. Steve and TopDog provide guidance and solutions in leadership and organizational development, change management, diversity and inclusion consulting, instructional design, and custom e-learning creation. Whether it be through providing keynotes and facilitating leadership development programs for Fortune 500 companies like The Walt Disney Company, Bayer AG, or accenture, to providing one-on-one coaching experiences for groups like IBM, Covestro, and The Public Library Association, or creating engaging, effective training solutions for various delivery formats for folks like Tupperware Brands Corporation, The Ohio State University, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Steve is passionate about helping others be their best selves, in and out of the workplace. Steve holds a B.S. in Public Relations from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Educational Policy & Leadership Development from The Ohio State University, and an Ed.D. in Instructional Technology & Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University. A published author, Steve has written books and articles on a variety of topics: from how adults learn and communicate using technology to how to design effective training solutions for the modern, adult learner in the 21st century workplace to the impact of unconscious bias within organizations and how it can undermine organizational effectiveness. His current, award-winning and critically acclaimed book, “Pride Leadership: Strategies for LGBTQ+ Professionals to be the King or Queen of their Jungle” “came out” in June 2019. Steve is passionate about workplace equality, and specifically how leaders can be more “consciously inclusive” to foster a feeling of inclusion and belonging for all team members. His signature keynote, “Being a Consciously Inclusive Leader,” has won praise for its engaging, approachable, and memorable way to think about unconscious bias in the workplace. But don't think he's just an academic nerd: Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory, his experience in a variety of public and private settings and applying this knowledge to the client's workplace to achieve better results. (Oh, and he's pretty good with dogs, too!). Connect With Steve http://topdoglearning.biz/ (Website) https://www.facebook.com/gayleadershipdude (Facebook) https://www.instagram.com/thegayleadershipdude/ (Instagram) https://twitter.com/gayleadership (Twitter) https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/ (LinkedIn) Hey Guys, Check This Out! Are you a guy who keeps struggling to do that thing? You know the thing you keep telling yourself and others you're going to do, but never do? Then it's time to get real and figure out why. Join the 40 Plus Men's Circle. Learn about about - http://40plusmenscircle.com/ (Click Here!) Break free of fears. Make bold moves. Live life without apologies P.S. get your free My Bold Life Manifesto, right here - https://rickclemons.com/manifesto/ (rickclemons.com/manifesto/) You can also listen to the podcast on… https://apple.co/2Q4nnbt ()  

Dr. Steve Yacovelli (a.k.a. “The Gay Leadership DudeTM”) is Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, Florida, USA but with affiliates (“TopDoggers”) throughout the globe. Steve and TopDog provide guidance and solutions in leadership and organizational development, change management, diversity and inclusion consulting, instructional design, and custom e-learning creation. Whether it be through providing keynotes and facilitating leadership development programs for Fortune 500 companies like The Walt Disney Company, Bayer AG, or accenture, to providing one-on-one coaching experiences for groups like IBM, Covestro, and The Public Library Association, or creating engaging, effective training solutions for various delivery formats for folks like Tupperware Brands Corporation, The Ohio State University, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Steve is passionate about helping others be their best selves, in and out of the workplace. Steve holds a B.S. in Public Relations from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Educational Policy & Leadership Development from The Ohio State University, and an Ed.D. in Instructional Technology & Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University. A published author, Steve has written books and articles on a variety of topics: from how adults learn and communicate using technology to how to design effective training solutions for the modern, adult learner in the 21st century workplace to the impact of unconscious bias within organizations and how it can undermine organizational effectiveness. His current, award-winning and critically acclaimed book, “Pride Leadership: Strategies for LGBTQ+ Professionals to be the King or Queen of their Jungle” “came out” in June 2019. Steve is passionate about workplace equality, and specifically how leaders can be more “consciously inclusive” to foster a feeling of inclusion and belonging for all team members. His signature keynote, “Being a Consciously Inclusive Leader,” has won praise for its engaging, approachable, and memorable way to think about unconscious bias in the workplace. But don't think he's just an academic nerd: Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory, his experience in a variety of public and private settings and applying this knowledge to the client's workplace to achieve better results. (Oh, and he's pretty good with dogs, too!). Here's the link to that MOP+SAM Training we mentioned in the episode!--- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app--- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/kyla-cofer/messageSupport this podcast: Support the showThanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode, please support us on Patreon. For more leadership tools, check out the free workbooks at KylaCofer.com/freestuff. Book Kyla to speak at your event here, or to connect further, reach out to Kyla on LinkedIn and Instagram.All transcripts are created with Descript, an amazing transcript creation and editing tool. Check it out for yourself!Leadership School Production:Produced by Kyla CoferEdited by Neel Panji @ PodLeaF ProductionsAssistant Production Alaina Hulette

Nick Day is joined on The HR L&D Podcast by Dr. Steve Yacovelli (AKA "The Gay Leadership Dude®") who is an award-winning author, speaker, and catalyst for inclusive leadership - in and out of the workplace.Dr. Steve Yacovelli is also an entrepreneur, having founded TopDog Learning Group, LLC in 2008, and a thought leader in leadership, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and change management.Steve and TopDog have worked with Fortune 500 greats like The Walt Disney Company and Bayer to amazing not-for-profits like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help clients to grow, develop, expand, and be successful with their corporate learning, change management and diversity and inclusion objectives.With over twenty-five years' experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results.Steve has also authored two books, including the award-winning "Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle"Oh, and he's quite fond of dogs, too – more about that later in the show!In this “Championing Inclusivity” episode with Dr. Steve Yacovelli on The HR L&D Podcast, we also explore:How did you become known as "The Gay Leadership Dude?Whio are TopDog Learning Group, LLC?What has been your biggest failures and successes as a business owner?In your view what's the “secret” to great inclusive leadership?How can leaders make workplaces more inclusive?What is “the pack”?What has been unique about some of the organizational cultures you've worked in or with?How does one be more resilient in times of change?How can one be a more inclusive leader?What's your experience and perspective for LGBTQ+ Leadership?Tell us about your book "Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle”Links highlighted in this “Championing Inclusivity” episode are included below:Dr. Steve Yacovelli's LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/https://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/thegayleadershipdudehttps://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/homehttps://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/courses

In the past several years, there has been much discussion on the need to foster more inclusive workplaces, with special attention on general Diversity and Inclusion practices. However, we also need to see more diversity in leadership roles. Indeed, managerial-level diversity can be most instrumental in creating workplace environments that truly are inclusive of all kinds of people. One specific focus is on the queer community. How an we foster more LGBTQ+ leadership in the workplace? We spoke with Dr. Steve Yacovelli - "The Gay Leadership Dude" - about how to achieve this goal. Steve Yacovelli (“The Gay Leadership Dude”) is Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, with affiliates across the globe.Steve and TopDog have had the pleasure of working with some great client-partners who they consider to be members of their “pack”. He's worked with Fortune 500 greats like The Walt Disney Company and Bayer to amazing not-for-profits like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The American Library Association; large universities like The Ohio State University and The University of Central Florida, to small entrepreneurial rock stars like International Training & Development and GovMojo, Inc. They have thoroughly enjoyed helping their client-partners grow, develop, expand, and be successful with our corporate learning, change management, diversity and inclusion, and leadership consulting goodness.With over twenty-five years' experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results. Oh, and he's quite fond of dogs, too.Read more at petite2queen.com/promote-lgbtq-leadership-inclusionSupport the show (https://p2q.link/donate)

“The Gay Leadership Dude” Dr. Steve Yacovelli joins us this week on the Shadows Podcast! Steve is the author of, Pride Leadership and the owner and principal of TopDog Learning Group. During this episode, Steve has made the most of the incredible opportunities he's had in his incredible life. He went from working on a cruise ship to an entrepreneur. He discusses his upbringing, working for Walt Disney Company, some hilarious Disney stories, moving to Orlando three times, his involvement with the LGBTQ+ community, his book Pride Leadership, and TopDog Learning Group. Check out this episode and all past episodes of the Shadows Podcast at https://linktr.ee/ShadowsPodcast or www.theshadowspodcast.com Once you've listened to the episode, head over to TopDog Learning Group at https://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/ Grab a copy of his book, Pride Leadership at https://topdoglearning.learnworlds.com/books --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/shadows-podcast/support

“Learning to mitigate a caregiving crisis in one's personal life will help you be more effective and productive in your professional life.” Nancy Poland As the demand for family caregivers increases, one of the biggest challenges that comes up is the unawareness of what to do and when due to the lack of preparedness. Our guest today Nancy Poland, has been a caregiver and says that planning for caregiving responsibilities ahead of time can go along way into helping people get through the challenges.  Nancy Poland, owner of Nancy R Poland Connect, is a writer and speaker focusing on caregiving. As a volunteer educator for the Alzheimer's Association, she brings her experience as a caregiver for her dad, who was diagnosed with Lewy body dementia. She published her first book, “Dancing With Lewy: A Father Daughter Dance Before and After Lewy Body Dementia Came to Live With Us”, narrating their experience. Her second book, “Remarkable Caregiving: The Care of Family and Friends” will be released in November 2021. “Remarkable Caregiving” is a collection of true stories from six caregivers thrust into unplanned circumstances as they emerge wiser and more resilient. Nancy issues a monthly newsletter, “Caring for the Caregiver”, blogs about caregiving, and communicates to caregivers in social media and in person. She is looking forward to more group presentations as her business contacts grow, and COVID-19 subsides. A life-long resident of the Twin Cities in Minnesota, Nancy and her husband John raised two sons and continue to contribute to their communities. Professionally Nancy is a Contracts and Compliance Manager where she utilizes her writing and negotiation skills to support the mission of a non-profit corporation. She is a trainer and mentor, both professionally, and in a volunteer capacity. In today's episode, Nancy will talk about her work of connecting caregivers to resources, teaching them how they can better the lives of their loved ones, as well as themselves. Listen in!   Social Media Website: https://nancyrpoland.com   The caregiver resources: https://nancyrpoland.com/caregiver-resources/   LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancy-poland-a4632632/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/nancypoland   Facebook (personal): https://www.facebook.com/nancy.poland   Facebook (business): https://www.facebook.com/nancyrpoland   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nancypoland/   As my parents aged, they became more fragile and so we were balancing taking care of my parents, while working, travelling and raising our teenage son. [3:16] I learned that it's really hard to be your full potential at work when you're also trying to balance all these other things. [4:36] A lot of us don't plan for our parents aging and becoming fragile but it's really something that if we can think about ahead of time, it can help us get through those days. [4:48] We tend as human beings to go into denial and don't want to think about our parents aging and getting fragile. [5:44] One of my main goals is to educate future caregivers to help people face the reality that if we all live long enough, we will probably become medically fragile and therefore need to plan for it. [6:32] I tried to provide a place in my website where I have resources for caregivers where seniors can get help to keep them safe, and to keep them functioning in those homes. [10:35] Once my mom passed away, my dad couldn't live on his own so we moved him to a senior apartment building that had services you could buy up. [11:46] People shouldn't feel guilty because you just have to deal with life too and also be your best at work. [12:26] Commercial break. [13:00] I think it's so important to be a functioning member of the community and fortunately, the work places have gotten more flexible, especially since COVID. [15:44] If we can take care of our health and our well being, while we're taking care of our loved ones, it's just going to benefit everybody and us especially. [17:19] There's not enough assisted living opportunities or nursing homes that take care of people, and it's hard to get some new nursing home unless you're willing to pay. [18:50] One of the most important things I emphasize, is to get your legal paperwork in order to prevent a lot of heartache in case of anything. [19:07] I have lots of links for caregiving resources and accounts of very practical things to do in different situations. [23:02] One really exciting thing I have today is for the first 10 people who send me an email, I will send them a free copy an E copy of Dancing With Louie. [23:35] Break yourself out of the denial mode and search for resources ahead of time if your parents or grandparents are starting to get frail. [25:02] Try to plan ahead and to find resources s well as getting your legal paperwork in order. [25:33] Take care of yourself, because that's the only way you're going to be able to take care of your loved ones, and you have to have a life after they pass away. [26:07] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.

“You can see things differently depending on how you interpret things and that influences how you respond to it.” Anita Bentata The link between healing of trauma and neuroscience is something that has received considerable attention in practice. Our guest today, Anita Bentata, has spent most of her time researching and learning about trauma and the healing process in an effort to help people overcome their past and embody a better self. Anita Bentata is a psychotherapist, author, online group facilitator, thought leader and speaker, specializing in trauma, abuse, stress, relationships and love. Anita is based in Melbourne, Australia and is the recipient of multi-international awards and national recognition for her approach and program for women impacted by trauma, isolation and abuse. Anita has spoken at conferences about her model and theories, as well as participated in numerous interviews and being involved as a consultant and primary interviewee for a documentary about domestic violence. Anita's focus is showing people they can feel free, resilient and resourced, in mind and body; no matter their past, or any current situation. So, people can embody wellbeing, healthy life energy and clarity in life choices, as opposed to passivity, repetition or reactions. After nearly 3 decades in the field, including 4 years of specialist training in trauma and defense systems, Anita came to realize why people get stuck in trauma or therapy for longer than is needed. This vital framework forms The Essentials Method™, based on neuroscience and the best of whole brain body Western and Eastern science and psychology; along with countless hours spent with clients. Combined, this led Anita to realize what was missing in personal and community life skill development, and within the field of psychology. This awareness of what was missing in the field and necessary for complete trauma resolution, and to face anything in life as well as to move forward free from the past, was also informed by the personal work Anita undertook prior to her qualification. It was her journey as a client which led Anita to change careers from accounts and book-keeping, and into psychotherapy. Undertaking therapy to resolve trauma from a childhood of abuse and neglect, and from later escaping domestic violence with her two young children. Client journeys, parenting her children through trauma, and two significant life events led Anita to understand more of what is needed to fully resolve the unbearable and the uncomfortable. Anita created the Living in Flow online, live, group or 1:1 program consisting of a series of modules to skill people to live life from The Essentials Method™. People are not taught now to take advantage of the brilliance of the brain and body and instead are held captive by old, learnt styles of coping. Coping methods which didn't develop, along with other life skills, has meant people tend to know what they don't want, and what they do want, but not know how to transition from the old to the new. People end up in with limited beliefs, behaviors and habits and perceive this is ‘normal' not realizing what could be named as ‘normal' and possible for healthy and vibrant living and relationships. Anita's values are joy, ease and growth. This creates a life of love, flow and creativity. Anita believes we're all creators and life is about creative living, and when we don't have access to the our whole brain and body we do keep creating, but we're re-creating old patterns and worries, going over the past, maintaining, coping or managing through the use of any skills, including wonderful trauma techniques which of their own still do not provide the full map to move on in life and can end up deepening the connections to the past when there is not enough understanding about how the brain works and what it needs from us. In today's episode, Anita will discuss more about listening to their emotions and feelings rather than entirely depending on reason in healing trauma. She will also highlight on the importance of working in groups when going through the healing process. Listen in! Social media handles: https://www.facebook.com/thewolfinasuit https://www.facebook.com/targetingabetterwayinrelationships  https://facebook.com/groups/BigHeartedWomenCommunity/  https://www.instagram.com/anitabentata  https://www.twitter.com/anitabentata  https://au.linkedin.com/in/anita-bentata  https://www.youtube.com/user/anidrb  https://www.anitabentata.com  https://anita-bentata.teachable.com   I've been working in the field 26 years and it's taken me on a huge journey that's highly influenced my personal life. [3:26] I used to work in bookkeeping and accounts and I changed careers and became a therapist and did specialist studies on trauma and understanding what happens. [3:36] I came to this work through my own personal journey and I went into therapy to make sure I didn't get into more abuse because I grew up with abuse and trauma. [4:46] My passion is about assisting people to activate the brain and the body out of the trauma response, to be able to listen and to take action. [5:27] My personal life experiences have given me such a gift of understanding my own journey by questioning things from a personal perspective and resonate as well as connect with my clients. [6:00] After working many years, I started noticing patterns with people and I started creating my own theories because I felt like there wasn't adequate answers. [6:29] My organization is all about being able to tap into the whole self, and into our life energy, to be able to make better decisions and to have greater emotional muscle to go beyond the repeat. [7:55] I show people in my neuroscience backed program, how to have fresh thoughts and be mobilized into action that's aligned with our feelings and our thoughts so that there isn't an internal conflict. [8:38] I'm really passionate about is teaching people about our brilliant brain, because there's nothing faulty from my perspective ever going on in our brain. [10:44] Often people don't realize that it's feelings that changes neural pathways and so we need to find a way to be able to take care of the feeling. [11:02] Along the way, I've discovered how people miss label things and I've created a neuroscience way of how we talk to ourselves based on how we talk to ourselves. [14:05] The more we know how to use our own brain, the more then we can fire and wire because feelings is what activates the wiring together. [14:33] I also found that people keep looping to what the brain does most recently and most frequently, not necessarily because of the trauma that's happened. [15:55] People often don't have the skills on how to move forward in a genuine way that's not through willpower and not through positive thinking. [17:06] It is a powerful thing to be able to label things so that our environment doesn't define how we are. [19:14] You can see things differently depending on how you interpret things and that influences how you respond to it. [20:16] Commercial break. [20:38] The most important thing is to be able to tell yourself that there are more possibilities of how I can perceive what's going on or be able to talk to somebody that I feel like can connect with where I'm at. [23:13 Most traumas happen in relationship to people and so we get stuck more on a social or an interpersonal level. [23:51] The most important thing is to be able to know there's always a new way of addressing something that we don't know about. [24:02] From my perspective based on my experience, we notice things because we're conscious and we end up hooking into them and retelling the same story which loops us into those neural pathways. [25:40] It is about how to find a way to not get hooked into those old patterns and those old stories so that our system can move on. [26:02] We can start putting out energy and focus into firing and wiring the new map otherwise, we just keep re looping. [26:15] A lot of my work is actually helping people to label and talk to themselves through the transition, and how to engineer things so that it gets in that optimal generative way. [28:13] I also help people to trust the inner reality, and stop trusting the outer reality because the outer reality is just a momentum of what's been happening of the past. [28:27] One of the most important things is, what you focus on is what keeps deepening in your system. [31:06] It is about taking that step for ourselves and experimenting to find out whether it feels better. [31:58] Just keep trying and following what feels better because if you keep following through the day, instead of following what you think you should be doing, everything will keep getting easier. [32:11] Often, I find that people can create a faster change quicker when they do it in a group because they're motivated and inspired. [33:09] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

“Most of us can't choose how we're going to die but we can choose our choices then within that we can prepare for them.” Louise J. Crooks Loss is an integral part of the existence of humanity. By understanding and acknowledging this fact, we get to have a different perception and attitude to towards grieving. Victoria Lichtman and Louise J. Crooks believe that no one deserves to die alone. They have taken the path of supporting people facing death and loss with an aim of easing their experience. They do this by creating an environment that enables sharing of the experiences of death and bereavement.   When Victoria developed a ceremony for her beloved friend that was passing…gathering all who loved him to pave his path with love while he left this world, something magical happened. People gathered from around the world on an online platform. It was an amazing experience...humbling in its beauty and an honour to be present to. Her close friend, fellow healer and marketing guru, Louise, was deeply touched and together they decided they should do this for others. Suddenly, all Victoria's life's work pulled together and End of Life Ceremonies was created. Victoria has always deeply understood there are only three things we can share with people in this world; their birth, their life and all that happens in it, and their death. To her, all are sacred. She has had the privilege and honour to be with people that are entering transition, both with those passing and with the loved ones left behind. According to Victoria, these are the moments when the pretences of life are left behind and only truth is left…the desire for identifying and delving into our spiritual beliefs, facing our emotions, asking how to let go and experiencing the truth of love and true forgiveness…which is where true healing lies. Connecting with others on such a deep level brings Victoria great joy and fulfillment and the craving to do so has been a driving force in her lifelong work in her private practice, her public speaking and her dynamic workshops on emotional awareness, forgiveness, spirituality and healing. Victoria teaches how to feel emotion and live life to its fullest no matter what events are happening in their lives. With the gift of being able to create a safe and sacred space, she helps others on their healing path emotionally, physically and spiritually. She has been a force in the human potential movement and healing arts for more than 40 years. She is a Senior Practitioner and Presenter for the global organization, The Journey, a transformational cellular level healing modality. She has an MPS in Counseling, 2ce certified in Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), is an International certified Life Coach, a Conscious Leadership Coach and international speaker. For Louise Crooks, after experiencing the transitioning ceremony Victoria held for their friend, she was deeply moved. So much so, the next day they decided wholeheartedly that they needed to do this for people in a bigger way - they knew it was so needed. That was the beginning of End of Life Ceremonies. Louise and Victoria met over a decade ago through an organization called The Journey. Having learnt ways to hold space for those in need, this felt like the perfect next step. Louise had been thinking about death and what it meant, especially during the Covid pandemic. So many people were dying alone. This was one of her greatest fears - dying alone. Her concern previously had been that she had no children - so who was going to look after her, and be at her bedside when the time came. Seeing how people transitioning could be held with love through the ceremony Victoria performed for their friend, was the spark that lit this fire. And after being at the bedside of two family members - and seeing the life spark leave their body, Louise knew that that spark couldn't just disappear, and has a long-held belief since then that our loved ones are still with us beyond death. Holding the space for the passing not just while they are here but into the beyond is something she believes is important - our love ‘paves the path home'. Louise Crooks has been a holistic marketing and visibility coach for the healing and coaching community for the past 15 years. She's been on a lifelong healing journey herself and knows the importance of healing work in the world - driving the passion she has for serving her clients through her foundational marketing work and in turn helping more people heal. Her extensive marketing experience in this community lends itself well to End of Life Ceremonies and she is not only a co-founder but the Marketing Director too. Ultimately Louise is here in this life to serve, to heal, and to be here for those going through the struggles of life and help them grow and feel supported - even in death. Louise has an Arts Degree, is a fully qualified Life Coach (ICF recognized) and Business Coach, and has immersed herself in programs such as The Journey, The Enneagram, Access Consciousness and Human Design. In this episode, our guests will talk about the birth of their business and the importance of being present in all the events that happen in our lives. They will also discuss on why seeking support is important when experiencing loss. Listen in! Links: Facebook group: http://fb.me/groups/endoflifeconversations Facebook page: http://fb.me/pavethepathhome   Website: www.endoflifeceremonies.com   (Offering) Grief Meditation webpage: www.healingthroughlossmeditation.com I've been an entrepreneur for my whole working life and for years when someone passes on, I would take my crystal singing bowl and I would play it and sing their soul home. [3:09] I told what I did to a friend who was such a beautiful teacher and healer and he said he wanted this for himself. [3:36] At his passing time, people from around the world gathered and it was so engrossing where we gave him final wishes. [4:00] I've done this for years and years and I've studied death and dying my whole life and what happens to us when we die and our belief systems. [4:40] This was a turning point for me being able to start this and Louise called me the next day because she also loved Bodhi dearly. [ She suggested the we bring this to the world together and that's how this [5:27] I've always known that there's only three times we can be present for another and I had been present in every one of them; birth, life and all that happens in it, and death. [5:45] It's the moments we truly come together that we witness and connect and when we do the important transitions in our lives when present they all become sacred. [6:02] It's such an honor for us to be able to hold the space for people going through this experience. [6:45] So many people reached out to us sharing how wowed over they were by the experience and how deeply they felt it. [6:58] Death happens, but in many cultures, this is avoided and it is rarely a shared experience and so we don't really give death, the same recognition and importance as other life events. [7:18] Whether it's us in the dying process or it is the people that we're leaving behind, it's all an emotional experience, and most of the time, we suppress and try to block it [7:57] This is an opportunity for us to really embrace the dying process and, and recognize the beauty in it. [8:11] We have made this so that it is available for adults and children. [10:38] It's recognizing that live spark has to energetically go somewhere and from that point of view, we really do feel that we want to sing souls home, even beyond death. [11:55] We have three ceremonies that we do, and one of them is after they die to pave that path for them even beyond death. [12:10] Part of what we're doing, not only with the ceremonies, but with the work that we do with individuals and in groups is to help them to let go and to have peace with the whole process. [13:02] We were about giving people choice in how they die, and giving their loved one's choice in how they support their loved ones. [15:45] Most of us can't choose how we're going to die but we can choose our choices then within that we can prepare for them. [16:06] Commercial break. [17:11] We have the celebration of life ceremony, pave the path home ceremony and the end-of-life ceremony. [15:58] The celebration of life ceremony before you go is about being able to connect with all your loved ones and not leave without saying goodbye. [19:22] The pave the path home ceremony is done to support you through the experience of leaving this physical plane. [19:49] The end of life ceremony happens after you pass and is for your loved ones to offer comfort and give you wings of love and prayer as your soul transitions on to the next plane. [20:47] Our mission is we don't want anybody to have to be alone but to leave knowing that there are loved ones paving the path. [22:57] I am not scared of death or what happens after death but I'm scared of dying alone which is so what happened with COVID. [23:42] This brought up some beautiful opportunities for some beautiful ways of thinking and created for us an opportunity to do a phenomenal grief meditation. [24:09] There are so many people that are scared of dying alone go and are asking if they can buy one of these ceremonies. [25:16] It is our mission that we grow this business and get this out there to the world and get more people involved. [25:44] The bereavement is part of the deeper work we do and it's about helping people to move through that grief as well and heal. [26:53] There's so much that can be supported through this experience and we do all of that through one on one work and through our bereavement groups. [29:01] One of the biggest things that we work with is emotion and to feel emotion in a healthy way. [30:51] Don't let grief to ruin your life as it hinders you from living a full life. You are not dishonoring your loved one by allowing yourself to let go. [31:00] Vicki does a beautiful meditation helping people through that process in this grief meditation. [33:36] No matter what is happening, be totally present in the here and now and don't miss one moment of what's happening in your life. [35:52] Be honest about what's really in your heart, and be who you are for you are so precious. [36:08] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.

“It's up to us to fully self-actualize, and one of the greatest ways to do that is to be engaged in social justice action.”   Dr. Marcia Ledford Now more than ever, a wider and deeper understanding of the church's role in social and political life is needed. Many church leaders continue to work towards providing important platforms from which people can deal with political, social and economic matters, as well as the relations between the state and wider society. Our guest today, Rev. Dr. Marcia Ledford, has been working towards greater social justice by empowering people to act on social injustices faced by different groups. The Rev. Dr. Marcia Ledford's ministry is in Southwest Detroit's Latinx population—an international port with an aggressive regional ICE director. Dr. Ledford is a civil rights attorney representing society's most marginalized. An Episcopal priest, she holds a Master of Divinity from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She earned her Doctor of Ministry in political theology from Pacific School of Religion. Dr. Ledford founded Political Theology Matters, LLC, to help the faithful develop public theology mission and broadcast messaging for greater social justice. She is trained for community organizing through the Industrial Areas Foundation and volunteers with Michigan United. PTM is a for profit company but is also an altruistic or philanthropic enterprise. Dr. Ledford want to inspire people to do good--to shock their potential for justice. She believes that she needs to make a living ethically and via positive contributions to society. Engaging in political theology, speaking faithfully in public, for social justice, represents the culmination of her life's work and experiences. She is passionate about achieving greater social justice in American society. Her message's foundation in progressive Christian theology intersects with the US Constitution, especially the First Amendment. She brings humor, poignant stories, and inspiration in her conversations. She sparks dynamic, vital conversations about the most important issues of our time--protecting civil rights and our beloved constitution and democracy. In today's episode, our guest will talk about her journey towards advocating for social injustices. She will also elaborate more about spiritual resistance and what it entails. Social media handles: http://www.politicaltheologymatters.com/   https://www.facebook.com/politicaltheologymatters   https://linkedin/marcialedford   https://www.instagram.com/docledford   https://www.twitter.com/docledford   I write, speak, teach and preach to help people get better equipped to be faith based advocates in the public square for social justice. [3:32] Political theology is taking your faith formation and using that as a basis for calling out injustice and demanding greater equality across our social spectrum. [3:49] My mission came to be after my being absolutely appalled at what our archaic immigration laws are doing to Latino families in southwest Detroit. [4:43] We want to be sure and get our demands in with respect to pathways to citizenship. [5:45] Spanish, like the romance languages are all inflected, meaning that nouns can have a gender assigned to them. [6:51] The practice has been adapted to start saying Latin x, which is neutral, and is intended to include everybody. [7:07] This has been an ongoing effort to be more inclusive when terms from this inflected language are used. [7:30] When I was coming of age in the late 70s and early 80s, I came out as a lesbian. [10:09] I had been very involved in my church growing up and so I had a really difficult coming out process, at least, with my own personal struggle. [10:20] I felt like I had to choose between my faith and being who I was and this is very true even today. [10:44] I had to navigate the society as a lesbian which means that I couldn't access some things. [11:14] I recognize that my white privilege affords me certain benefits and give me opportunities that I wouldn't ordinarily have as a person of color. [11:56] I still was a second class citizen in many of the fundamental ways that we regard being an American. [12:14] Over time, I became more sensitive to the call to ministry that I had experienced from when I was a teenager. [12:32] I wasn't seeing women and I certainly wasn't seeing lesbians up at the pulpit in the altar but I finally agreed to go do this and be ordained and asked for help from the holy spirit. [12:44] I became ordained in the Episcopal Church, where I serve the Latin x community. [13:06] It was a combination of my love of the gospel, and my experience as a civil rights attorney, that really fueled this mission. [13:16] Even though I don't know exactly what it's like to be a person of color, I decided that if we didn't do anything about the ills, it wasn't going to stop. [14:06] I think sometimes people think that when a law is made that it's carved into stone. [15:35] Our Congress has the power to change those laws, and if they won't change them, then we need to put people in there who will. [16:27] The fact that all these voter suppression bills are pending throughout the country is an indicator that elected people know that they are in danger of being voted out for not doing the will of the people. [17:18] What I advocate for is the First Amendment which gives us a place to go where everybody can talk and not have to worry about slandering the crown. [19:03] I wanted to create a place for us to work stuff out and that means that our best chance of doing that is when as many voices come together as possible to say their piece. [19:52] By talking about it, we identify the problems and the issues, and we try to work out a solution that serves the majority of the people. [20:12] Once people realize that they can do it, then we have to instill confidence and provide tools and resources to get people basically off their doffs and go advocate for justice. [20:47] Commercial break. [21:17] The immigration issues affect our country on a national basis and so if immigration is something that you want to work on, you certainly can. [23:32] I really believe in what's called the spirituality of resistance. [23:48] Things bother us, but we feel like they are such big complex problems and I don't really know what to do about it. [24:01] We're all human beings and have a human connection to one another and therefore we got to have everybody. [24:29] The spirituality of resistance involves two things which are digging deep into yourself to determine what issues really bothers you, and finding a group that works on these issues to work with them. [25:23] It is one of the most empowering things I have ever experienced in my life, which is why I work with Michigan united. [26:19] If you feel like your representatives in the Congress are not doing what you want them to do, then you need to be in touch. [28:09] There's lots of ways to be involved even if you're super busy and feels overwhelming. [29:14] One of the mottos I try to live by is we don't get a dress rehearsal and it's up to us to fully self-actualize, and one of the greatest ways to do that is to be engaged in social justice action. [30:27] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.

“It is important to listen as well as give your opinion on things because it's important both ways.” Lisa Zanville Effective community work requires bringing together the expertise and skills of different people to focus towards common goals. This collaboration is important for community outreach and engagement. Our guest today, Lisa Zanville has been working with various organizations that focus on community service and says that much more is achieved when there are organized efforts towards helping the community. Lissa Mozur Zanville has more than 30 years of experience in the non-profit, public, and private sectors, including government affairs, media relations, crisis management, community relations, strategic planning, spokesperson training, and stakeholder management. A graduate of UCLA, Zanville worked for the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C., the California Democratic Party, the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office, the California State Assembly, and Pacific Bell (now AT&T) where she was Director of Media Relations and primary spokesperson. Lissa started LMZ Communications in 1990. The company provided spokesperson training to corporate, sports, entertainment, and political clients such as Toyota, Microsoft, City of Los Angeles, Knott's Berry Farm, IBM, Claritin, Ultimate Fighting Championship, and the United States Equestrian Federation. Immediately before joining Los Angeles Trial Lawyers' Charities in 2016, Zanville was with the PHASE ONE Foundation, a non-profit that supports early cancer research and clinical trials. For nine years she has served as the sole staff and Executive Director of this $16 million foundation. Zanville lives in Los Angeles with her husband Stuart. In today's episode, Lissa will be telling us about Los Angeles Trial Lawyers Charities and the different ways in which they give back to the community. Listen in! Contacts: Website: https://www.latlc.org  We started about 15 years ago and it was started by a small group of plaintiff attorneys who felt together they could do so much more than they were as individuals. [3:22] We supported organizations that were in Los Angeles, and there were a few volunteer projects and over the years, it has developed into a large group, making a difference. [4:25] We believe in helping the community in five areas which are children, education, survivors of abuse, persons with disabilities, and homelessness. [4:43] The first way we help is that we raise money, and over the years, we've given over $5 million in both grants, goods, and gifts to the community. [4:59] We also do it in volunteer projects where we've done over 6000 volunteer hours working in projects that make a difference. [5:58] We also have signature events where we give out all kinds of things to make individual families a little better by making a difference for them. [6:31] We also have the great trike giveaway where we give out adaptive tricycles to children with disabilities. [7:21] We also started something called the day of dignity for the homeless where we provide them services that they want to feel the kind of love and dignity that we want them to feel. [8:05] Some of our favourite volunteer projects are the ones where we talk to and deal with people. [10:24] During the pandemic, we decided to do a St. Patrick's Day zoom event where we had interaction and felt face to face with people. [10:33] In every community, some organizations try to make a change. [14:42] Commercial Break. [16:05] Our event has evolved because we try to identify the individual needs by listening as well as projecting what we think people want so that we could make things happen. [18:15] It is important to listen as well as give your opinion on things because it's important both ways. [22:08] We want to help other plaintiffs, attorneys and local organizations mixed where they'll be able to help their local charities. [23:09] We've learned in the last year and a half that we all have to pivot, think outside the box and do what needs to be done to help the [25:03] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

“What we restore restores us, what we revitalize revitalizes us.” Storm Cunningham For communities to remain stable and thrive, effort needs to be directed towards strengthening and diversifying the existing elements. However, most communities struggle with community development projects due to a lack of understanding of and failure to integrate processes in their implementation. Our guest today, Storm Cunningham has decades of experience working in community development initiatives across the world and reiterates the importance of creating processes that guide these initiatives as well as having people who can facilitate the processes. Based in Washington DC for the past 30 years, Storm primarily focuses on the three areas which include  Community renewal, nature restoration and climate resilience. He is also an author of three books his latest release being ‘Reconomics,' and does inspirational talks and how-to workshops for non-profits & governments worldwide.  A former Green Beret, his hard-hitting, humorous, silo-busting talks can focus on multiple areas including water, housing, job growth, energy, transportation, agriculture, natural resources, downtowns, brownfields, heritage, climate, social justice or education. In today's episode, Storm will talk about what makes sustainable communities especially the initiatives that ensure resilience and revitalization. He will also highlight the principles that ensure the minimum viable process when carrying out community initiatives.   Listen in!    Social Media: https://reconomics.org/    https://www.linkedin.com/in/restorm   https://twitter.com/restorm   https://www.facebook.com/storm.cunningham   https://www.patreon.com/stormcunningham   https://stormcunningham.com/ One thing I've learned is that most communities need to be shocked big time everywhere you go. [3:32] Communities have revitalization and resilience initiatives underway but hardly anybody is accomplishing anywhere near what they're hoping to accomplish. [3:46] One of the most common reasons is that most communities suffer from perpetual planning syndrome. [4:41] Some communities have dedicated leaders who are honestly trying to revitalize or become more resilient but don't know how since they've gotten no training in this. [6:18] They're no real degrees and how to revitalize but you can more reliably manage emergent complexities if you have an actual process. [6:32] The world knows you need a process to reliably produce anything but the people who run communities don't seem to know that. [7:10] The focus of my most recent book, ‘Reconomics,' is that process. [7:24] I've spent the last 20 years tracking down exactly what is the minimum viable process that needs to be in place in a community to reliably produce revitalization or resilience? [7:29] Most places are good at projects and most do succeed but the trouble is the projects don't produce revitalization. [9:03] Projects are the last step of the revitalization process where before you get to that kind of action, you need to lay the groundwork to make sure that the momentum from each successful project is captured. [9:42] The end goal that you're shooting for at least amongst their goals is increasing the confidence in their future. [10:01] By not increasing the confidence in the future of a place, you're going to continue losing residents, employers and investors, and you're not going to be attracting new ones. [10:22] You need to have an ongoing program because revitalization and regeneration is something that needs to be happening every moment of every day. [10:36] As I describe in Reconomics, the home for this ongoing program should not be a government agency, it should not be subject to the vicissitudes of changes of administration. [11:57] Some projects do this is a strategy, I call the three re strategy, which is repurpose, renew, reconnect and when that's put into effect, real magic can happen. [16:02] If a project is big enough, ambitious enough, and uses the right strategy, it can revitalize, but the best thing is to have a complete process. [16:17] Commercial break. [20:32] The easiest way to overcome the credibility factor in terms of can we revitalize is to tell stories and showing communities that had similar problems who overcame them. [22:45] Two sources for the credibility problem include genuine skepticism arising from false promises and failed projects and people seeing revitalization as a mystery that probably cannot be successfully engineered. [23:03] Our focus at economics Institute economics.org is on certifying revitalization and resilience facilitators. [24:31] The first step to help communities create these processes is having somebody who knows what the process i. [24:52] The facilitators basically can take a look at what the community is currently doing and do a gap analysis and fill in until they get that minimum viable process, which just has six parts. [25:14] The six elements make the minimum viable process so you can add to it but can't take away as this is the minimum that's necessary to have a reliable process to produce revitalization and resilience. [25:54] The first job of that ongoing program is to create a shared vision of the future. [26:16] The next step is to have a strategy to overcome the primary obstacles to achieving that vision. [26:26] The next is taking a look at the policies and find out what policies are going to get in the way of achieving that strategy and vision. [26:46] The fourth step is going ahead and putting together some partnerships. [27:01] The last step is using the resources that the partnerships bring to the table to do the actual projects. [27:08] It's not enough just to have a program vision strategy, policies, partnerships and projects, each one of them has to be regenerative to produce revitalization and resilience Both revitalization and resilience are based on repurposing, renewing and reconnecting and are natural and built-in socio-economic environments. By combining them, now, you've got the short term benefits of revitalization with the long term benefits of resilience, which helps fund and build public support for both of them. This doesn't have to be done as a profession, we've got people who are becoming certified revitalization resilience facilitators because they want to be more effective volunteers. What we restore restores us, what we revitalize revitalizes us. …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

“Stop making goals and instead have a vision for your life because goals are future based which stops us from living in the present moment.” Hina Siddiqui Learning to consciously live in the present will allow you to not only apply the lessons and knowledge from your past but also give you the space to bring into perspective your vision for the future. This means that you will be able to recognize what makes you happy and fulfilled and focus on making it a part of your daily life.  According to our guest today, Hina Siddiqui, being present in the moment helps people to truly appreciate little but important things that often go unnoticed. Hina Siddiqui, is an Indian woman with wings and is the author of Five Non-fiction Books, including Road To Riches Of Life; https://amzn.to/3kvoB04. Design A Career you Love and Secrets of the 6 Figure Employee with Zero Stress; https://amzn.to/3kwmWaE. If there's one thing she can change in the world, it would be how working professionals live and do their jobs. No surprise, she keeps on learning, creating and refining the transformation strategies that people can instantly use for gorgeous and quick results. Hina teaches and writes about creating a life vision, and personal mastery to achieve that. She is a lover of yoga, guitars, trees, wind and the food that her mom cooks. When she's not working on her passion projects, Hina spends her time reading, taking solo trips, chitchatting with strangers, and cooking for her favourite kids -her niece and nephew. In today's episode, Hannah will discuss the importance of living in the present moment and the work she does to help people settle in careers that are aligned with their personalities. Listen in! Social Media handles https://www.linkedin.com/in/authorhina/   https://twitter.com/hina_2016   https://www.facebook.com/authorhina https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRoCRQfpWcdtCxETZH1YDzQ https://www.pinterest.com.au/author_hina/  https://medium.com/@authorhina   https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15203992.Hina_Siddiqui https://www.instagram.com/authorhina/   https://www.authorhina.com/   Resources https://amzn.to/2U1oNty  https://amzn.to/3Ctvt5d https://amzn.to/3jA5tMJ   My journey started when I wrote my first book which was published in 2016 and it was the road to riches of life. [2:45] Before that, I was in the corporate sector working with various corporate jobs and I was also struggling like most people who are incorporate. [2:55] I had some natural talents that I had forgotten about that I call the side effects of growing up. [3:13] Luckily, I have been one of those fortunate few people who figure out that we are sent into this world for a specific purpose. [3:43] In my childhood days, it was mostly writing short stories for kids and coaching them in my imperfect ways. [4:12] After a long time, I remembered that this is what I wanted to do when I was a child and started paying attention to it. [4:40] I learned some perfect ways where I did my certification courses and did my lots of lots of study around being a life coach. [5:02] I have written five books and my latest book is Secrets of the Six Figure Employees with zero stress where I have mentioned a lot about my experiences of working with corporate houses. [5:20] My mission is to help people incorporate who feel stuck in their jobs and don't feel [5:43] I come in to picture and help them to choose a job, which goes with their personality and one that resonates with them. [6:11] Most of the people who have approached me are usually confused and don't know what to do. [8:04] I always say that there's not a single ideal job that is ideal but there is a perfect one for you. [8:42] Switching a career is difficult for people but like me, I always tell them to trust that everything is going to fall into place if they follow their passion and heart. [9:54] Being in the moment helps a lot because most of the problems are created in minds. [11:59] By thinking about what's going on currently and doing the best in that present moment, things automatically get solved. [12:36] Commercial break. [12:55] It's very important to be present at the moment and definitely when we are ourselves. We are better equipped to help you People and help our communities to show up their potential. [14:50] I believe everyone has limitless potential and no matter what position a person has reached there's still something more that they can do. [15:04] I believe it is the responsibility of every single person in the community to reach the best version of themselves. [16:25] We don't have control over the world and cannot change the people around but when we change ourselves, then lots of things around us change. [18:03] Stop making goals and instead have a vision for your life because goals are the future based which stops us from living in the present moment. [19:30] Make systems of achieving it and start living that vision just right away because there are lots of things that we can do. [19:55] It is very important to live in the present moment as it makes life way easier because I'm not getting attached to the results. [20:35] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.

“The reason why a job is a right job is that there's a multitude of factors that come together to create some level of satisfaction.” Benjamin Ritter One of the most recognized and effective ways to giving back to society is providing mentorship. It is an important development and learning experience that enhances the lives of people both professionally and personally.  Our guest today, Benjamin Ritter, has been providing career mentorship at different levels and capacities and says that it is about encouraging people to find roles that bring satisfaction and fulfilment. Dr. Benjamin Ritter, is a leadership and career coach, values geek, regional learning manager for YPO, national speaker, podcaster, author, mentor, and passionate about guiding others in finding, creating, and sustaining a career they love. With over 10 years of experience coaching and a background in organizational leadership and learning theory, Ben understands how to navigate any career path you decide you want to travel. Since launching his coaching practice he has guided hundreds of professionals toward creating the career they love and has impacted thousands through his events and media content. From empowering young professionals to get unstuck, to guiding senior leadership on how to stand out from the competition and develop executive presence, Ben is an expert in his field and will guide you toward truly living for yourself at work and in life. Ben received his Doctorate in Organizational Leadership with a focus on value congruence and job satisfaction and earned an MBA in entrepreneurial management and an MPH in health policy administration. In today's episode, our guest will talk to us about ways in which we can find fulfilment in our careers. He will also touch on how he gives back to society and the best way to get into offering service in the community.   Listen in!   Social media Handles: https://instagram.com/ritterbenj   https://linkedin.com/in/ritterbenj   https://youtube.com/c/benjaminritter I work with senior leaders on discovering what that career is, something they can say that they love. [4:21] I also work with organizations to help them create an environment that people can feel that way in because I believe in personal accountability and empowerment when it comes to your career. [4:33] Most of the time organizations are not built in a way where people can come in and have a conversation with their leader that then helps them create a professional plan to create the career they love. [4:49] People tend to hop from thing to thing, ultimately, always feeling stuck, but having about a six-month window in each job where they feel like they are in the right place. [5:00] We are often promised the perfect job which then leads us in our decisions. [6:39] We can shock some people's potential today, by helping them realize that your perfect job is going to change as you change and learn. [6:58] There's the career sweet spot which is where your skills overlap with what you want to grow towards. [7:09 As you grow professionally, where you are supposed to be in your job, career, or organization is going to change. [7:31] People used to go to work, take their paycheck and go home and there wasn't a plethora of options or the ability to compare themselves to the rest of the world. [9:21] Our communities used to be where we worked and who we worked with were also strong relationships. [10:09] The environment and culture of work have changed and we don't have those immediate close relationships. [10:40] We don't often feel like we're giving back to our community because we're working within such a small little bubble. [10:55] It is normal to feel like you want meaningful work. [11:03] When it comes to job satisfaction, it is just highlighting what job satisfaction is. [12:17] The reason why a job is the right job is that there's a multitude of factors that come together to create some level of satisfaction for you. [12:26] The big one is relationships and the other pieces the actual work that you do and whether you find your work meaningful. [12:35] You have to somehow connect meaning to your work and feel that what you're doing is purposeful. [13:51] If you feel like you're wasting your time, that's going to lend itself to you also feeling stuck again and less fulfilled. [13:54] A lot of times people try to make things hard for themselves when it comes to improving their careers. [18:05 A lot of our negativity is usually just attached to the stories that we've been telling ourselves. [18:16] Commercial break [19:48] Your career is a combination of jobs, and job experiences and the challenge is asking whether the thing you're doing now is what you thought were going to do 10 years ago. [22:11] It is better to get started working towards the things you're interested in, light you up and get you excited, and continuously learn what lights you up and what you enjoy. [22:29] Where I spend a lot of my extra time is through mentorship programs in three of my past universities and three different incubators. [23:52] When we want to give back to our communities, I would suggest that everyone take some time and look around for organizations within your community that are trying to help develop people. [24:19] A lot of times someone just needs someone to talk to who has a little bit more experience that isn't going to judge them and will be there to help them. [24:54] When you're talking to someone at a completely different stage of life who are looking at you for advice and you're not looking to gain anything from them, it's a beautiful space to be in. [25:53] People do sometimes need to hear the voice in their head and reaffirm from some people that they respect and that they trust. [27:45] Most people tend to regret decisions they have not made, not decisions that they did. [28:58] When it comes to your career if you have an inkling that you're interested in something go get a taste of it. [29:07] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

“There's something so fulfilling about being able to help other people.” Kim Becker Most business leaders find that helping others in whichever capacity comes as a natural extension of their responsibilities. Similarly, studies and history show that giving back and helping others has a common positive outcome for people. Our guest today, Kim Becker, is a businesswoman who found her passion in community service, and she says it is all about finding that one thing that you feel you ought to do and incorporating it into your daily routine. Kim Becker is a motivational and inspirational speaker and an award-winning author of two books about beauty, cancer and the amazing scope of the human spirit. Kim is a dynamic communicator with an incredible story of faith, hope and service to others, and the founder of Hello Gorgeous! of HOPE, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides Red-Carpet Experiences for women battling all cancers across the United State. Kim has been a business owner and national educator for more than 30 years. Through her many experiences in the for-profit and non-profit business worlds, Kim has become a businesswoman, fundraiser, event planner, educator, public speaker, author and the face of Hello Gorgeous! Kim received the Mom`s Choice Award for her first book, “Hello Gorgeous!: A Journey of Faith, Love and Hope”. Kim received the 2011 Spirit of Women Award, an American Cancer Society 2014 Coaches Versus Cancer Inspirational Award, she received the prestigious George H. W. Bush, Points of Light award in 2015 and in 2019 Kim received the Shero Award from Zeta Phi Beta Society. In today's episode, Kim will talk about her journey that led to the birth of Hello Gorgeous! and the impact it is making in the community. Listen in! Social media handles: https://www.facebook.com/kim.scanlanbecker https://www.facebook.com/HelloGorgeousIN/?ref=pages_you_manage https://www.facebook.com/Kim-Becker-Inspires-2039277739522480/?ref=pages_you_manage https://www.linkedin.com/in/kibecker/   I am a hairdresser and owned a salon and my late husband had a degree in pre-Columbian archaeology from Purdue University. [4:25] In the beginning, I was a hairdresser and my dream was always to open a salon. [4:38] When we started talking about opening a salon, my husband suggested that call the salon ‘Hello gorgeous,' and I said that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard. [4:45] We opened a salon and owned it for 10 years and did not call it ‘Hello gorgeous' but ‘Cheveu,' which meant hair in French. [5:07] The whole time that I own the salon, I always felt that there was just something that was missing. [5:13] I remodeled the salon and we grew from one station to seven stations and outgrew from 1000 square feet and went to 3000 square feet with 17 stylists and massage therapists and receptionists. [5:33] That still didn't fulfil that emptiness I was feeling and I thought what maybe I needed was to work on myself. [5:45] I started training at all these places and there was still this emptiness that I was feeling. [5:51] Mike and I had the conversations about something more we should be doing and one day all of a sudden it felt in my heart. [6:02] We needed to have a mobile Day Spa that caters to cancer patients to treat them during a time where they don't feel very special. [6:23] I pitched this idea to him about this beautiful mobile Day Spa and that we were going to it for free and suggested to call it ‘Hello gorgeous.' [6:58] Part of the program that we do is in-person makeovers and considering that most women are often selfless, we try to make sure that we surprise them. [10:20] It is usually a nomination process where each of the women is nominated by family and friends and then we show up unannounced and give a head to toe makeover. [10:55] I never promise to make them look like Miss America, but I try to make her look normal and so that they can participate in your everyday life [12:04] We've been doing this almost 16 years and so I don't know whether I ever realize the impact and the ripple effect. [12:44] When she's smiling, everybody else smiles around her and so it's not just her that we help. It's all the other people that surround her. [13:05] I've had to change my verbiage to how can I support you because when you ask a different question, you elicit a different response. [14:38] Commercial break. [16:46] There is a ripple effect as far as the work that we do with the women. [19:07] I worked with a life coach for a really long time and she always talks about your areas of genius and that I can't be good at everything but I can be good at some things. [19:20] There are things that other people are really good at that I'm not good at but I can use those talents and their time to help me further my mission. [19:29] I've had to kind of narrow down to my areas of genius and had people come forward and help because they want to be a part of something bigger than themselves. [19:37] One of the things that we do is we have a salon affiliate program where I found salon owners to train them to create the ‘Hello Gorgeous' experience. [20:06] I like to tell business owners and business people that one of the things that they should do is team up with nonprofits. [21:12] I did find that as soon as we open the salon affiliates across the United States, that's what made them stand out in their community. [21:54] If you could do anything in the whole wide world that you wanted to do, and you didn't have to get paid to do it, what would it be? [22:38] Find out what that is and if you're not doing it in your daily work, find out what would feed that in you and find a nonprofit that's already doing that and go help them. [22:45] There's something so fulfilling about being able to help other people. [24:25] If you have a something that you feel like you're supposed to be doing, even if you don't feel like you're qualified to do it, go ahead and do it. [24:32] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.      

“The loss of a parent or sibling is the number one biggest derailer of development in young people. “Stacey Sassine Bereavement is a difficult part of life and for young people, it may cause significant disruption of their lives. Considering their limited knowledge and life experience, young people often find it difficult to understand grief and loss situations. This means that they need professional assistance to support them during this process. Our guest today, Stacy Sassine, finds purpose in working with young people who have encountered loss to keep them on track. Stacey Sassine, Certified Grief Coach and founder of Epic Reboot, understand the depths of grief and loss and has created a safe space to allow those navigating their grief journey to unplug, reset, recharge, and reboot. Stacey's programs are built upon its signature framework to help individuals not just navigate grief but transform through the process. This framework was the foundation for Stacey's personal growth and has proven to be life-changing for others who utilize it as well. When you invite Stacey on your grief journey, she will customize her three steps to meet your needs right where you are. By supporting you in changing your mindset and habits, she guides you to heal your body, mind, and soul allowing you the freedom to live a beautiful, more fulfilling life. Grief doesn't have to hold you back; it can be a catalyst to help you see life in new and more purposeful ways. Stacey is also the Founder and President of One Million Monarchs, a nonprofit organization that supports the complex needs of bereaved teens who are grieving the death of a parent, sibling or close friend. Having been a bereaved teen herself, she understands what is truly needed to support a grieving teen. Her book, “Caterpillars Can't Talk; A Children's Story About Love, Loss and Transformation” https://amzn.to/2XO8bHH, which was written by her mother before her death was published to assist children in their grief journey. Stacey has dedicated her life to helping others heal after a devastating loss. In today's episode, Stacey will discuss her journey and the events that led her to her current passion.   Listen in! Social Media: https://www.facebook.com/1MMonarchs   https://www.facebook.com/myepicreboot   https://www.facebook.com/CaterpillarsCantTalk   https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacey-sassine-94b64a5/  Websites: https://epic-reboot.com/   https://www.onemillionmonarchs.org/ My early career centred around nonprofit leadership until I had a friend who was in sales who showed me her paycheck. [4:02] It prompted me to get into sales because I wanted an income like that, which led to sales leadership. [4:18] I spent the last 20 years of my life leading sales teams for large corporations. [4:27] In late 2019, I decided to take on a little project of having a book published that my mom wrote back in the early 80s. [4:44] She wrote it to help a little boy who had lost his dad and it was a children's book about the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly. [4:54] That story was really around what happens to us when we die and trying to help a young child understand what happened. [5:08] My mum had tried to get the book published back in the early 80s but it wasn't as easy to get a book published at all. [5:16] Not too long later after she had written the book, she passed away, and so I was 16 years old when she passed. [5:32] In late 2019, the book, ‘Caterpillars Can't Talk' was published and it's just beautiful. [5:44] I started looking around for children's grief organizations that I could potentially talk to about this book but there weren't any in my area. [6:10] The book prompted me to start up my nonprofit organization called 1 million monarchs. [6:49] We support teams who are grieving the loss of a parent or sibling and then continuing to grow and morphing. [6:51] I decided I wanted to dedicate my life to helping people who had lost a close loved one. [7:11] I work full time now with 1 million monarchs. An epic reboot is sort of my offering to support people along their grief journey which I find fulfilling. [7:17] The potential for a teen to derail a little bit after a loss is great and so it is critical to support them. [9:00] The loss of a friend can have a very profound effect on a peer group in general. [10:06] Educators need help in understanding how to support grieving children and teenagers and so working with educators is another part of my schedule. [10:40] I've noticed that people are extremely judgmental about other people's grief and loss and if I could do one thing, it would be to help people understand that they can't assess another person's loss. [11:31] My mother was an artist and was fascinated by butterflies so she would paint them all the time. [12:35] Butterflies were always a symbol to me that my mom was near. [12:47] When I heard the statistic that there are 1.5 million bereaved children in the country today, I hoped every single one of them had that sense that their loved one is nearby. [13:02] The loss of a parent or sibling is the number one biggest derailer of development in young people yet it's not something we think about unless it hits close to home. [14:10] It is important that we do something about it, that we look at it as an opportunity to intervene and to help keep those kids on track. [14:50] Commercial break. [15:08] I think about the intervention that we're providing teenagers who are going through the hardest time in their life and the whole end game for me is to help them reach their full potential. [17:01] My healing came when I started doing something about the grief and started addressing it and helping others with it. [19:20] Our motto at 1 million monarchs is ‘Go through what you go through and we try to practice that and try to help others through what we've experienced ourselves. [19:58] Our educators and our support staff at our schools are so overwhelmed because their caseloads are huge. [20:58] To be somebody that can partner with the schools to help them support their students is important to me. [21:33] I'm always getting feedback from the schools that they appreciate the help and being able to still support their students but not have to be as hands-on. [21:45] I want to encourage people to volunteer and support organizations that they believe in and it will make the world a better place to live in. [23:09] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.

"Be curious about learning from differences as opposed to rejecting differences." Daralyse Lyons Creating environments that are all-inclusive goes beyond the narrow distinctions already in existence. This is because social constructs and spaces are always evolving and efforts need to focus on research, data, and continuous training to achieve desirable impacts. Daralyse Lyons has been in this space for a while and insists that it all starts from identifying and acknowledging the multiple identities that characterize an individual, then extending the same understanding to others. Daralyse Lyons is a journalist, an actor, and an activist. She has written more than two dozen full-length books, a handful of short stories, and countless articles, performed in various plays and in improve comedy shows. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) and a summa cum laude graduate of NYU, with a double-major in English and Religious Studies and a minor in History. After writing an award-winning children's book (I'm Mixed!) about embracing her multiethnic heritage, Daralyse found her passion and purpose in educating others about the need to embrace all aspects of themselves. She then went on to create the Demystifying Diversity Podcast and to write the book Demystifying Diversity: Embracing Our Shared Humanity https://amzn.to/2XssIS9. She works tirelessly as a full-time DEI expert and inclusivity strategist. In today's episode, our guest will dive deeper ,/ into the concept of diversity and how she facilitates conversations around being different and inclusivity. Listen in! Social media: https://www.demystifyingdiversitypodcast.com/   https://www.daralyselyons.com/   https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqAEPNoJUSd3Nfoq0MXtfdg   https://www.facebook.com/The-Transformational-Storyteller1056439807729364/ https://twitter.com/daralyselyons   https://www.instagram.com/daralyselyons/ https://www.amazon.com/Daralyse Lyons/e/B00J9NBV9S/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1512953330&sr=1-1 I do a lot of work on the Demystifying Diversity Podcast, which entails interviewing people on topics about diversity, equity, and inclusion. [4:04] I also do a lot of writing that brings stories and voices to the forefront that I think sometimes are silenced and unheard and share those stories with my audience. [4:49] I feel like the work that I do is deeply individual. It occurs within the context of the individual and society and the various communities we're members of. [5:35] We are all part of various communal ecosystems, and there's no way for those ecosystems to thrive without supporting the individuals to thrive in the fullness of their identity. [5:56] One of the problems with lack of diversity is that it makes it so that we don't question the paradigms that we're operating in. [7:12] Exposure to the fluidity of interpretation of experience has allowed more freedom for people of all genders to question their circumstances. [8:04] The more exposure we gain to difference, the more it allows us to question real beliefs and value systems. [8:07] So many people feel limited by certain rules and cultural norms, but sometimes it takes one person to be courageous enough to step outside the box to motivate others. [13:01] I encourage people to create safety in your community and be willing to ask questions. [14:47] Being an independent thinker and not just falling into the status quo is probably the greatest asset. [17:50] Fear is a natural human response, and fear of being different and going against the grain is something that most of us will experience even while we're being different and going against the grain. [19:24] I have a bigger sense of purpose, meaning, and connection to other people and a desire to pave the way for a better tomorrow that I'm willing to take that step. [19:42] I would encourage people to be fearful, not fearless, because if you're courageous, the chances are you're probably operating within your same old comfort zone. [20:36] Commercial break. [20:59] My book amplifies stories of people who have experienced a vast array of what it is to be human,. [22:44] Most of us have several different identities and belong to a number of different communities. This opens us up to the richness of our complex and interconnected social matrix. [24:12] This awareness that we can belong to multiple communities and want to feel embraced in the fullness of who we are, in and of itself, can be hugely empowering for people. [25:08] There's always something that is different between you and someone else, and there's always something that is there that is similar or overlapping. [27:25] I would just encourage people to look at us all as these beautiful, unique human fingerprints, but all very similar at the end of the day. [27:34] Most people have an experience of being misjudged, and it's always painful to be on the receiving end of that, yet most of us are walking around judging people all the time. [28:56] The most meaningful human interactions I have had have been with people who think very differently than I think or have been through different experiences than me. [29:27] I encourage people to be curious about learning from difference as opposed to rejecting difference. [31:37] Be yourself and then also create opportunities for others to be themselves. It is not a one-day event but a daily practice. [33:17] Find what you need to change within yourself to create that safety where you lead with listening and love; the world would be a much better place. [33:59] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.    

"We are all unqualified, and that is a beautiful place to be. Just keep learning and growing." Christine Soule In the course of life, we go through different experiences that largely shape our present selves. Some of these we have control of and some we don't, yet they all prepare us for a greater purpose ahead. Our guest today, Christine Soule, has been through the most challenging moments in her life. Yet, she overcame them and now uses her experiences to provide life changing opportunities for women undergoing similar circumstances as she did in her community. Christine Soule's parents were divorced when she was only five years old. For the remainder of her childhood, she only saw her dad a handful of times. Her mom was married four times, and she considers her to be her absolute hero. All her mum's marriages except the last were filled with adultery, abuse, neglect, and addiction. Christine has three biological siblings, of which two of her brothers were raised by her dad, whereas her sister bounced back and forth. She met another fifteen of them at her dad's funeral. Her sister ended up having an affair with her adopted father, which made her sister become her stepmom and her dad her brother-in-law. This made her begin to spiral out of control.  Christine began doing drugs and alcohol at thirteen, and by the time she was seventeen, she was pregnant with her first baby girl. Less than two years later, she had identical twin boys. While living a gay lifestyle, Christine was also a drug addict and an alcoholic being abused and trafficked. She then realized she can't live like this any longer and that her babies deserved more. One day, Christine fell to her knees, and I cried out to God, "if you are real, take my life - it's yours!" Right then, she tangibly felt the power and presence of God, and she knew He was real. She knew He could change her life and that she needed to put her trust in Him. She ended up throwing away all of the drugs and alcohol and never had a desire, temptation or withdrawal since! She was completely set free and has never turned back since.  Today, she is married to the most amazing man on planet earth, and they have five children and two grandbabies. They have followed hard after God, and as a result, feel so abundantly blessed in every way. In today's episode, Christine will talk about her passion for helping women on the verge of being homeless and her motivation to bring out the potential of people around her. Listen in! Social Media: http://christinesoule.com/   https://www.facebook.com/Christinesoulewriter/about/ https://www.instagram.com/authorchristinesoule/g My parents were divorced when I was five years old, started doing drugs at the age of 10, got pregnant with my first child at 17 years, and less than two years later, I had identical twin boys. [2:49] I hated the world, and one day at 21, I fell to my knees, cried out to God to take my life, and I so tangibly felt the power and presence of God. [3:15] My experience set me out on this journey of figuring out who this Jesus guy is and how to survive with my three babies. [3:42] I wrote a check to the only person I knew who went to a Christian church and is also the person I've been married to for 24 years. [4:15] I went from extreme poverty to marrying what I believe is the most generous man in the world who allowed me to live a life of philanthropy. [4:37] For many years, I had the opportunity to pour into people's lives working with other organizations to have an impact. [5:46] One day I was driving down the road and encountered a homeless woman sitting on the side of the road. [6:00] At that moment in my car, I knew that I needed to go and make an impact, and that's where providence heights began. [6:42] There are so many amazing organizations that work with the homeless, and for us, we target to get them before they end up with all of the trauma of being homeless. [7:02] All of us, at some point in our lives have been at the edge of the cliff and the next critical steps that we take determines whether we start to fall off that cliff. [7:54] We are all about prevention, and when we bring them in, we offer entrepreneurial skills where we discover who they are and let them run with it. [8:40] We are in the Red Lion Hotel in Bellevue, Washington, with 88 rooms available to us in the first year and a plan to expand to 138 rooms in the second year. [13:24] We are focused on having a spirit of excellence in everything that we do so that when we bring our next group of ladies in, the original ones will be training the next group. [14:11] We partner with Union gospel mission and other shelters in the area, so we're like step two for the women or preventive before they end up homeless. [15:34] We have amazing structures where we ask that they focus on programs working on their collective or life coaching. [16:44] Commercial break. [19:52] We have a vision that we're going to have apartment complexes with retail space, office space, and apartment complexes for everyday people to live in and women in need. [21:51] Everything we make at Providence heights 100% rolls right back into caring for people in need. [22:43] The objective is to create more and more buildings to house more and more people, set them free, and launch them into their destiny. [23:06] Amazing donors, friends, and partners that we have are how we're funding this. [24:04] Sustainability has been a real focus from the very beginning, and it is critical, not only for us but also for the ladies. [25:53] Believe in yourself, go for it, and go big. There's so much potential and purpose in a person's life. [28:06] So many people get stuck in the career they started in, yet they have zero desire to do it, so start to pursue your passion and be creative. [28:14] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

“Reinforce with your kids not keeping any secrets, and push for that open communication.” Kimberly King Children worldwide are prone to suffer insidious forms of violence, exploitation and abuse. The key to stamping out these vices lies in educating both adults and kids on prevention and management of cases when they occur. Our guest today, Kimberly King, is no coward of conversations that center around tough topics on sexual abuse in kids. She believes that having these conversations protects children and families by getting ahead of problems before they happen.  Kimberly King, “The Tough Topics Mom,” is the author of the best-selling, most highly recommended book for children on prevention called “I Said No! A kid-to-kid guide to keeping private parts private. https://amzn.to/3F1CjQE” Kimberly is a mom of three children, a survivor, a Sexual Abuse Prevention Facilitator with D2L.org, and a Sexual Assualt Crisis Counselor with The Rowan Center. She spends her time training adults and children on prevention strategies and sharing her expertise as a consultant, advisor, and media source. Kimberly holds an M.S. in Education from Wheelock College and a B.S. in Child Development and Family Studies from the University of Maine. King is a kindergarten teacher in Westport, Ct and lives in Coastal Connecticut with her family and therapy dog, Alfie. Her award-winning books for children on tough topics have sold over 300,000 copies across the globe. King is the owner of Safe and Sound Kids Collaborative where she provides proactive parenting coaching and consulting. King specializes in helping parents gain the confidence to talk about tough topics before issues occur. Her prevention-based, kid-friendly educational resources are available via books, online parenting classes, online kids classes, private zoom Family Safety Chats, Body Boss Bootcamp for Kids, Simply-Safe Camp Training, Author Visits, Book Readings, and Speaking Events. Her work has been featured in various magazines, podcasts, and blogs, including; ABC, NBC, Ticker News, The Chicago Tribune, Stop The Demand, Women's Fitness, Child Mind Institute, Social Work Now, US News and World Report, The Health Journal, Modern Mom, PopSugar, Child Life Mom, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Thrive Global, Medium, Dads Divorce, Split, Consent Parenting, Pretty Wellness Podcast, iHeart Radio, and is highly recommended as a resource by national prevention organizations. In today's episode, Kimberly will discuss about the importance of training and educating children on their sexuality from a young age. She also provides insights on the role of adults in preventing and managing sexual abuse in minors.   Listen in!    Social media handles; https://www.kimberlykingbooks.com/  https://www.kimberlykingbooks.com/  https://tough-topics-mom.mykajabi.com/body-boss-bootcamp  https://tough-topics-mom.mykajabi.com/body-boss-bootcamp https://www.instagram.com/toughtopicsmom  https://m.facebook.com/Isaidnoinfo  https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberlykingbooks I call myself the tough topics mom because I do talk about a lot of tough topics. [3:27] I help parents get comfortable talking about really tough issues in a collaborative, authentic way so that they can get ahead of problems before they happen and protect their families. [3:31] I do that with my books and my online classes. [3:46] I had trained my kids in the basics about like your body's private which saved my five-year-old on this night that I was away. [4:11] What's interesting is that 70% of kids don't tell about abuse because they're not educated on the topic. [5:57] My son's experience triggered a lot of things for me and I developed the book with him. [6:17] As a military wife, I had that problem of always moving so I decided to just write children's books and teach people how to keep their kids safe. [6:29] When it happened, I was angry at everybody and myself and had to do something to cool the anger so I started journaling. [7:23] My son also wanted to talk and write about it and in doing this, I realized there were so many things that we could teach other people that would help them. [7:53] We put my journal and his together and we used his voice and I tried to weave that into the book that has talking points with little goofy things and a little sass that make it kid friendly. [8:06] Most of us were not educated properly on normal sexuality or normal child development, consent or boundaries. [10:09] We're in a different place now where it's okay to talk about those things and one of the critical things is for kids to know their body parts and their correct names of their private parts. [10:23] In reporting, every single person knows the word penis or the word vagina and there's no confusion about it. [11:25] Knowing those words is a detriment to abusers which protects the kids. [11:28] During potty training is a good time to start teaching and modelling the terms, privacy and consents. [11:12] Commercial break. [14:04] A lot of the advice I give people even if they don't have kids is to learn the facts on this topic so that you can reduce the risks. [16:20] One of the biggest mistakes everybody makes is assuming that this type of thing only happens in bad neighborhoods or only with strangers. [16:32] 90% of child sexual abuse happens within the inner circles of the people we already know where 40% of child sexual abuse happens from older, more powerful children. [16:46] Another huge risk category is children of divorce, because they are exposed to different situations. [17:24] Once you learn, you start talking to it with other parents and your kids start talking about it with their friends which causes a ripple effect. [18:14] The other thing is, once your kid is educated in this, it's really important for parents to reduce the risks by being very upfront about what your kids with new people and your policies. [18:46] When I did in person parent trainings before Covid, every single person indicated an awareness of someone they know who was sexually abused. [21:32] There are so many tools for parents now and you can start really early and then have open communication with your kids, when they're started. [21:55] Empowering your children and educating them absolutely can prevent abuse. [23:24] Even with some of this stuff, abuse can still happen but if your kids know that it's okay to tell, you have a chance of them telling you which will prevent more abuse. [23:39] Try to find five adults that your children can call in all emergencies no matter what and train those five adults in receiving a report. [24:32] You have to teach that person a few steps like, listening to the child, thanking the child for telling you telling them they're very brave, telling them it's not their fault and then just having a calm conversation about it. [25:06] This will encourage them to talk more and give you more details without feeling judged. [25:19] It is really important to do a real quick body safety review and talk about your body parts and the private part rules. [26:49] Reinforce with your kids about how you don't want them to keep any secrets, and then push that open communication. [27:00] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. t

“When getting involved in charitable work, find something that you enjoy doing that is helpful to the community.” Jeff Rasley  The one-on-one experiences between people is what builds strong communities. At its core, community is anchored in the belief that people are part of something bigger than themselves, and that they have a right and duty to participate in its progress. His whole life, Jeff Rasley has been part of multiple communities and believes that it is all about experiencing life together by being present and contributing positively. Jeff Rasley's commitment to social activism began in high school when he co-founded the Goshen Walk for Hunger. In law school he fought for renters' rights and organized the first rent strike in Indiana as president of the Indianapolis Tenants Association. As a young lawyer Jeff founded free legal clinics at two inner-city churches in Indianapolis. He was lead counsel on class action suits for prisoners which resulted in the construction of two new jails in Central Indiana. He spent five days working for NOLA Habitat for Humanity post Katrina. Jeff was plaintiff in a class action requiring clean-up of the White River after it was polluted by an industrial chemical spill. The Jeff and Alicia Rasley Internship Program was created by the Rasleys for the ACLU of Indiana in December, 2020. Jeff is the founder of the Basa Village Foundation, which funds culturally sensitive development in Nepal. He served a term as president of Indianapolis Scientech, which promotes scientific inquiry and learning. Jeff is a director of six non-profits, including the Indianapolis Peace & Justice Center, University of Chicago Alumni Club, and Phi Beta Kappa of Indiana. He is U.S. liaison for the Himalayan expedition company Adventure GeoTreks Ltd. He has taught courses on "culturally sensitive development" and philanthropy at Butler and Marian Universities and memoir writing at the Indiana Writing Center Jeff's BA is from University of Chicago magna cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, All-Academic All-State Football, letter winner in swimming and football; JD Indiana University Law School cum laude, Moot Court, Indiana Law Review; MDiv Christian Theological Seminary magna cum laude, covaledictorian and Faculty Award Scholar. He has been admitted to the Indiana, US District, and US Supreme Court Bars.  Jeff has published numerous articles in academic and mainstream periodicals, including Newsweek, Chicago Magazine, ABA Journal, Family Law Review, The Journal of Communal Societies, and Friends Journal. He is an award-winning photographer and his pictures taken in the Himalayas and on Caribbean and Pacific islands have been published in several journals. He has appeared as a featured guest on over 100 radio and podcast programs. In today's episode, our guest will talk about building and upholding cohesive communities. He will give us an account of his experience travelling to Basa village in Nepal and his interest in culturally sensitive developments. Listen in! Social media handles: Website: http://www.jeffreyrasley.com/ Amazon Author page: http://www.amazon.com/Jeff-Rasley/e/B004Q3D6B2 Personal Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/jrasley Facebook publisher site: https://www.facebook.com/JeffRasleyAndMidsummerBooks/   Twitter: https://twitter.com/jeffrasley   Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-rasley/   Goodreads page: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4114763.Jeffrey_Rasley   Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pinner362436/ Midsummer Books link: http://www.jeffreyrasley.com/midsummer%20books.htm   Basa Foundation link on my website: http://www.jeffreyrasley.com/Basa%20Projects.htm I grew up in a town Goshen, Indiana that my ancestors were early settlers so I felt so rooted in that community. [4:00] Because I felt so rooted in that community, it was deeply a part of me and from a really age felt involved in it. [4:27] Community goes two ways where if you feel embedded in a community, you want to get back to it but you also have certain expectations of it. [5:04] One of the aspects of our modern culture is that people don't stay in their home communities. [6:12] One of the beautiful things I experienced in Basa Village is the fact that the villagers were so rooted in their community. [6:43] For the west, we have to be very conscientious about developing and supporting community, because we don't have that organic embeddedness that the traditional communities have. [7:48] Community leadership is so important when deciding about what is right for your community. [8:49] When you have an established culture, it is risky to start changing really fundamental experiences for people in the community and especially for children. [9:55] Learning how in the 21st century, there are still these communities which are so well integrated and the people looking out for each other was amazing. [12:37] Commercial break. [18:23] What really works, for almost anybody in terms of getting involved in charitable work is to find something that you enjoy doing that is helpful to the community. [21:19] I had fallen in love with trekking and mountaineering in the Himalayas and so I combined going over there on a track or an expedition with doing some philanthropic project [21:53] Each time I went back, I just tried to do something a little bigger and then I went from things to money to developing a foundation. [21:18] It may take some introspection but anybody who wants to give back can figure out something that they enjoy. [22:47] Hearing stories from from my great grandmother about what Goshen was like when she was young, it was very similar to the way people live in Basa today. [26:45] There are real risks for Basa in the sense that a road has come to the village, the internet and cell phones have come and this worries the village elders. [27:37] The kids are now being exposed to a world that is very different from what they have known for hundreds of years. [28:11] This exposure can lead to a lot of them being attracted to leave the village and for those that will stay, they will want to change the village in ways that were unforeseen. [28:20] The fundamental values of the villagers, including the kids have not changed and part of that is because they have such a strong tradition on environmental responsibility and a sense of community. [28:41] I hope it stays, because not only is it a wonderful thing, but also in terms of happiness, the villagers have a very high happiness quotient. [30:10] Find something that moves you and one that you enjoy, but will move you to be involved with your community in a productive giving way and it will give back to you. [32:11] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

“You're especially designed to do something because no one's here to do nothing.” Emily Chang We are all part of something bigger than ourselves, the larger community. Better and functional communities are not built in a day but rather, it is about consistently performing acts of service that uplift others. Emily Chang has been enthusiastic about supporting and building her community, and says it is not so much about the big things, but rather, it is the small acts that really contribute to a thriving community. Emily Chang is the CEO of McCann Worldgroup, China. Prior to accepting this new role, she took a year off to write a book called The Spare Room, the topic of her first TEDx Talk. Before that, she served as CMO for Starbucks China, where she cared for the teams that helped open the first Starbucks Roastery outside of Seattle and commercialized the brand's digital gifting and delivery programs. Lotus (Chapter five) lived with Emily's family while she worked at Starbucks. A strategic business leader with over 20 years of experience, Emily is known for globalization, cross-cultural team leadership, and innovative brand building. Recognized for her ability to drive change and renew organizations, Emily approaches opportunities with an entrepreneurial mind set to establish a culture, set a vision, and build capability. She is known first and foremost as a people leader and team builder. Prior to Starbucks, Emily was the Chief Commercial Officer for IHG, Greater China, where she looked after 320 hotels and an extended team of 5,200 members. While she was at IHG, Emily's family cared for five kids, including Teo (Chapter four). Moving to Shanghai in 2011, Emily led the marketing organization that established the face of Apple Retail in Asia Pacific. While working at Apple, Emily's family cared for three young people, including Jaesin (Chapter three). She first developed her General Management, Marketing and Brand expertise at Proctor & Gamble. Five young people shared her spare room in the 11 years that Emily worked at P&G. Today, Emily sits on the board of SOS Children's Villages and has spoken at select conferences and events, including the Fortune Most Powerful Women's Summit in Hong Kong, C2 in Montreal, and has delivered three TEDx Talks. In her free time, Emily loves to teach, read, and write. She challenges herself to learn a new “big thing” every year (2019 was all about the book, and she's spent much of 2020 straddling a cajon drum). Most of all, Emily enjoys spending time with family: her husband of 20 years, her 12-year old daughter Laini, Holly Berry their rescued mutt, and Jellybean, their pygmy hedgehog. In today's episode, our guest will talk about how she found her positive thing that contributes towards her community. She will also discuss her book and what it entails. Listen in!  Social Media Handles: Author Website: https://social-legacy.com/   LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/emilychang8621   Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emily.chang.925602   Instagram: https://instagram.com.thespareroombook The first thing is that for me, it's never been about work life balance but about work life integration. [4:11] As I've gotten older, one of the things I realized was I had an opportunity to better integrate my personal life with my professional. [4:36] We always had these kids in our spare room and it was something that we certainly didn't hide, but also didn't really bring to the forefront either. [4:42] As we identified the spare room as a social offering to our community, we started to realize that talking about it isn't really about ego. [5:14] We embraced the idea of talking about the spare room with a TEDx talk and then took a year to write the boo [5:36] We believe this builds into our community and pays tribute to each of the people that we've had the privilege of sharing our spare room with. [5:43] You don't have to do very big things but something that you are specially designed to do that will actively support and build into your community, however you define it. [5:53] I don't think it's the best use of time to try and convince somebody else of your thing, everybody will come into it on their own. [7:28} If everybody starts identifying their offer and their offense, we can create communities that go after improving their communities. [7:43] I did a talk a few years ago called ‘The power of And,' which was all about the power of paradox and how you can take two ideas that seem in congruent and find the mutuality in the middle of them. [9:26] Sometimes we look at people who look like they've arrived and it looks like they have it all togetherand think that they have these intentions but usually it's not [10:26] It doesn't always have to be intentional or some grandiose gesture, sometimes it's your heart saying, I can do something about this. [11:07] We are capable of so much more than we can possibly imagine but we don't have to go after the grand gesture or the fully designed, well orchestrated, intentional, purpose driven thing. [11:27] We can do what helps us feel like we're doing something positive and when you find that moment, then you've hit on something where you can naturally add value to your community. [11:40] You want to position yourself in a way to maximize the value contribution that you can leave in the place around you without the risk of falling into the ego trap. [14:21] Commercial break. [15:40] When we talk about community service, or CSR, sometimes it feels like something that has to be sacrificial and that is human nature. [17:54] If we take an abundance mindset where we want to contribute more than we consume. We want to leave something more than what we've taken from this world. [18:06] The format of the book is written in very much a self reflection, action-oriented mindset and I don't want this to be a book but a movement. [18:58] If this can become something that's good for the world which helps people articulate how they contribute more than they consume, then that is something that I would feel really good about. [19:34] I do believe people are good and generally want to contribute more than they consume but may not know where to direct that attention or what they can [19:44] The construct of the book is a Venn diagram where in chapter one, you've got your offer and the second chapter talks about offense, then chapter three is the intersection of 1 and 2. [20:00] Chapters four and five talks about the action plan and the last part of the book is about, what I want to look back on that can have people say something about me after I've passed. [21:38] I've always believed that defining the end state helps you become much more intentional, with your time, priorities, and your investment. [21:54] There's positive power in positive words so we want to define the things that we're good at and embrace [23:56] Nobody should do nothing and nobody wants to do nothing, so feel empowered even if you do a small thing. [25:48] People came from very ordinary and said, I think I can go do something about this and they ended up changing the world for somebody. [26:14] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

“I don't think tackling climate change is anything to fear. It's really something to embrace.” Neil Kitching As climate change threatens to progressively transform the world, concerns are being directed on human activity and how it contributes to worsening the situation. Despite the hurdles faced in tackling this issue, many proponents of the matter still believe that it is possible to address climate change. Neil Kitching has a passion for climate change and believes that it all starts with every one taking personal responsibility of their actions and making an effort to choose better alternatives.    Neil Kitching is a geographer and energy specialist from Scotland. He has written his first book, Carbon Choices on the common-sense solutions to our climate and nature crises; https://amzn.to/39cOETs. He works for a public sector agency promoting the opportunities for business to benefit from low carbon heating and water technologies. Neil had a mid-life career change from accountant to working in sustainable development then energy. This book arose from Neil's frustration that so many people lack a basic understanding of climate change and its serious impacts. Education is the first step towards taking action. Community is one way to galvanize that action. In today's episode, Neil will discuss more about the state of climate change and some of the simple actions that can be done by individuals in an effort to reduce their carbon emissions. Listen in. Social Media https://www.carbonchoices.uk     https://www.instagram.com/carbonchoices    www.facebook.com/carbonchoices   https://www.linkedin.com/in/neil-kitching-55833314/ I was brought up in Paris at the centre of Scotland at the edge of the highlands and I always enjoyed the great outdoors. [2:28 I completed a geography degree at Edinburgh University, and then came out during the midst of one of the great recessions when there was no jobs available. [2:43] I was desperately looking for work and I applied to be an accountant because I was always quite good at maths and numbers. [2:56] I trained to be an accountant in London and then worked away visibly as an accountant for 20 years, but always had in the back of a rage that I wasn't very satisfied with this career choice. [3:02] Eventually, 20 years later, I had a midlife crisis, and did successfully change my career and moved into sustainable development policy and now I work as an energy specialist. [3:16] I learned about climate change 30 years ago in geography and it was all very factual as I could see how sensitive they sheets were to a changing climate. [3:45] For the time I was working in business, nobody seemed to care and no one was acting on it and I could never understand why that was the case. [4:04] When I moved into the environmental area, I seeme to be speaking to the same people all the time ad so I just thought it was good to write a book. [4:12] My aim was to try and influence and change some people and some government policies I also wanted to get the book out prior to Glasgow conference on climate change. [4:27] A few years back there was a lot of scepticism but we've seen the effects of climate change hitting all over the world. [5:38] Unfortunately, climate change will affect us all, either directly, or indirectly and there's no escaping that. [6:45] My book really lays out the role of the different players and overlaps between all of them. [8:12] It's up to individuals and communities to influence leaders act on climate change and businesses to act in more sustainable ways. [8:36] Commercial break. [10:47] In terms of what we can do as individuals, the starting point for me is where you choose to live and also cut on carbon impact by changing lifestyle. [12:54] We have a concept here called 20-minute communities where all services or nearly all services are accessible within walking or cycling 20 minutes from your house. [12:24] In the West, we consume so much stuff and that's been ever increasing but it just means we buy lots of stuff that we use once and then throw away. [16:55] That's probably getting worse globally because other countries are copying the bad habits. [17:23] For every good thing you see, there's another bad thing and so they almost balance each other out therefore we just need to do more of the good things. [18:20] Consumption is a big thing and the worrying thing is if you go to developing countries, you just see a sea of plastic rubbish along the roads. [18:28] We have landfills that were on the coast and now with rising sea levels and coastal erosion, the waves are washing out these landfills. [19:10] The third big area in our lives that we could change is our choice of diets with regards to how much we eat and food wastage. [19:54] The big issue around our diet is eating beef, mutton and dairy products basically because cows and sheep are ruminants and they produce methane which is a strong, powerful greenhouse gas. [20:33] That's the big area that governments don't like to talk about due to fear of upsetting businesses and the farmers but as individuals, it's an area we can change overnight if we choose to do so. [20:49] All our food waste should be composted because if you don't and choose to put it in a plastic bag, and it goes to landfill, it rots down and starts to produce methane. [22:25] I think people think of the environment as being a problem but to me, going for a low carbon future is better. [24:34] We can start by making lifestyle changes as all are good choices that we should be striving for. [24:43] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.    

“Let us try to give other people opportunities and chances to shine and to be the best version of themselves.” Raj Goodman Anand Often we get caught up in the endless pursuit of things and forget to look around for the opportunities to touch people's lives and make a difference. By being more thoughtful, we get to slow down and deliberately look out for ways in which we can contribute towards making life better for another person. This is according to our guest today, Raj Goodman Anand, whose realization of the need to make a difference led him to a passion of creating self and career development opportunities for women around the world. Raj Goodman Anand is the founder of Goodman Lantern, a team of native English content writing services that help businesses sell better and grow faster. An engineer by profession, he has founded three start-ups, raised capital, and taken one venture from zero to acquisition. He has not only had a flourishing career within start-ups but also with large and mid-sized organizations, working on launching start-ups or new products within them. Products he has built have made companies an income in excess of £45m. Raj has also won BusinessWeek's Europe's Young Entrepreneur (2007) and has been named one of Revolution Magazine's 50 Most Influential People in Digital (2009). He has spoken at various venues including the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, British Library, and several universities including LSE. Raj and his entrepreneurial ventures have had coverage in The Telegraph, Guardian, BusinessWeek, and Observer. In today's episode, Raj will talk about his journey and the events that led him to what he does today which is providing opportunities for women to grow and flourish and the freedom of working remotely. Listen in! Social media handles: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajanand/    https://www.linkedin.com/in/rajanand/ I am a father and a husband and we love traveling as a family and I'm currently traveling from London and currently in Bangkok. [3:12] I talk about travel first was because in all my life, I worked pretty hard to get where I am and for a purpose which for me one is personal and another is to give back to the world. [3:58] I worked incredibly hard at university and got into engineering and then AI and later got into marketing. [4:10] After eight years of working really hard, I realized that I was taking 320 flights per year for the companies I was working for and it was just painful. [4:20] I thought that it will be really good to actually live in a way where I choose my terms and the thought about remote working came up. [4:43] I started a company eight years back now to kind of focus on helping people in business to content writing. [4:50] I challenged the world I live in and decided to set a company where I can work from anywhere in the world. [5:01] Goodman lantem, is my company has been remote from day one and all our team members are all remote and have the freedom to work on what they are good at. [5:09] It is about bringing team members who have the same passion as you do and I'm a big believer of having that sort of same passion and the same core values. [6:42] When I hire people, I hire them on basis off the values as much as I hire them on basis on their skills. [7:02] Before Goodman Lanten, I was all about making money but somewhere, I felt that I'm missing out the human element. [7:13] I started to do some soul searching and saying, what can I actually contribute to this world and to the community I belong to. [7:34] I have seen several times that women who much smarter than I am not make it to the top because they weren't given the right representation. [7:41] I thought that I should make it my mission to help women in a particular way and for the last seven, eight years we have hired a lot of women in a company in our departments. [8:18] This is an opportunity for them to work on awesome projects at their comfort and really be inspired to grow themselves and the family as well. [8:45] Some countries such as South Africa has the largest statistics on women-based violence in the world meaning it is not safe for women to go out. [9:22] We're trying to do what we can from outside to make them safe and earn a good living. [9:38] As company, we are really focused not only in what we bring to the world, but also to our clients so we only work for subscription-based customers. [10:12] Most of our customers are B2B and what we do for them is to create content to help them tell their story as well as rank higher on search engines. [10:38] The other side of story is we bring in women into our company and we train them in the space of software service so that they can then start working with these awesome companies. [10:59] We're growing really fast and we are getting a lot of new projects and so we need a lot of people on board. [13:11] Commercial break [13:39] Prior to writing content for an organization or individuals, there is a lot of effort, which goes behind it which includes thinking about the mission, the vision, the values and the tone. [15:48] Content is only good if it hits multiple points, which tick marks different things for you as a company, your audience, and the SEO part as well. [16:36] Planning is super important but people forget that planning step and jump right into execution. [16:46] Most customers today we target at least are ones who have a team and bringing in 10 to 500 million in revenues and so they know what they're doing but they need to scale up. [18:14] This is because scaling up is not easy and needs team members who have the right skills and who understand that the company's vision, mission and core values. [18:40] When we come in, we help our clients scale up their art in production in all areas. [18:54] It's important to build a business to earn income but let us try to focus on the greater good and give other people opportunities and chances to shine to be the best version of themselves. [20:03] It goes a long way not only from the point of view of making revenue, but also read karma as well. [20:30] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.      

"You can learn communication skills, but if you don't know how to pause and slow down, the skills won't matter." Eddie Zacapa Communication is at the centre of all functional relationships. How people communicate can bring a significant difference in the quality of their lives individually and within communities. Our guest today, Eddie Zacapa, has years of experience training people on how to communicate differently and says that it's all about the lens with which people view issues. Eddie Zacapa is the co-founder of Life Enriching Communication and a certified trainer with the Center for Nonviolent Communication (CNVC). He has facilitated nonviolent communication workshops, trainings and programs with individuals, families, parents, schools, and organizations and worked in the domestic violence field for over 19 years. Eddie also offers coaching to executives and managers and helps volunteers and employees discover their full potential on the job. He has worked with volunteers for over 20 years with various non-profit organizations providing volunteer management. He lives in Sacramento, CA, with his family. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism from San Jose State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Bible and Theology from William Jessup University. Eddie is the author of two books: Principles and Practices of Nonviolence: 30 Meditations for Practicing Compassion; https://amzn.to/3kjKboo and Essentials for Cultivating Passionate Volunteers and Leaders: Guidelines for Organizations that Value Connection-https://amzn.to/3zjLHLo. In today's episode, Eddie talks about nonviolent and effective communication. He will also present the steps to communicating and making meaningful connections in any given situation.   Listen in! Contacts: Website: www.lecworks.org I'm the founder of Life Enriching Communication, an organization dedicated to ending domestic violence and the cycle of violence. [2:40] We work with individuals who come to us voluntarily or sometimes through the court, and we help them discover their power over tendencies and how they can change that. [2:50] I also teach nonviolent communication, which is rooted in nonviolence to organizations, couples and families. [3:20] Sometimes we use the power that we have to get what we want without thinking about the other person necessarily and what their needs are at that moment. [4:50] Everybody has power, and it is not a bad thing since it allows you to do something. However, collaboration happens when you use that power with the resources others have. [5:29] I was working in ministry, but then I decided to change my career, and my mom introduced me to someone at her church who did this work with. [6:07] The first time I got there, I connected with the individuals who were there and I got hired there, so that started my journey. [6:35] I was also drawn to it just because I could relate to it in some ways from my experience growing up. [6:47] Along the way, I got introduced to nonviolent communication by a certified trainer, and that process just blew my world, and I started living it out and teaching it. [7:11] One of the things I try to get across early is, if you do anything because you have to, you will pay for it. [7:48] I tell the people I teach that being there was an opportunity for them to learn and grow regardless of whether they deserved to be there or not. [8:16] It is really important to continue doing this because it makes a difference by bringing awareness to what abuse is and making people feel comfortable and safe reaching out for help. [10:05] We need to work together and have the police department and fire department to be able to be in touch with the needs of each community and to just feel comfortable with each other. [11:53] Commercial Break. [12:18] One of the first components of nonviolent communication focuses on differentiating between what's happening and the story we tell ourselves in our heads. [14:31] Being able to differentiate and get down to what happened can be helpful. [15:22] The next step is connecting with what happened and assessing your feelings about the truth, and then finding out what you value in the situation. [15:30] The last part is just making a request that is very specific and doable. [16:15] Another valuable piece is if you're struggling to connect with someone else, you can close your eyes and just imagine what they might be feeling and their needs. [16:32] By doing that, you're able to see that person's humanity, and you're not creating an enemy image with that story and that a lot of times helps you find a solution as well. [16:48] You can learn communication skills, but if you don't know how to pause and slow down, the skills won't matter. [17:58] We're trying to see what people wish for and what their value is in a particular situation. [19:39] When we make a request, remember that when we hear a 'NO', it is a gift because it tells us that there's something really important to somebody else. [22:10] There's a need behind that NO, and if we can discover what it is, we can find a solution that works for everybody. [22:40] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

“In life, your footprint that you leave is the impact that you made in the society.” Lucy Munga The awareness of the struggles that people around your community face, and findings ways in which you can be able to assist is what community is all about. Our guest today, Lucy Munga, chose the path of impacting the community in the best way she knew, and in the process found a way to change multiple lives through encouraging and facilitating the art of story-telling. Lucy Munga is a life and business coach and her company is Amara Capital. Over the past she worked as a senior manager doing data analytics, IT risk and advisory services for companies like PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst and Young. Lucy also cares for her community by giving back not only as a Rotarian, but also helps the children in her community be tied very diligently education. In todays' episode, Lucy will discuss about her business, and how her previous career experiences led her to discover her passion for working with families and children to improve their lives. Listen in! https://www.lucymunga.com    https://twitter.com/lucymunga?lang=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-munga-0089087   I'm a certified coach and I'm recognized by the International coach Federation as a certified coach. [2:36] I mainly focus on business owners that are struggling because last year I realized that a number of employees lost their jobs and closed businesses and many people were struggling. [2:52] As an IT consultant with leading organizations, I realized that I had a skill that could help families get out of the woods, and start generating their own income. [3:15] I started helping those who have lost their jobs, and those who were leaving employment do something out of their own talents. [3:31] Amazingly, so many people have built a business based on the gifts and the talents that they have, and that has helped them start generating some income and start to live better. [4:05] In the process of giving back to those parents who have lost their jobs, I came across some parents or guardians who did not have an education but had bright and needy children. [4:21] I collected all these children, and together with other Rotarians we got some money and we took some of them to secondary school in 2020. [4:51] We got much less money in 2021 and had to use my own money which prompted me to come up with the idea of helping them build their own income by writing their own story. [5:11] The whole idea was started by my 12-year-old writing her own stories and now we are rolling it out to all the children and parents in this program. [5:54] By telling their story, it is helping them improve on their language, writing and computer skills and eventually the books sold will generate some income for them. [6:55] We are just starting with telling a story at this point in time for the purpose of generating an income to be able to sustain themselves and his families. [8:02] I have had so many requests and I am trying to find ways on how we could build this community where we help build a sustainable income for these families through the storytelling. [8:52] Commercial break. [ 9:43] Some of the impacts we are seeing is increased levels of confidence in these children that comes from knowing that they can change the world through their stor [11:43] We have come together with the publisher and illustrator who did my daughter's book to mentor this whole community that has come up. [13:02] Our dream is to impact the country that we are in starting with the Nairobi town because there are a lot of bright children in informal settlements who are in difficult situations and need mentorship. [13:25] We are hoping to get people to partner with us so that we can build this program and have the dreams of these children come true. [15:30] In life, your footprint that you leave is the impact that you made in the society and touching these little ones is the best that one can do. [18:26] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

“It doesn't matter why someone doesn't have shoes, if they need shoes, they need shoes.” Brad Jackson Simple things aren't that simple. They bring comfort and meaning to our lives and without them, life would be unbearable. Our guest today, Brad Jackson, dedicates his time to make the lives of people around his community easier by providing shoes to those who need them the most. Brad was born in Dayton, Ohio, and grew up in Muncie, Indiana, where Ball State University is located, and from which he received his teaching degrees. Him and his wife are residents of Fishers, Indiana. Brad taught junior high biology and U.S. history for 43 years, and retired 4 years ago. Before that final school year, he had been looking for a volunteer opportunity that had the positive aspects of teaching and more. It needed to be a service-type non-profit in which he could see results of his efforts. Brad got introduced to Changing Footprints by his long-time friend whom they worked together in one of the facilities of that organization. The mission of the organization is to put shoes of the feet of those who need them. In his spare time, Brad leads nature walks, especially for special-needs students, help rehabilitate old cemeteries, raise funds for Camp Tecumseh and Right Sharing of World Resources which helps women in Sierra Leone, Kenya, and India establish small businesses. Brad also guest speaks in Spanish classes about his trips to Guatemala, and, with his wife Naomi, and Tom, his friend and excellent pianist, and sometimes special guests, perform music programs at retirement homes, featuring songs from the early 1900s through the 1950s. Brad's retirement has turned out to be busier than he had envisioned, but truly exciting to him. In today's episode, Brad will talk about the work he and his colleagues are doing at Changing Footprints that touches their community in a positive way. Listen in! Contact www.changingfootprints.org A few years before I retired I talked to a person at church who worked for Changing Footprints and a month after retirement I went to work as a volunteer. [3:15] Our statement that we use is that we are changing the world two feet at a time and our logo is a bare foot print with a shoe print on top. [4:18] The theme in how we're using shoes is that it doesn't matter why somebody doesn't have shoes, the idea is they need them to carry on life functions. [4:36] It started in 2005 after a reporter did a story about children in Afghanistan escaping the war and injuring their feet because most had no shoes on. [4:56] A couple of people that worked at Emerson industries in Indianapolis watched the report and decided to start collecting some shoes to send there. [5:34] They collected a few 100 shoes and sent them to Afghanistan and later realized that there were people locally who needed shoes and so they kept on collecting [5:49] The number of pairs collected grew over the years and now we're feeling pretty good about the numbers. [6:26] It's not a contest about numbers but they indicate how we're doing and how we're growing. [7:32] We just passed the 400,000 pair Mark from when they started in 2005 and the goal is by the end of 2022 to do half a million pairs. [7:42] We concentrate on agencies coming to us to request shoes for their clients and we are currently working with about 90 different agencies. [9:07] We get shoes through shoe drives and so part of my job is to go out to the schools in my county and initiate the drive [9:45] I work with schools that have community service requirements for their students make use of this opportunity and now we have 21 schools in my school district which makes the numbers incredible. [10:20] The really cool thing about kids coming to our facility to sort shoes, is that they get to see the second step in the process. [13:49] The process entails collection, sorting and pairing, inspection, labelling, grouping, boxing and stacking awaiting orders. [14:07] Commercial break. [17:24] Sometimes we give shoes to men and women who are being released from prison and are going into the construction industry. [20:04] When some shoes come in and they're not in very good shape, we take the reusable parts such as laces and inner soles and give the remaining shoe parts to Nike Corporation for recycling. [20:28] We also have resource officers from the Metropolitan Police Department of Indianapolis who get some shoes to give out to homeless people that they come across. [23:10] We have trouble sometimes placing our dress shoes both men's and women's but we were given an idea by some teachers, and we started giving them out for free to schools to use them for their concert [23:42] We do look for financial contributions because we have two places that pay rent and also buy items that we use in in our processes. [27:41] We would love to see some other locations start their own organizations like ours because it is not that hard to get started. [29:02] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

“The power of theatre to transform and shock potential is so huge.” Nina Meehan Theatre has long been perceived to be a powerful tool that spurs conversations as well an avenue in which societal matters can be explored and understood. Nina Meehan has been in the arts space for quite a while and says that theatre helps people to view the world differently and deepens their self-awareness. Nina Meehan is an award-winning director, playwright and producer, and a dedicated arts educator, with expertise in youth development and non-profit management. Her work focuses on nurturing innovation in children and connecting people in our increasingly digital world. Nina's award-winning theatrical work for young people as CEO of Bay Area Children's Theatre has reached more than 1 million kids and adults and has toured nationally and internationally. Some of Nina's most recent credits include: the adaptation of Chelsea Clinton's book, "She Persisted," Grace Lin's "Where the Mountain Meets the Moon," and the New York Times bestselling "Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site" series. She has received the Alumna of the Year Award from Head-Royce School in (2020), the Diablo Valley Innovation Award (2020), the Theatre Bay Area Award Best Director and Best New Musical (Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, 2018). She was an invited speaker at Visioni in Bologna, Italy, and an invited speak at a conference hosted by the National Endowment for the Arts. Nina also serves as Board President for TYA/USA and was named as one of Red Tricycle's “Moms Who Rock.” She holds a BS in theatre from Northwestern University and a Master's of Nonprofit Administration from the University of San Francisco. She is also a certified yoga instructor. Her work has been spotlighted in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, American Theatre Magazine, San Francisco Chronicle, Barron's, Red Tricycle, ABC News, NBC News, and CBS News. Nina is our guest today and, in this episode, she will talk about the transformative power of theatre to both children and adults.   Listen in! Social Media www.facebook.com/ninameehan     https://www.instagram.com/nmeehan/ instagram.com/bactheatre    https://www.instagram.com/bactheatre   https://www.facebook.com/bakctheatre    I am the founder of Bay Area children's theatre which me and my friends started 18 years ago and we have produced enough shows to reach literally a million people. [2:58] The part that I think is the most exciting for me is the growth from where we started to now having professional adult actors for family and student audiences and also working with young people. [3:35] The growth of the organization has truly been because of the demand from the community. [4:07] What I have learned over those years as a theatre creator is that art and creativity bring all the soft skills into our world. [4:26] Kids in a lot of ways are far more willing to take that risk of getting up there on stage than adults. [6:40] The power of what it looks like to see a kid stand up and own their art, reflects self-confidence and independence which are skills that children need. [7:35] We did online theatre during the pandemic and interestingly, the same transformative moments were experienced, where participants owned and took charge of their performances. [7:52] The power of theatre to transform and shock potential is so hug [8:10] What I've seen with the adults that we engage with that is interesting, is the conversation that their children's performances initiate afterwards. [8:15] As adults we are often putting limitations on ourselves with the excuse that we are not artists yet maybe we are. [12:27] I have loved working with kids for 18 years and it's been so beautiful seeing adults try to take the step to be creative. [12:55] The more that we can open that potential and that opportunity to redefine what it is to be a creative in our current modern world the more we can be creative and express ourselves. [13:50] We are programmed to be creative beings and that comes in lots of different shapes and forms. [16:26] Encouraging the people around us is important because that is our power, considering so much of being creative is about just allowing ourselves the permission to do it. [18:22] The more that we can say how we feel and appreciate art, the more we can have moments where we can value the creativity in the people around us. [18:52] Commercial break. [20:25] In terms of giving back to your community, I think it is so important to look around and see who in your community is doing work that is inspiring the next generation to become creative leaders. [22:43] We all want empathetic humans taking over from us in the next generation. [ We are all working on a shoestring but there is a whole world of non-profit organizations out there that would love to have support in different ways. [23:45] The other part of it is really looking into your own being and finding your own creative moments that brings you joy, and bring that into your adult world. [24:23] For entrepreneurs, for those who run businesses, board service for non-profit organizations is an insanely huge and powerful gift you can give back to your community. [26:23] The way non-profit sector is set up, we cannot function without a dedicated arm that is our board of directors. [26:44] Find time today to try creative play and just see what happens. [28:31] …………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.  

How can we understand how to navigate the waters of inclusion in a way that is genuinely inclusive, productive, respectful, and safe for all? Let's find out together. Our guest is Dr. Steve Yacovelli. . . . . . Dr. Steve Yacovelli is a highly in-demand diversity and inclusion, change management, and leadership expert. His consulting firm, TopDog Learning Group, works with both Fortune 500s and not-for-profit organizations to bring about a more inclusive and effective workplace. With over 25 years of experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Dr. Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results. He's worked with Fortune 500 greats like: The Walt Disney Company, Bayer, The American Library Association, and large universities like The Ohio State University and The University of Central Florida. Steve is an award-winning author of Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of Their Jungle. More about Dr. Steve Yacovelli Website www.topdoglearning.biz Book: https://tinyurl.com/DrStevePride Social Media https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/ http://www.facebook.com/gayleadershipdude https://twitter.com/gayleadership https://www.instagram.com/thegayleadershipdude/ . . . . . . When you're curious about how to tap into what drives meaning in your life and create meaningful transformation in the lives you touch. Take a look at DovBaron.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is Silent Collusion and How Will it Destroy Psychological Safety in Your Culture? Let's find out together. Our guest is Dr. Steve Yacovelli. . . . . . Dr. Steve Yacovelli is a highly in-demand diversity and inclusion, change management, and leadership expert. His consulting firm, TopDog Learning Group, works with both Fortune 500s and not-for-profit organizations to bring about a more inclusive and effective workplace. With over 25 years of experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Dr. Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results. He's worked with Fortune 500 greats like: The Walt Disney Company, Bayer, The American Library Association, and large universities like The Ohio State University and The University of Central Florida. Steve is an award-winning author of Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of Their Jungle. More about Dr. Steve Yacovelli Website www.topdoglearning.biz Book: https://tinyurl.com/DrStevePride Social Media https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/ http://www.facebook.com/gayleadershipdude https://twitter.com/gayleadership https://www.instagram.com/thegayleadershipdude/ . . . . . . When you're curious about how to tap into what drives meaning in your life and create meaningful transformation in the lives you touch. Take a look at DovBaron.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Join Patrick and Kyle as they discuss inclusive leadership with The Gay Leadership Dude!  Dr. Steve Yacovelli (“The Gay Leadership Dude™”) is the Owner & Principal of  TopDog Learning Group, LLC – a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA, with affiliates across the globe.Steve and TopDog have had the pleasure of working with some great client-partners who they consider to be members of their “pack.” He's worked with Fortune 500 greats like The Walt Disney Company and Bayer to amazing not-for-profits like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The American Library Association; large universities like The Ohio State University and The University of Central Florida, to small entrepreneurial rock stars like International Training & Development and GovMojo, Inc. Steve and TopDog have thoroughly enjoyed helping their client-partners grow, develop, expand, and be successful with their corporate learning, change management, diversity and inclusion, and leadership consulting goodness.With over twenty-five years' experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results.Oh, and he's quite fond of dogs, too.https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/https://www.facebook.com/gayleadershipdude/https://twitter.com/gayleadershipRebel HR is a podcast for HR professionals and leaders of people who are ready to make some disruption in the world of work.We'll be discussing topics that are disruptive to the world of work and talk about new and different ways to approach solving those problems.Follow Rebel HR Podcast at:www.rebelhumanresources.comhttps://twitter.com/rebelhrguyhttps://www.facebook.com/rebelhrpodcastwww.kyleroed.comhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-roed/Rebel ON, HR Rebels!  Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched! Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show (https://www.patreon.com/rebelhumanresources)

Dr. Steve Yacovelli (a.k.a. "The Gay Leadership Dude®") is the Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a U.S.-based leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm. Website: https://topdoglearning.biz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gayleadershipdude Twitter: https://twitter.com/gayleadership Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thegayleadershipdude/ CallumConnects Micro-Podcast is your daily dose of wholesome entrepreneurial inspiration. Hear from many different entrepreneurs in just 5 minutes what hurdles they have faced, how they overcame them, and what their key learning is. Be inspired, subscribe, leave a comment, go and change the world! Every entrepreneur featured has been recommended by one of our previous guests. www.CallumLaing.com

Are you a consciously inclusive leader? Chances are you've probably heard the terms "Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion," read an article about D&I, or been invited to your organization's training efforts around being inclusive. This is all great, BUT do you really understand where YOU stand in being a consciously inclusive human?In this episode, we have a lively conversation with Dr. Steve Yacovelli, "The Gay Leadership Dude," about:the top 3 strategies to build resiliencePride Leadership and strategies to be the King or Queen of your junglewhat it's like to be an ally to other communities and allyship5 layers of diversityhow it's cool to get fired (and lots of other failures)And so much more! We learned a thing or two during this juicy conversation and you will too!More about Dr. Steve Yacovelli:Dr. Steve Yacovelli (“The Gay Leadership Dude™”) is the Owner & Principal of  TopDog Learning Group, LLC – a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA, with affiliates across the globe.Steve and TopDog have had the pleasure of working with some great client-partners who they consider to be members of their “pack.” He's worked with Fortune 500 greats like The Walt Disney Company and Bayer to amazing not-for-profits like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The American Library Association; large universities like The Ohio State University and The University of Central Florida, to small entrepreneurial rock stars like International Training & Development and GovMojo, Inc. Steve and TopDog have thoroughly enjoyed helping their client-partners grow, develop, expand, and be successful with their corporate learning, change management, diversity and inclusion, and leadership consulting goodness.With over twenty-five years' experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results.Oh, and he's quite fond of dogs, too.Learn more about Dr. Yacovelli and Top Dog Learning at www.topdoglearning.bizClick here For FREE shipping of Pride LeadershipClick here for FREE online “Learning Tapas” to help leaders get over their fear of beating silent collusion and being more consciously inclusive leadersFollow Steve on:LinkedInInstagram

DR. STEVE YACOVELLI  ("THE GAY LEADERSHIP DUDE®") is an award-winning author, speaker, and catalyst for inclusive leadership in and out of the workplace.  He's an entrepreneur, having founded TopDog Learning Group, LLC in 2008, and a thought leader in leadership, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and change management.   Steve and TopDog have worked with well-known clients like The Walt Disney Company, Bayer, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others.  Steve enjoys  helping his client-partners grow, develop, expand, and become  successful with such areas as corporate learning, change management, diversity and inclusion, and leadership consulting.   With over twenty-five years' experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results.  Steve is the Author of the award-winning book,: "Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle".  He received his Doctorate in Education in Instructional Technology & Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University.  Go to :  https://topdog.click/podcast: This will take you to Steve's Opt-In page where you will be able to get a free sample of Steve's  award-winning book, "Pride Leadership" (PDF and Audiobook versions!) as well as get to my main page, www.topdoglearning.biz.  

DR. STEVE YACOVELLI  ("THE GAY LEADERSHIP DUDE®") is an award-winning author, speaker, and catalyst for inclusive leadership in and out of the workplace.  He's an entrepreneur, having founded TopDog Learning Group, LLC in 2008, and a thought leader in leadership, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and change management.   Steve and TopDog have worked with well-known clients like The Walt Disney Company, Bayer, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and others.  Steve enjoys  helping his client-partners grow, develop, expand, and become  successful with such areas as corporate learning, change management, diversity and inclusion, and leadership consulting.   With over twenty-five years' experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results.  Steve is the Author of the award-winning book,: "Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle".  He received his Doctorate in Education in Instructional Technology & Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University.   Go to :  https://topdog.click/podcast: This will take you to Steve's Opt-In page where you will be able to get a free sample of Steve's  award-winning book, "Pride Leadership" (PDF and Audiobook versions!) as well as get to my main page, www.topdoglearning.biz.    

What is Silent Collusion and How Will it Destroy Psychological Safety in Your Culture? Let's find out together. Our guest is Dr. Steve Yacovelli. . . . . . Dr. Steve Yacovelli is a highly in-demand diversity and inclusion, change management, and leadership expert. His consulting firm, TopDog Learning Group, works with both Fortune 500s and not-for-profit organizations to bring about a more inclusive and effective workplace. With over 25 years of experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Dr. Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results. He's worked with Fortune 500 greats like: The Walt Disney Company, Bayer, The American Library Association, and large universities like The Ohio State University and The University of Central Florida. Steve is an award-winning author of Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of Their Jungle. More about Dr. Steve Yacovelli Website www.topdoglearning.biz Book: https://tinyurl.com/DrStevePride Social Media https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/ http://www.facebook.com/gayleadershipdude https://twitter.com/gayleadership https://www.instagram.com/thegayleadershipdude/ . . . . . . When you're curious about how to tap into what drives meaning in your life and create meaningful transformation in the lives you touch. Take a look at DovBaron.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How can we understand how to navigate the waters of inclusion in a way that is genuinely inclusive, productive, respectful, and safe for all?  Let's find out together. Our guest is Dr. Steve Yacovelli. . . . . . Dr. Steve Yacovelli is a highly in-demand diversity and inclusion, change management, and leadership expert. His consulting firm, TopDog Learning Group, works with both Fortune 500s and not-for-profit organizations to bring about a more inclusive and effective workplace. With over 25 years of experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Dr. Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results. He's worked with Fortune 500 greats like: The Walt Disney Company, Bayer, The American Library Association, and large universities like The Ohio State University and The University of Central Florida. Steve is an award-winning author of Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of Their Jungle. More about Dr. Steve Yacovelli Website www.topdoglearning.biz Book: https://tinyurl.com/DrStevePride Social Media https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/ http://www.facebook.com/gayleadershipdude https://twitter.com/gayleadership https://www.instagram.com/thegayleadershipdude/ . . . . . . When you're curious about how to tap into what drives meaning in your life and create meaningful transformation in the lives you touch. Take a look at DovBaron.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dr. Steve Yacovelli is an award-winning author, speaker, and catalyst for inclusive leadership in and out of the workplace. He's an entrepreneur, having founded TopDog Learning Group, LLC in 2008, and a thought leader in leadership, diversity, inclusion and belonging, and change management. We have an amazing conversation about his book "Pride Leadership." We explore leadership through the LGBTQ+ lens highlighting the fact that excellent leadership is excellent leadership regardless of sexuality, gender, race, etc. To learn more about Dr. Yacovelli, his offerings, and/or how to purchase his book visit his website: www.topdoglearning.biz

Should I be myself at work? When we second guess ourselves trying to show up as others think we should, the effort of holding back, thinking, and rethinking our ideas, work even our presences diminishes us. It not only harms us but deprives others of our most precious gifts... our unique perspective. Brilliance comes from a lifetime of experiences, and they help us solve problems, be creative, and convince others to follow our lead. Listen as Dr. Steve Yacovelli and I discuss what it means for LGBTQ and others to step up and show up at work, what managers and HR executives can do to create an environment that closes the gap on inclusion and belonging. Dr. Steve Yacovelli (a.k.a. “The Gay Leadership Dude") is the Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, Florida, USA but with affiliates (“TopDoggers”) throughout the globe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  Are you showing up authentically as a leader while allowing your team to do so too?   For you to build relationships and effectively communicate within the workplace, you have to embrace authenticity. It is also crucial to promote a culture that is diverse, inclusive, and that encourages feedback.   In this episode of the Legendary Leaders Podcast, we have Dr. Steve Yacovelli - “The Gay Leadership Dude”, founder of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, speaker, author, and change catalyst. He has spent 25 years studying, learning, and teaching what it takes to be a great leader. He shares how he discovered and embraced authenticity in the workplace as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.   Listen in to learn about the importance of feedback to create effective communication and build trust in the workplace. You will also learn why it is absolutely your responsibility as a leader to promote a diverse and inclusive culture, and what the benefits are from creating and embracing such a diverse climate.   Key Takeaways: How to build and foster trust with people by letting them in on who you are. How to identify the need for diversity and inclusion as a leader in your team. Learn to support your people with value and positive power as a leader within the workplace. How to build a consciously inclusive workplace culture as a leader.   If you enjoyed this episode, check out the video show notes and SUBSCRIBE TO THIS PODCAST on Apple Podcasts.   Episode Timeline: [0:42] Intro [5:00] How Steve helps members of the LGBTQ+ community in the leadership scene. [7:04] How he discovered his authentic self as a gay man and the journey it has been. [9:29] The importance of authenticity in building trust with people as a leader. [12:37] How to build a rapport with people in whatever way you can create a connection. [17:07] The three areas he helps clients explore diversity and inclusion, leadership, and eLearning. [18:59] The powerful leadership qualities and how to interact them to be an effective leader. [22:02] Steve explains when and how his book Pride Leadership was born. [24:28] How Pride Leadership is designed to be a support system to queer people. [27:18] The six universal leadership competencies and why they're specific to the LGBTQ community. [29:37] The importance of feedback for effective communication and relationship building. [36:09] Why it's your responsibility as the leader to create a culture where everyone is included.    Standout Quotes: “Whatever way you can connect with people, that's a great strategy for leadership because it ultimately builds trust.”- Dr. Steve Yacovelli [14:30]   “If we're not creating a workplace where people feel they can be their authentic self, then they're not giving their authentic self.”- Dr. Steve Yacovelli [26:54]   “We shape our workplace culture, our team culture by the words we pick and the actions that we take.”- Dr. Steve Yacovelli [31:32]   “We can humanize the workplace a little bit better and have a little bit more empathy on what's going on besides the office.”- Dr. Steve Yacovelli [42:07]   Connect: Find | Cathleen Merkel At cathleenmerkel.com On Instagram: @CathleenMerkel On Facebook: @CathleenMerkelCoaching On LinkedIn: @CathleenMerkel   Find | Dr. Steve Yacovelli Website: http://topdoglearning.com/ On Instagram: @thegayleadershipdude On Twitter: @gayleadership On Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/gayleadershipdude/ On LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/ Book: Pride Leadership – steveonamazon.com or on Audible https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/Pride-Leadership-Audiobook/B089B6Q3C4 Get your FREE copy HERE: https://thegayleadershipdude.net/order-form   SUBSCRIBE TO THIS PODCAST On Apple Podcasts.   Do you want to learn more about how to become a Legendary Leader, then download my FREE Guide which shares 5 Proven Ways To Gain Confidence As An Inspirational Leader Without Overwhelm - Simply Click Here: https://www.cathleenmerkel.com/5-proven-ways    About Cathleen:     As a Thought Leader in the Mindset & (Self-) Leadership space, Cathleen supports high achieving, but worn-out women create a more content & balanced life without sacrificing their hard-earned success. Following a simple 6 step framework, she helps you not only reconnect with your inner feminine side; Cathleen also supports you to rediscover your REAL YOU!    Cathleen focuses on women who lost their sense of purpose, who feel they are running in a hamster wheel, trying to please everyone but themselves. She helps you to turn your careers, your social connections and personal life around so that you will start feeling fulfilled and excited again about the days to come.      At the end of the process, Cathleen's clients will feel healthier, happier, energised and clear about their future.        With over 15 years of leadership experience in Retail, Media & Broadcasting, Engineering and Property Investment, Cathleen has not only experienced the challenges and opportunities of a female leader herself; she has also been leading and supporting various leadership development initiatives within large, complex, multinational matrix organisations.   Only by deeply experiencing her very personal life challenges – ‘hitting a wall experiences' –Cathleen was able to redefine her own purpose, deciding to bring ease and content to as many women as possible on the planet!     Tune in here:  https://apple.co/2CaSQ5K https://spoti.fi/2XzM4QJ https://music.amazon.co.uk/podcasts/85d200fb-8e1d-46b3-b550-b00b9666f00f/The-Legendary-Leaders-Podcast       About Dr. Steve Yacovelli   Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, Florida, USA but with affiliates (“TopDoggers”) throughout the globe.   Steve and TopDog provide guidance and solutions in leadership and organizational development, change management, diversity and inclusion consulting, instructional design, and custom e-learning creation. Whether it be through providing keynotes and facilitating leadership development programs for Fortune 500 companies like The Walt Disney Company, Bayer AG or Accenture, to providing one-on-one coaching experiences for groups like IBM, Covestro, and The Public Library Association, or creating engaging, effective training solutions for various delivery formats for folks like Tupperware Brands Corporation, The Ohio State University, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Steve is passionate about helping others be their best selves, in and out of the workplace.   Steve holds a B.S. in Public Relations from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Educational Policy & Leadership Development from The Ohio State University, and an Ed.D. in Instructional Technology & Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University. His current, award-winning and critically acclaimed book, “Pride Leadership: Strategies for LGBTQ+ Professionals to be the King or Queen of their Jungle” was published in June 2019.

“You are whole and complete from the day you were born to the day you pass on.” ~ Triptta Neb Butkovich Triptta Neb Butkovich was a successful organizational development consultant, an awesome executive coach, the life of the party, & the mother to 2 gorgeous boys. She was also a victim of narcissistic abuse. After 16 years of secretly living for someone else, she realized, only she could change her situation. She began to seek out different kinds of support to help her make sense of the chaos and hurt in her life. Hundreds of hours of healing modalities, attending mass coaching in auditoriums, studying the human psyche via short accreditations and a PhD enrollment, her coaching background, her openness and readiness to take action paid off - it took 8 long years, for her to find her identity, understand her values, embrace her vulnerabilities and to finally take her power back. Listen in! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/designyou/?originalSubdomain=ca Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TripttaNeb/ Facebook Groups: https://www.facebook.com/groups/182183693028824 Website: https://designyou.ca/ I underwent 16 years of abuse from my husband, physical abuse, financial abuse, sexual abuse, you just name it. [04:36] My abuse at home made me work really hard in my job but was I truly happy and successful. [05:37] Success is not equal to happiness. I am a living example of that. I was extremely successful in my business but I was extremely unhappy in my life. [06:12] The sense of belonging is the first thing that is eroded when you are facing abuse, that sense of belonging is the first thing that is responsible for your depression, lack of sense of belonging is the first thing responsible for a lot of anxiety that you face. [08:55] To keep the facade up took so much energy I had no time to give to personal relationships because I would have to work so hard to keep it up. [10:24] Don't judge a book by its cover, don't look at a person and thing they have it all. [11:23] We have kind of set or created this picture in our minds that this is what happiness looks like, or this is what you need to look like or be like to come across as successful so that people would want to connect with you. [13:07] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [ [14:52] You never know what else is going on in anybody else's lives. [16:12] It takes small incremental steps to get a person out of that situation. [17:40] When I started taking these small steps that's when my own confidence within my own self started to grow and I started to feel better myself. [19:05] It is really critical for you to have a sense of self, its super important for you to be able to build that sense of self, that is to find your self-identity again. [19:48] What your identity might have been versus what your identity is today of you is something you need to discover. But also know you can create your own identity. [20:01] Your external identity is as important as your internal identity. [23:11] It is important for you to feel comfortable with your decisions that they are in line with your values. [23:30] Everything and anything that puts you down help you create limiting beliefs and they prevent you from taking steps going further. [23:58] What is really important to understand in an abusive situation is trying to maintain a balance of your chakras really helps you take those initial steps. [29:02] Breath! You are the most important person in your life nobody else's. [34:16] You are whole and complete from the day you were born to the day you pass on. [34:26] You are the only one who can actually fulfil yourself, nobody else can fulfil you in any way shape or form. [34:33] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“If you want to shock your potential, then change your habits.” ~ Jay Sooknanan Going down the wrong path in life does not mean that you can't make change for the better. Your past does not define your future if you make conscientious choice, and our guest today knows that personally and professional. In this episode we learn about Jay's background and how his wrong choices earlier in life prompted him to start living his life for his own dreams and goals, and not to please others. He also reminds us to love ourselves, even in, or maybe especially in, times of strife. Jay Sooknanan is a Health and Wellness Guru who supports people and communities to live abundantly through well-rounded finances, health practices, and practices of well-being. He is also the author of Abundance - A Journey from Anxiety And Depression. Listen In !! Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jay.sooknanan.3 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Jayfaith512/ Amazon Books: https://www.amazon.com/Abundance-Journey-Anxiety-Depression-Sooknanan/dp/1504390326 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedIn.com/JaySooknanan/   If you want to shock your potential, then change your habits. [04:14] Always try to give me than you take, generosity is great. As I give more I receive. [05:06] Doctors are great people, but the system itself doesn't set them up to be the best service to people. [06:06] The transition from employed to entrepreneurship can really affect you especially if you are not used to asking for things. [07:17] You don't need to convince people if your product or service if good. People are going to want it. [08:43] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [12:13] What are your thoughts on helping people to start to make this mental transition and find some peace as we start to live a non-lockdown life? [14:42] When you actually face challenges are you going to rise up and lead or fall back into your old habits? [15:12] Take care of yourself, take care of your health, take care of your mind. Your mind is the most important thing. [16:01] Instead of falling into the rabbit hole of negativity you got to learn to swim into positivity. [17:15] If you meditate, it actually elevates your immune system more that exercise. [17:47] Get a practice, get something you like that could reduce your thoughts, reduce your stress and relax your mind. [21:06] Take that moment for you. Draw a line in the sand and create a routine that is going to manifest the life that you want. [21:43] Your routine is going to dictate where you go. [21:55] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

Dr. Steve and I had a great conversation about what diversity and inclusion means and why it is needed. Dr. Steve Yacovelli (a.k.a. “The Gay Leadership Dude®”) is an expert in diversity and inclusion, change management, and leadership. His consulting firm, TopDog Learning Group, works with both Fortune 500s and not-for-profit organizations to bring about a more inclusive and effective workplace. An award-winning author, speaker, and catalyst, Steve and his pack of TopDoggers' not-so-hidden agenda is to make the world a bit more inclusive for us all. You can find Dr. Steve Yacovelli here: http://topdog.click/podcast Free gift: Free + just pay shipping, "Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle" ... http://topdog.click/freeship You can find your host Larissa Russell here: Website: www.queervoicez.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/QueerVoicez Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queervoicez/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/queervoicez/support

“The level of belief you have in yourself dictates how you show up as well.” ~ Lauren Saunders Do you believe that your mindset plays a role in your success? Have you used manifestation strategies to grow your business and overall success? Our guest today talks about these tools and more. In this episode we talk about how to show up powerfully, to others and for ourselves, and how to harness the power of our own positive mindset for success.  We also discuss how our thoughts are tied so intrinsically to our reality, and how our brain searches for proof of what it is looking for. Lauren Saunders is a business mentor for spiritual entrepreneurs. At the age of 28, she left her career as a high school art teacher for a life of entrepreneurship, and she's built two full-time businesses by implementing mindset, marketing, & manifestation strategies that actually work. Her experience and massive success has allowed her to coach business owners all over the world into full-time entrepreneurship. As an entrepreneur, she's quadrupled her income as a teacher and lives a life of travel, freedom and passion. She is lit up when providing ambitious business owners with the tools they need to manifest the success and lives they truly desire.   Listen in! Instagram: @laurencsauncers Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/coachlaurencsaunders Website: https://www.laurencsaunders.com/ Spotify: The Aligned Entrepreneur    Here is a freebie you can link: How to quickly grow your FB group and email list As a business coach, I love talking to people about making more money if it's something they desire. [03:24]' All of us have incredible potential but for the most part it remains untapped. [04:01] When you feel good about how you are putting yourself out there and believe in your offers, services and yourself, you are going to market yourself differently. [05:10] I believe in speaking to people powerfully about what you have to offer and being confident on how you can help them. [08:05] You talk about working with spiritual entrepreneurs, what do you mean by that? [10:41] I am working with people who know that they are a part of something much bigger, that they can rely on the universe, or on life or on God. [12:19] I work with people who understand just how powerful their thoughts and their mindsets are in creating their reality and are wanting to learn how to leverage they energy to create a life they love. [12:39] The level of belief you have in yourself dictates how you show up as well. [14:46] I think we need to allow ourselves to embrace whatever level of mindset or spirituality or energy work that resonates with you. [15:34] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [18:27] It's not about perfection, it's about doing it. [20:27] Most of the time when we are talking about mindset it's within this idea that there are things to change. [21:51] There is an immense amount of freedom when we change the story that we have about our emotions and stop making them wrong. [22:10] It's not the emotions themselves that we feel, it's the story that we have about them. [22:25] Thoughts become things, allow yourself to play around with the potential of things that you desire to create in your life. [29:33] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

  “When you are doing big things, big fear is going to show up.” ~ Stacy Bahrenfuss Is something keeping you back from your fullest potential? Do you see yourself as limitless? Our guest today can help you with both! In this episode we learn about her entrepreneurial journey in the real estate industry, which began at the early age of 19, her drive to accelerate the potential in others, and about her mission to smash the shackles of suffering by shining a light on the truth so that her clients can achieve everything they want. Her programs serve as a catalyst for deep inner transformation to create lasting whole life success, and how to do it all from a limitless, beautiful inner state. Stacy Bahrenfuss is on a mission to guide female change makers to freedom and fulfillment to be limitless and leave a legacy. Stacy is the founder of Catalyst Group, and creator of the Inside Out Success Method, a system at the core of her premier consulting program for female change makers, Limitless with Stacy B. Stacy is the owner of a 7-figure real estate company, Founder of The Truth Teachers™ and Ultimate Break-through Accelerator™. Her customized results-oriented approach to personal development is reflective in her unmatched intuitive 1:1 consulting, intimate group coaching, and exclusive certification program.   Listen in! Facebook: https://facebook.com/limitlesswithstacyb/ LinkedIn: https://LinkedIn.com//in/stacybahrenfuss/ Website: https://www.limitlesswithStacyB.com/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/stacybahrenfuss/ My mission is to really help people return home, to their power their potential and awaken all of themselves so that they can step into who they are supposed to be. [03:38] Women are most powerful when they are tapped into themselves energized up on a self-care routine. [04:22] It's amazing who and what will come out of the wood works to try and get on your way. You are on the right track if you have a lot of speed bumps along the way. [08:40] As women, as we build things we are so emotionally attached. We feel like they are a part of us. [09:32] We have a choice every day to focus on ourselves or focus on serving our clients and asking them what they need. [15:50] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [17:28] What are your thoughts on having people really be able to take better care of their selves and mental health and prepare them for the next transition in their lives? [19:30] It's never about the challenge externally, but the stress and suffering are about the internal dialogue commentary and suffering that creates more chaos. [20:52] The biggest think is to pay attention to what is going on internally when external things happen. [21:13] There are going to be a lot of people whose fear is going to manifest in a whole different way unless we start helping ourselves to take deeps breaths, relax, reflect and deal with the emotional side effects that come with along. [24:40] Fear is always going to be there; you just have to consciously decide that you are not going to let fear drive your car. [27:15] When you are doing big things, big fear is going to show up. [27:38] The small you does not want you to accomplish the big things because that means you are going to grow and you going to impact a lot of people and bring them up with you. [27:52] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/      

“The more you start to realize how you can get outside of your comfort zone and be comfortable being uncomfortable the more you learn about yourself.” ~ Alex Harris Most of us have dealt with Imposter Syndrome in one way or another, and our guest today has as well. The difference? He has found joy in the simple, intentional improvements of his life. In this episode we talk about how he uses art and science analytics to increase the user experience of websites and apps, but that this approach has also proven valuable to his own pursuit of continual improvement. Right out of college and into his career, he realized he didn't really know how to “show up” at work functions, in meetings, etc. And by tackling some of his fears heads on, like public speaking, he found joy is just trying to continually get just a little bit better. Alex Harris is a conversion-focused web designer, online marketing expert, and best-selling author. Boost E-commerce Sales and Make More Money- Three Hundred Tips to Increase Conversion Rates and Generate leads and Small Business Big Money Online – A Proven System to Optimize eCommerce Websites and Increase Internet Profits. He is also the host of the Happy Progress Growth Podcast. Alex's goal is to help you maximize the ROI of your life.  Listen in! LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexdesigns/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/alexdesigns Instagram: http://instagram.com/alexdesigns Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/alexdesignsllc/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7VJMR33cyNPWPMlBliLBSw  Podcast: https://happyprogress.com/    I use art and science analytics to improve the overall user experience of websites and apps. [02:29] We not try to understand what drives people complete certain goals on the internet then design experiences and test them. [03:07] The more you start to realize how you can get outside of your comfort zone and be comfortable being uncomfortable the more you learn about yourself. [04:12] Podcasting was really a way for me to express myself. [06:01] Podcasting helped me organize my thoughts, speak in comfortable and uncomfortable situations. [06:17] The things that you think a lot of times are not real, it's what your perception of yourself is. [11:18] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [12:33] My goal is to interview entrepreneurs or people who have experience in growth and how to be super successful and what drives their happiness. [15:29] You have to purposefully go out and seek that knowledge, seek that experience sometimes even when it's really uncomfortable. [17:37] When you take people along this journey through your podcast as you are interviewing them what kind of things do, they real do or what kind of stories do you hear from them? [19:56] People; go getters, are not willing to let life dictate their intentions, they will decide to make a difference and they will change. [21:21] Start, be intentional about what you want to accomplish. [23:26] Create big hairy audacious goals for yourself and go after them. [23:49] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“It's not necessary how you are doing it most of the times it's what are you doing in the how you are doing it.” ~ Vanessa Zamy Do you have a side-hustle that you want to make a full-time gig, or have a dream to be your own boss? If so, our guest today can help you navigate the transition from full-time work to full-time entrepreneurship. Vanessa Zamy is a business expert, keynote speaker, and bestselling author dedicated to helping full-time employees transition to entrepreneurship by building their business while employed. Her consulting company, Your Vision's Catalyst, coaches and advises 9-to-5ers on how to build a profit-producing, purpose-driven business without the overwhelm. If you're ready for your next level business success, schedule time to connect with Vanessa for a complimentary Power Check-In - http://power.vzamy.com/ e-Book: FINISH: The Solopreneur's Guide to Getting Stuff Done In the Ultimate Productivity Bootcamp, Vanessa Zamy teaches efficient and effective productivity, marketing, sales, and mindset strategies to ambitious, purpose-led entrepreneurs. You can check out more information on the community and business knowledge here: bootcamp.vzamy.com Website: http://power.vzamy.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ZamyVanessa LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/zamyvanessa/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zamyvanessa/   It's not hustling that is bad, it's how you are hustling that may need a fix. [02:00] It's all about how you manage yourself, you can't control all that is going on around you but you can control yourself and how you are showing up. [04:06] A purpose driven business is, at the end of the day what I always ask my clients at the beginning, “On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the highest, how much do you want this?' [05:24] I choose to see the sun other people choose to see the clouds. [07:10] The Hustle and Breath Accelerator is about hustling and getting you to breath at the same time. Fitting your business into your existing life, getting your life to work with your business. [07:28] It's not necessary how you are doing it most of the times it's what are you doing in the how you are doing it. [09:55] Change is uncomfortable. When people reach that state of being uncomfortable it's very easy to turn around. [16:08] Entrepreneurship is a marathon. You got to decide is this business worth it to continue moving forward when you face things along the way. [16:50] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [20:18] Do you want to complete the race? Then complete it, complete it the way you can complete it, complete it the way you want to. Keep moving forward. [19:03] The biggest challenge with entrepreneurs is really keeping your head in the right area. [21:42] It gets lonely when you don't have someone in your corner. [22:14] Entrepreneurship is 80% mindset and 20% actually taking action. [23:07] With my clients I go through in the beginning and ask them what are their non-negotiables. [24:25] A lot of people think that they are also going to leave their 9 to 5 job and being an entrepreneur is going to magically give you things. [25:20] A lot of entrepreneurs are out there with this mindset of get rich quick. [26:22] Just do it! Go for it and do it. [30:36] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/  

“We all come from love, everything we see comes from love.” ~ Laurie Herbers Anyone who has suffered trauma knows that it can follow you through life and emerges in many ways over time. Our guest today knows that all too personally, and finally found, not only peace, but purpose. In this episode we talk about the lasting effects of wounds on our souls and the healing property of returning to and revisiting those traumas to replace the horrible memories with pearls of love. Laurie reminds us that every piece of our journeys is beautiful, even the painful ones. She now knows that fear means that something good will come. Laurie Herbers is an Empowerment Coach and Author. In her youth she struggled in abuse and trauma, carrying the pain forth into adulthood. Hating life was her home and daily struggle until the day she decided to change her thoughts and beliefs and pursued love with a fervor that superseded everything else. Now her mission is to guide over a million individuals into the fullness of love so they can pursue their purpose with passion and love.  Her recent book is Second Chances: How I Turned Hate into Love and Found My Purpose. Listen in!  Laurie Herbers (@soullovelegacy) • Instagram photos and videos  Laurie Herbers | LinkedIn Soul Love Legacy- Embracing the Call of Love | Facebook Laurie Herbers | Facebook The heart of a lot of our struggles personally and professionally is some other lingering stuff that affects how we feel. [03:01] We all come from love, everything we see comes from love. [04:39] That is what helps people understand is that they can love themselves. Every piece of your journey is beautiful. [05:29] It's a twofold, not only to help them understand their own triggers, thought and emotions but to get to that place called the fullness of love. [06:45] It wasn't until I embraced all of my journey as beautiful because it got me here. [07:30] When you get stuck in those feelings of unworthiness it's hard to step back in. [10:02] You have to literally consciously choose. [10:35] Those tiny baby steps are moving you somewhere. [11:06] You have to understand that you gain strength as you clear and sort. [14:22] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [15:51] We are talking about diving down into ourselves and understanding some of our traumas. [17:04] We forget that people's perceptions aren't ours. [18:15] Love is forgiveness and acceptance towards others. [19:24] Sometimes people do and say things to us that really have nothing to do with what they believe in us, they just do not know how to do different. [21:51] You do not have to excuse the actions but you can learn to let go of their actions. [23:08] That symbolic act of saying I choose not to have this be a part of me anymore if you really believe that it could be very powerful. [24:58] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“Your thoughts need to be your cheering squad not your hecklers.” ~ Ora Nadrich  The moments of our lives are opportunities to learn something valuable about ourselves, although we often take them for granted and waste them on negative, unproductive thoughts. Our guest today offers us another solution, specifically via the medium of mindfulness. Ora Nadrich is founder and president of the Institute for Transformational Thinking and author of Live True: A Mindfulness Guide to Authenticity. A certified life coach and mindfulness teacher, she specializes in transformational thinking, self-discovery, and mentoring new coaches as they develop their careers.   Listen in!   Website: theiftt.org    OraNadrich.com Instagram: https://Instagram.com/TheIFTT/ Facebook: https://Facebook.com/AuthorOraNadrich                    https://Facebook.com/TheIFTT/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/OraNadrich Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorOraNadrich/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oranadrich/ Instagram: https://Instagram.com/OraNadrichQuotes/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNadxVSPDteQbFf6mj394Aw My work is really essentially about present moment awareness. [04:02] If we changed our lives one thought at a time imagine the change, we would create in the world. [04:50] Mindfulness is the practice of being present and awake in the moment which you are in. [08:32] There is so much power in that, that I can pick and choose. [10:23] Your thoughts need to be your cheering squad not your hecklers. They need to be helping you. [14:50] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [18:02] Mindfulness is really the awareness of what can I do right now that is going to help me. [21:41] When you catch yourself going into the future or lamenting about the past, catch yourself and bring yourself back into the moment and ask yourself what can I do right now that is going to help me. [24:15] I have found myself many times in the last year quoting the serenity prayer. [25:05] Self-care also involves sometimes switching off your TV and unplugging from social media at time. [33:50] Nighttime is a time to start to bring the energy into a much calmer frequency. [35:28] Start today with an awareness of your inner dialogue. Keep it positive and supportive of your well-being. [36:15] When a thought comes up and tries to take you out of the moment, gently if you can, bring yourself back into the present moment and tell yourself something positive, loving and nurturing. [36:25] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/

“Unless you acknowledge the storm you are in; you are not going to appreciate the rainbow.” ~ Joree Rose Who would you be if you were not afraid? Whose voice is talking to you, keeping you from being all that you are capable of? Our guest today can help you with these questions and more, and challenges us all to realize that the only way out, is through. In this episode we talk about showing up as our whole self to others, asking tough questions that lead to deep insight like “Who would you be in you weren't afraid?” and “Whose voice are you hearing?” We also talk about how strong emotion actually shuts down your executive function, and how that impacts you at all levels. Joree Rose, MA, LMFT, is a licensed marriage and family therapist, mindfulness and meditation teacher, coach, author, speaker, and she also leads mindfulness retreats around the world. Joree has helped thousands of people to live happier and more fulfilling lives through living with greater awareness and compassion, allowing them to decrease their stress, anxiety and shed unhealthy habits, patterns and mindsets. Joree is host of the podcast ‘Journey Forward® with Joree Rose' and has authored the newly released A Year of Gratitude, Daily Moments of Reflection, Grace and Thanks as well as 2 mindfulness books, Squirmy Learns to be Mindful and Mindfulness, It's Elementary.   Listen in! To learn more, get access to freebies and online courses, or to work with Joree, visit Website: www.joreerose.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joree.33.rose Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joreerose I am a marriage and family therapist and the focus of my work is mindfulness. [02:45] Even though I had a life I've always wanted, I cultivated the exact life I wanted. [03:27] I was doing what was next in an effort to create safety and security because I was raised with a lot of family trauma. [04:04] It wasn't until mindfulness found me that I learned to slow down, learned to get out of my head, I learned to drop into my body and begin to trust that inner wisdom and my gut. [04:39] And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was greater that the risk to blossom. [05:06] You got to Breathe because if you breathe it will calm your brain and your body. [14:23] How do I accept what I don't like? Not like it doesn't make it go away, not liking it only makes your reaction to bigger. [16:17] The ABCs of mindfulness are Awareness, Breathe and the last one is Choice. [16:43] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [18:25] When we are in survival mode, we just do what we have to do without even really thinking we doing it. [23:06] The more we fight it the stronger our reaction will be to it. [24:52] I like to define compassion as empathy plus action. [25:08] To have self-compassion and think out of it, is to simply acknowledge to yourself that this is really hard right now. [26:12] When you can give yourself that moment to pause and consciously inhale and exhale even if you don't think it's going to help you, it will calm your mind and help you manage whatever. [31:45] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/

“Think about your blessings, focus on them. Everything old is new again.” – Joyce Fields Born in Detroit, Michigan, Joyce is a retired Executive Assistant and now resides in Arcadia, California.  She started her career as a stenographer at a major utility company.  Joyce and her husband celebrated 53 years of marriage on June 3, 2020.  They have two grown sons, eight grandchildren, four great-grandchildren.  She and her husband have been together for more than 63 years--since they were both 13 years old.  Joyce is the author of 10 books, mostly non-fiction, and she is also a professional proofreader.  Her mission statement is:  "I write books that inspire people on their journey to make the world a better place."  Her books are available at GoodShortBooks.com and Amazon.com.  Listen In !! Twitter: https://twitter.com/goodshortbooks/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/jjfields7/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/JoyceFields/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/GoodShortBooks/ I wanted to capture the way our parents raised us. [03:10] What I remember most was the calmness of our home. [04:13] The recipes are in there because food had always been a very important part of our family. [05:42] If somebody did something wrong, we fix it, we talk about it instead of yelling at each other. [12:29] Both my parents transferred all these virtues to all their children. [15:15] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [16:45] What advice would you give to people who are struggling, suffering with fear from the pandemic, they ‘ve lost their jobs or they are in high points of stress? [18:45] It's not to beat yourself up, it's to straighten yourself out. [20:51] There is nothing wrong with making mistakes, what's wrong is if you don't own up to them. [20:56] Integrity; doing the right thing when nobody is looking. [21:13] Do unto other as you would have them do unto you. [21:33] The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. [24:23] My saying is I am too blessed to be stressed. [25:47] Think about your blessings, focus on them. Everything old is new again. [26:00] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“Don't ignore reality, deal with what's there.” ~ Dr. Traci Moreno It takes courage to ask for help. But when you do, opportunities for healing about. Our guest today knows all about that. In this episode we talk about the courage to take steps towards personal growth, emotional healing, living in a post-pandemic world, and more. After listening, you will not only want to visit her clinic, but you will also want to find the same peace that she brings to her clients. Dr. Traci Moreno is a clinical and forensic psychologist with 17 years of experience, and is the owner of Free Spirit Coaching & Psychological Services in Cave Creek, AZ. Her experience includes working as a therapist at inpatient residential facilities for severely mentally ill criminal defendants, as a Senior Psychologist at a maximum-security prison in Los Angelas County, and the Director of Mental Health Services for a community clinic before deciding to slow down her life and bring her passions for spirituality, nature, animals and fitness into her psychology career. The practice sits on a beautiful 2-acre property with mini donkeys and Zen garden gazebos, which serve as their offices. Dr. Moreno collaborates with other providers and incorporates equine-assisted therapy, spiritual coaching, reiki, sound healing, Thai massage and yoga into her treatment plans. Free Spirit also offered private and customized retreats.  Listen in! https://www.patreon.com/FreeSpiritCoaching?fan_landing=true I have seen counselors throughout my life and some of them have really nice office but it's still like walking into an office building. [04:26] As a society we are using our words better to convey this emotional trauma everybody had been in. [06:58] Breakdown the stigmas of seeking help and support. [09:53] You have a number of ways you incorporate animals in your whole experience too. [10:13] Its sequentially proven that just being in the presence of an animal lowers your heart rate, it releases all happy chemicals in your brain, it calms us down. [10:25] There is going to be a sense of being afraid to be physically close to people you don't know or those you do know. [13:59] That's how we respond horses and donkeys reflect our behavior that's why they are used in therapy. [15:48] Life is filed with a lot of difficult things, we go through so many challenges and struggles in life that this small moment in between where we can celebrate an achievement. [18:15] Quality of life is just as important as say quantity or our safety. [1903] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [19:20] This is the perfect opportunity to have more heightened awareness especially for the young people in our lives. [20:41] My real hope for this month and focus of this podcast is to remind us all that taking good care of ourselves mentally] is something we can and should do. [21:20] The one question I keep hearing from people over and over is “How do I come back, what if I don't want to come and work in the office?” [ 23:59] Don't ignore reality, deal with what's there. [27:58] Getting help from other people is normal. [28:46] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/

“The more you work on yourself, the better your life reality becomes.” ~ Monica Parikh Did you know that you have the power within you to create deep and meaningful relationships, with yourself, with others, and as a positive guide for your children? Our guest today not only knows you can, but also how to help you get there. In this episode we learn about the catalyst for her own personal journey and how it inspired her to build this business designed to help her clients to transcend grief, shed ineffective behaviors, experience ongoing calm, resolve conflict peacefully, and more. Monica Parikh is a teacher, writer, lawyer and public speaker. Through her business, School of Love NYC, she teaches love, psychology and higher consciousness. Using psychology, spirituality, non-violent communication and quantum physics, her curriculum gives clients practical skills in emotional intelligence to build healthy relationships. Listen in! Website: https://www.schooloflovenyc.com/ My business is really meant to be disruptive in two realms; the psychological realm, and dating and love relationships. [03:37] We don't spend too much time, energy and financial investment in actually learning how to be healthy and whole in relationships. [04:17] One of the biggest reasons people get divorced is money. [06:55] I am seeing a younger generation, millennials really looking at marriage and relationships differently than their parents looked at it. [11:35] Your parent's relationship and the way they parent you has such a psychological imprint on your ability to attach later in life to other people. [12:07] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [13:49] I belief that our relationship with God and our relationship with ourselves are the two primary relationships we have to work on. [16:34] In securing our relationships with ourselves we tend to enter into a lot of insecure relationships. [16:50] One of the really big things I see happening now is, people talking so openly about their emotional struggles. [20:26] Social media has built a culture of look how great my life is and you have a real disconnection when your life doesn't feel that great. [22:36] When something doesn't feel good anymore you either change the way you have relationship with it or you opt out. [24:25] I noticed when I first went off social media how much it had shortened my attention span; how much I had been programmed for some kind of external validation that had to be instantaneous. [28:06] As opposed to asking for life to change, ask for you to change. [32:17] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“Your relationship is a mirror of what is going on inside of you.” ~ Dr. Joli Hamilton Do you have areas of your life where you know you are repeating behaviors that hold you back? Our guest today helps us to understand the impact of those behaviors on our success in business as well as our personal lives, and she has strategies for helping us to show up as fully in both as we want to. In this episode we talk about understanding ourselves better to change patterns that don't serve us, and we take a deep dive into the complex issues of jealousy and envy. Her insights will help you to make positive changes that produce the oxygen need to fuel the positive fires in your personal and professional lives. Dr. Joli Hamilton is a research psychologist, best-selling author, TEDx speaker, an AASECT certified sexuality educator, and professor of human sexuality. She holds a doctorate in depth psychology from Pacifica Graduate Institute where she studied the impact of jealousy on relationships.   Listen in!   Website: https://www.jolihamilton.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drjoli_hamilton/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dr.joli.hamilton/ Facebook business: https://www.facebook.com/jolidepthpsych LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joli-hamilton-phd/ Clubhouse: @drjoli_hamilton Project Relationship Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/project-relationship/id1540852334 https://bit.ly/ProjectRelationshipBook/   I coach women and those brave guys who want to dig in deep and find out what their actual potential is and how to show up fully in their relationships. [03:26] So many people that I work with are tangled up and are not bringing their best self to their home life. [04:31] Sometimes we are really acting out, we are not being mindful, we are not actually being ourselves. [12:41] People get so caught up in “pointing fingers” at each other that they miss the fact that they have control over themselves. [15:57] We don't expect somebody else to fix our business problems, we know we have to get in there and do something differently. [16:04] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [19:09] Jealousy and envy are super tightly related and yet distinct from each other. [21:14] It's not that it destroys your relationship with other people, it destroys your relationship to yourself. [29:24] Once you get to that spot, the whole world is your opportunity. [32:53] It's okay to still be grieving over what was lost over this past year and the lessons learned are still there. [34:21] Take a moment today and just think about how much acceleration happened this year, while it was painful and challenging it also offered us an opportunity to dig into issues that as individuals, as communities we have needed to look at for so long. So let's keeps looking! [34:39] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“All of our behaviors and outputs are really just our brains best way to try to get us to change our behavior to keep us safe.” ~ Elisabeth Kristof Did you realize that your body is constantly speaking to you? Or do you sometimes ignore that small pain, that twitch, or ache because you think it isn't important? Our guest today reminds us that if we ignore what are body is telling us, what it needs to tell us, then it will just send the message louder and louder until you can't ignore it any longer. In this episode we learn Elisabeth's story and her own journey toward healing. She helps us understand that if we are in protective mode, we can't be in performance mode and that our bodies can be trained to re-regulate our nervous system. Elisabeth Kristof is an expert in using applied neurology to move people out of pain, unwanted behavior, and stress response. She is the founder of Brain-Based Wellness, a revolutionary online platform that trains the nervous system and body to resolve old patterns, improve performance and increase well-being. Elisabeth is a certified applied neurology practitioner who has been in the fitness and movement industry since 2007. She works with entrepreneurs, athletes, leaders and creatives to improve resilience, manage stress and regulate emotions through intentional, science-based brain training. Her research and work with hundreds of clients taught her that healing and change must occur in both the body and the mind, that each body, mind, and nervous system is unique, and most importantly, that with the right tools, we are all capable of healing. Receive two free weeks of membership of Brain-Based Wellness here: https://brainbased-wellness.com/podcast/   Website: https://brainbased-wellness.com/ Instagram: https://Instagram.com/elkristof/  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brainbasedwellness/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elisabeth-kristof-0859612/   I believe we all do the best we can at the level of our nervous system [03:38] My whole world was teaching mindful movement and mindfulness but at the same time I was really disconnected from my own body. [04:56] The very same week I discontinued my business partnership, my romantic partner was diagnosed with a very rare form of cancer. [09:34] I started to recognize the signals in myself of threat response that I saw in my clients when I was pushing them into threat response and training. [10:28] My partner also had a background of PTSD. [10:46] And I began to see myself in the books that I was reading about him. [11:17] Our body is always giving us these little signals; it speaks quietly at first, if it doesn't get your attention it has to ramp up the volume and speak louder. [16:03] Most of us have been in a year at least of chronic stress during year 2020. [17:21] Too much stress for too long leads to a chronic dysregulated nervous system which causes disease and mental health issues. [20:20] Trauma is a physical physiological reaction, it not necessary an event. [22:02] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [22:56] When do people start in that process and how do you help them to begin to unwind through this process? [24:40] Our brain always needs neural stimulus to keep growing and changing. [30:33] Visibility is an act of service. [32:19] Our brains and our nervous systems are super malleable; we are always changing depending on the stimulus that we are giving. [35:43] Our bodies are always adapting to whatever we are giving it. [35:54] ………………………………………………................................... TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“When you get rid of the false then what's true remains and that what you see within yourself.” ~ Lawrence Doochin  In this episode we learn about why it is so important to him to help others to understand the damage we cause ourselves when we are ruled by our fears. He also helps us to identify how even times that we might blame or judge others, that we are likely projecting our own blame and judgement out in an attempt to protect ourselves. If you have struggled with fear, guilt and/or shame, our gest today will help you to learn to deal with and release it. This is a touching episode that will encourage you to embrace self-compassion. Lawrence Doochin is an author, entrepreneur, and devoted husband and father. A survivor of harrowing childhood sexual abuse, he traveled a long journey of emotional and spiritual healing, and developed an in-depth understanding of how our beliefs create our reality. In the business world, he has worked for or been associated with enterprises from small startups to multinational corporations. He is the cofounder of HUSO sound therapy, which delivers powerful healing benefits to individuals and professionals worldwide. In everything Lawrence does, he strives to serve a higher good. His new book is A Book on Fear: Feeling Safe in a Challenging World. https://amzn.to/3rFt4OY Listen in! Website: www.lawrencedoochin.com Facebook https://www.facebook.com/The-Divine-Speaks-Website-147470695313326/   I had to go through a long healing process related to the experience and I learned a lot of tools in terms of understanding fear, dealing with it and being able to release it. [03:37] The problem with fear is that most people don't recognize the extent of their fear. [04:54] I think it's important for people to have compassion and meet people where they are at. [06:21] Most of us hold our childhood conditioning and that creates a lot of false beliefs in us and that leads to fear. [08:12] Projection is a very common phenomenal. We are usually not angry for the reasons we think. [08:56] The ability to reflect and self-reflect is so important to becoming a leader professionally but it's absolutely important in becoming a better person in our own skin and in our own heads. [09:51] If you are less judgmental of yourself and more compassionate, you are going to be a much more effective business leader. [10:23] Look within yourself, most of your answers are already there, if you think you are all that you are probably not. [11:49] We each have our own baggage. [14:51] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [15:00] I don't think anybody chooses to be an expert on fear. [16:40] I do this because I want to be of service, I really find joy in being of service to others. [17:30] We have to recognize that our fear causes a lot of dysfunction in our lives. [19:35] Fear exists only in the past or the future. [21:04] Life is amazing and its holy and it's also pretty hard sometimes. [24:54] It's important to have self-compassion on yourself as you go through life and the process of healing. [25:00] Self-compassion is probably one of the most important things you can do for yourself. [25:08]   ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“No matter what you are going through you have to look and find the positive out of the negative.” ~ Karina Kantas They say don't judge a book by its cover, we may look strong but deep inside we are carrying burdens that no one can even know. We suffer silently with chronic diseases that lead to numerous additional issues, especially depression. Karina Kantas is an award-winning author of fiction and she has 14 books published to date. She writes in all genres, YA, erotica, thriller, PNR, fantasy, MC thriller, horror, dystopian, dark romance, mafia thriller, sci-fi. She also runs Author Assist, which offers affordable services to independent authors. She is a radio show host and she has two podcasts, all helping authors get seen and heard on many platforms. She is from the UK but lives on the island of Corfu, Greece. Facebook Page: http://bit.ly/FBFPKK  Amazon Author Page: http://bit.ly/KarinaKantas  Instagram: http://bit.ly/INSTKK  Twitter: http://bit.ly/TwittKK  Website: http://bit.ly/BLOGKK  Goodreads: http://bit.ly/KKGRE  FB Author Assist: http://bit.ly/KKAAFB  Author Assist: https://kkauthorassist.wordpress.com/  YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/KarinaKantasAuthor/playlists    Newsletter Signup: http://eepurl.com/daKief  I wanted to give back to authors who were desperate to publish their book but didn't know what to do. [3:59] I teach them, I do one on one where they learn these tools rather than hire me to do the same thing over and over again, they learn how to do it themselves. [4:21] The contrast between the traditional publishing house versus the hybrid was so vastly different [7:40] To get your foot in the door, through the big five, they want to know how many social media followers you have how many likes you have it doesn't matter if your book is great. [8:18] You bring something to the table and they bring the other parts to the table and you end up with more royalties and you get to keep your rights [8:46] It not good to force yourself to write you need to be in the zone because when you are in the zone everything flows out and the character's start speaking to you. [11:02] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC.[12:52] Before we were laughing at how you work 24/7 when you are actually struggling with insomnia when most of your medication should be knocking you out [21:29] Basically, what would happen, is I would be walking round the supermarket, shopping and I would suddenly blank out I wouldn't collapse but things would go black. [23:27] I am awake but my brain was sleeping, I wondered how; when I am thinking about my work, but the readings showed that though I was awake, my brain is sleeping. [25:50] We aren't always the best at abdicating ourselves with our physicians. [26:54] No matter what you are going through you have to look and find the positive out of the negative [30:49] We may have the same things as they were but things will get better [31:30] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“In order to grow you sometimes have to look at it and see things you wish you didn't see but if you do not see it, you cannot change the reflection.” ~ Ben Winters Have you ever been disappointed because your expectations weren't met for something or by someone? If so, our guest today has simple reminders to help us navigate this emotional landmine and come out better on the other side. In this episode we talk about identifying our own expectations, communicating those expectations with others, and realizing that it is ok to be upset. But be careful with what you do with those emotions. Ben Winters is the co-founder of Success Improv and author of What to Expect When Having Expectations – Using the Anger of Unmet Expectations to Find Peace. His biggest passion is exploring the mind. In all of his personal growth work, the one constant was that it all stems from the mind. Between personal growth and Improv, he found the weird realm of expectations, finding that “the only reason anyone gets upset is because an expectation hasn't been met.” My business is called Success Improv, it's where I take those things that I have learned with Improv and enjoyed over my life with Improv and teach them to the masses. [03:39] Throughout the entirety of teaching, the word expectation kept coming up; the only reason someone gets upset is when an expectation hasn't been met. [03:55] How can we get upset with others, if we did not know we had an expectation, and didn't share with them? [05:03] What kind of things do you do at with people to make them work through their expectations? [6:43] Tell people it's okay to be upset because, often times in society we are told don't get upset. [06:56] The thing we suck at these days as a society is a thing called communication. [08:53] I think It's important we recognize what those expectations are, because if we don't recognize them before it's hard to communicate them effectively with other people. [10:42] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [12:56] All personal growth is really somebody else holding up a mirror for you. [15:10] Most adults don't have realistic expectations. [17:58] The practice is practicing good behaviors that will lead to better outcomes. [18:08] You get upset, what process do you go through? [19;59] Einstein said, “you can't solve a problem at the same level it was created.” [20:05] Somebody asked me, if I were to die tomorrow would I have any regrets? [21:00] It is okay to get upset, don't let society say it is not and remember to not stay upset. Use it as a moment in time for an opportunity for growth. [22:33] Listen in!   Author Website/Blog - https://havingexpectations.com Author Profile Page on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Ben-Winter/e/B07P9Y1PYL Author Profile on Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/guynumber6 Goodreads Profile - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/18897269.Ben_Winter Facebook Profile - https://www.facebook.com/ben.winter Twitter Account - https://twitter.com/guynumber6 Pinterest Account - https://www.pinterest.com/successimprov/boards/ YouTube Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PWZwJuvRHQ YouTube Channel - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvsCaWDgmVbqLDhKJir1roA LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/winterben/   …......................................................................................... TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.

“The stronger we are on the inside the better we implement programs we need to make life work on the outside.” ~ Faust Ruggiero How a team (or individual) will think, feel, and behave is directly linked to how strong they are on the inside, according to my next guest. In this episode we discuss his book The Fix Yourself Handbook  and the role it can play in transforming any work environment. From starting by stopping, meaning getting your team off autopilot, to using intellect over initial emotional reactions, Faust's goal is to help people to better present a problem, understand the problem, and then find a solution to the problem. Faust Ruggiero's career has spanned over 4 decades, counseling clients ranging in age from five, and into senior living, including people in inpatient facilities, prisons, substance abuse counseling centers, and nursing homes. He has provided employee assistance programs to major corporations, has extensive experience providing emotional support services to deaf children, and was part of a team that developed the counseling program for drunk drivers that became the prototype for the state of Pennsylvania, and is still being used in many other states.   Listen in! Website - https://www.faustruggiero.com/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/faust.ruggiero Facebook II - https://www.facebook.com/inspirationalmind Twitter -  https://twitter.com/faustinspire Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/faustinspire/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/phillies/?trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic When you are passionate inside and you can wrap that around everything you are doing, that changes life completely. [03:45] The stronger we are on the inside the better we implement programs we need to make life work on the outside. [04:14] What kind of things are you facing with people in the work situation? [04:42] Our goal is to make sure every single person on our team is so excited to come to work that they can wait. [09:50] Just because it's not probable doesn't mean it's not possible. [10:17] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [15:02] We have to establish a starting spot. [17:34] Intellect over Emotion (IOE). [18:51] Present the problem, understand all the information, fix the problem. [19:32] All these things that we tell ourselves to keep some of those layers of the onion on, they get in our own way from moving forward. [20:53] You have to be able to make those changes as the process goes forward, that's all inside you. [22:11] The key is; when you have asked yourself all the pertinent questions and you are able to answer them then you don't fear asking questions anywhere else. [23:15] Do not give up on yourself, do not believe for any one moment ever that you can't do something. [25:57] If you are met with a challenge, it's because you need to get some more tools inside you and grow. [26:10] Grow, be the strongest person in the world, in your world and you will be able to attack whatever comes up in it. [26:04] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“To awaken is to see. In order to see, you have to first see where you are not awake” ~ Mia Hewett What is really standing in the way of your success? Do you truly feel free to be you, in the fullest sense of the word? Our guest today helps us tackle these questions, and more. In this episode we learn about Mia's personal journey of realizing she didn't feel like she was good enough, even though she had a multi-million-dollar company, happy kids and a gorgeous home. to understanding and dealing with her own childhood trauma that was the root cause of that insecurity. She also reminds us that we can't think greater than we feel, and we must work on ourselves from the inside out, even when we want to believe things are happening from the outside, in. Mia Hewett has co-owned and operated a seven-figure business, is an international speaker, and a world-class business coach. Mia is the founder of Aligned Intelligence™, a methodology that removes all blind spots, fear, anxiety, and self-doubt leaving you feeling "Free to be Me.” This allows her clients to stop secretly struggling and live-in alignment with their dreams so that they can scale to 6 and 7-figures the fast way. Mia has helped hundreds of entrepreneurs who've always known they were meant for more and she is sharing all her secrets in her new book, Meant for More- Stop Secretly Struggling and Become a Force to Be Reckoned With.  The book explains how to stop secretly struggling, awaken your full potential, and discover the Truth about who you really are. To receive a free copy of her book, go to https://www.miameantformorebook.com and use the code “FREEBOOK”.   Listen in! Website: https://www.miahewett.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miahewett/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MiaHewettPage Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mia.hewett/   My father is the one who scared me the most. [04:26] That day I decided that people don't really mean what they say, you can't trust anyone and the world is not a safe space. [06:18] I built these walls around myself and didn't let anyone in for years. [06:36] I just never knew back then that the walls that I built to protect myself would become my greatest limitations for my life and my business. [06:44] Although it can appear like we have had many traumas; it will ultimately feel like the same betrayal. [08:02] Everything is operating from inside out; nothing is created outside in. [12:42] What is stopping us is not coming from the logical, it's coming from the emotional. [14:32 Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [16:00] How do we move out of the negative talk? [17:45] You are meant for More, stop secretly struggling, become a force to reckon with. [18:06] Understand how life works and how we work as individuals. [18:55] In opening up and asking the questions, comes the receiving of the answer we are looking for. [21:21] Allowance is we don't get what we want by force, we actually get what we want by leveraging the universal law of cause and effect. [21:34] It's not knowledge and education that give us results; it is having new experiences that give us new results that will change our lives. [26:35] When we aim at nothing, we always get it every time. [30:23] When you start to trust in these unforeseen laws which are powerful and you have access to everything gets easier. [31:53] A child grows by an emotional bond of trust. [35:15] The emotional trust is what allows us to take risks and be vulnerable. [35:40] When the emotional bond of trust is broken, we experience an emotional trauma. [36:02] The more you let one single belief define who you are then the less capable you are when you have to adapt through the environment around you. [40:28] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/      

“You cannot control your mind, the more we try to, the more we realize that we can't, we realize it's impossible.” ~ Janet McKee Why have we been taught that success only comes from vast effort and struggle? Are we really finding success, or are we breaking ourselves down? Our guest today shares her own story of what appeared to be great success on the outside but was actually wreaking havoc with every aspect of her life. In this episode we discuss how to allow things to flow to you with ease, making peace with the fact that we cannot control our minds but learning that we can get out of our heads and into our energy, and reminding us that to climb a ladder, you do it one rung at time, gaining strong hand and footholds to support and guide you. Janet McKee is a speaker, bestselling author, high performance consultant and CEO of SanaView. Her new book is Stressless Success: The Surprising Secrets to a Life of Passion, Purpose and Prosperity. She is one of only 200 elite coaches in the world Certified in High Performance by the High Performance Institute and is an inducted as a member of the National Association of Experts, Writers and Speakers. Janet created the acclaimed Accelerated High Performance Program and the emPower3 Leadership + Lifestyle Retreats to empower others to break negative patterns and achieve greater success. Listen in!   Website: www.janetmckee.com. Website: www.Stresslesssuccess.com Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/janetmckeefan/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janetmckee/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/janetmariamckee/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/SanaView When things align for you because you are aligned with the right energies that is how you achieve success. [03:46] The deeper understanding is that when you stress and struggle you put walls of resistance up that block solutions and opportunities from flowing through you. [08:12] The more you fight something the stronger it becomes; you give your power away to those thoughts. [11:49] The bigger truth is to get out of your head and into your energy. [12:03] When we have a subject that we are upset about or really concerned about or emotional about the more we try to force a positive subject on it the worse it becomes. [13:25] When you understand that you emanate an energy form within you emanate that out and that affects the reality of the life around you suddenly you realize you are no longer a victim. [14:39] You actually have the power within you to create a good outcome for your life. [15:01] What is consistent about the world's most accomplished people, they don't wait for something challenging to arise to then get themselves out of the hole, they deliberately build it from the beginning. [18:09] Choose to Create thoughts that feel better. [19:22] Recognize, be aware of how you feel at any point in time. [19:54] Allow your energy to draw in better ideas and possibilities than you could ever imagine. [26:09] Positivity clears the path way to prosperity. [28:21] Slight shifts have incredible outcomes. [29:20] Commercial Top Dog Learning Group LLC. [29:30] Due to the pandemic everyone felt like so many things were out of their control and it important to recognize that there are just some things that will be out of our control. [31:54] When you take action from a place of fear or from a place of restricted energy you are going to get a restricted result. [38:39] It's not about stress and struggle, it's about ease and flow and joy that's when you will see more creativity flow to you. [44:13] Please remember to get out of your head and into your energy. [45:50] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access. Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

“One of the best strategies to be resilient is a positive view of the world.” ~ Dr. Steve Yacovelli Change will always test our resilience, but our guest today knows that the hard work required to nurture resilience will pay off repeatedly. Dr. Steve Yacovelli (a.k.a. “The Gay Leadership DudeTM”) is Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, Florida, USA but with affiliates (“TopDoggers”) throughout the globe. His current, award-winning and critically acclaimed book, Pride Leadership: Strategies for LGBTQ+ Professionals to be the King or Queen of their Jungle https://amzn.to/3rxQ1Uh  “came out” in June 2019. In this episode we discuss how our cave-selves, part of our genetic histories, were rooted in safety. Today resilience is important for many other reasons beyond physical survival. It is critical for our emotional and psychological well-being. Steve talks about the various ways we process change and threats, moving us through confusion, paralysis to renewal, and how the speed at which we proceed is critically important. To access the discounted course on resilience, check this out: http://topdog.click/resilience Discount Code: IMPACT2021   Listen in! Social media handles https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/ https://www.facebook.com/gayleadershipdude/ https://twitter.com/gayleadership/ https://www.instagram.com/thegayleadershipdude/ I am gay, I self-identify as a dude, I really love to talk about leadership [04:30] We typically play with the big dogs! [-7:33] Pronounce are insanely personal. [09:10] I have speaking opportunities around the globe that will last forever, right? [12:17] I really made this massive effort to go back and connect with some of those people. [12:54] Just reviving some of those longer-term connections opened some doors again. [13:14] Despite have a doctorate in this stuff; distance learning, I didn't have a lot of online things that I offered clients. [14:01] You know that's good for SEO! SE what? [15:34] You always have this kind of love hate relationship between sales and marketing. [18:54] Do you think someone in marketing woke up and said, “I am going to screw up the sales division?” [19:43] Commercial TopDog Learning Group LLC. [21:20] How to embrace some concepts of resilience? [24:40] The Four Rooms of Change Model. [25:21] Room of complacency. [25:24] Room of denial. [25:52] Room of confusion. [26:15] Room of renewal. [26:54] Everyone goes through the four rooms but the speed in which one goes through them, that is what we call resilience. [27:15] Being an empathetic leader now more than ever is so paramount. [31:08] The golden rule of leadership effectiveness is that you foster trust. [31:16] One of the best strategies to be resilient is a positive view of the world. [32:37] You are a better stronger more awesome person on this side, identify what that is. [34:57] ……………………………………………………………..….. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA but with “TopDoggers” (aka consultants) throughout North America and beyond. They focus on training programs (both virtual and face-to-face), keynotes and “lunch and learns,” group and 1:1 coaching, and off-the-shelf solutions. One such solution is their Masterclass on The Top 3 Strategies to be Resilient in Times of Change. This thoughtful self-paced online training will guide you through three tactics you can immediately use to—not just survive—but thrive when change comes at you. Use the code RESIL50OFF for 50% off the program! Just go to https://bit.ly/3a5mIS6 and enter the code RESIL50OFF, in all capitals, to redeem your 50% off coupon. The link and code will be available in our show notes for easy access.   Learn more today at https://topdoglearning.learningworlds.com/    

Dr. Steve Yacovelli (a.k.a. “The Gay Leadership Dude”) is Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, Florida. We talk about diversity, inclusion, equity and BELONGING as these issues apply to nonprofit management and leadership. We talk about all the little things that comprise an organization's culture and how people may or may not feel they belong there, including the effort to get people comfortable with the ideas that it is safe to look at their own biases. We welcome support of the Nonprofit SnapCast via Patreon. We welcome your questions and feedback via The Nonprofit Snapshot website.

In this episode, I chat with Dr. Steve Yacovelli. He calls himself "The Gay Leadership Dude," and this episode is all about creating an inclusive culture. Dr. Steve is the Owner and Principal of TopDog Learning Group, which is a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting group. Steve has worked with fortune 500's like the Walt Disney Company and Bayer, in addition to amazing nonprofits like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the American Library Association. What I loved about this episode is that he breaks down how you can infuse diversity and inclusion into your culture. He goes into depth on how to audit the current state of things, how to rank yourself on a scorecard, how to roll out these new policies and procedures, and how to embrace diversity and inclusion so you create a culture that attracts the most diverse group of people. Find the show notes for this episode here! Watch this episode on Youtube here. Host: Chris Ronzio

Are you struggling with diversity and inclusion in your business or life? Are you committed to building an inclusive culture in your business and life? Are you looking for leadership strategies to help you grow your trust, engagement and sense of belonging? Our special guest Dr. Steve Yacovelli answers these and other questions about leadership, inclusion and culture building. Dr. Steve Yacovelli (aka “The Gay Leadership Dude”) is Principal of TopDog Learning Group, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando but with affiliates (“TopDoggers”) around the globe. Steve and TopDog provide guidance and solutions in leadership and organizational development, change management, diversity and inclusion consulting, instructional design, and custom e-learning creation. Steve is passionate about workplace equality, and specifically how leaders can be more “consciously inclusive” to foster a feeling of inclusion and belonging for all team members. His most recent, award-winning and critically acclaimed book is Pride Leadership: Strategies for LGBTQ+ Professionals to be the King or Queen of their Jungle. Listen in as Dr. Steve shares his wisdom and experience on being a “consciously inclusive” leader. Show Notes Episode highlights… The three (3) key opportunities for leaders: 1. Better listening and teaching; 2. Empathy; 3. Authenticity The importance of spending time with people who are different from you Leadership is not industry or role specific – you don't have to know the industry or the job if you're a strong leader Smart leaders are like gardeners The risk of clarity in hiring desires becoming hiring only people like you (non-diverse) The role of unconscious bias for all leaders You can't create a more inclusive workplace unless you're willing to acknowledge that you've played a role in creating the lack of inclusion and diversity A simple approach for becoming more consciously inclusive: Think In … Speak Up … Act Out Think In – Assess your own thinking and unconscious bias Speak Up – Choosing to speak up when things happen that are inconsistent with your desired inclusive culture Act Up – Assess and modify your processes and approaches that are impacting inclusion and diversity The key role of creating a culture of belonging for everyone and especially people of difference Different ways to think about and achieve diversity and inclusion Strategies for creating a culture of belonging Keys to creating feedback processes to address diversity and inclusion issues Understanding the difference between intention and impact Part of leadership is speaking up (acts of leadership versus roles of leadership) Learn Dr. Steve's MOP+SAM strategy for addressing issues related to diversity, inclusion and difference The key role of emotional intelligence and self-awareness when leading in a diverse and inclusive way What are you doing to influence the workplace culture in your business or organization? Resources: Steve Yacovelli TopDog Learning Website Coupon Code (75% off) the online “Resilience” Masterclass: IMPACT2021 Direct link to the “MOP+SAM” Free Training

In this HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Westover talks with Dr. Steve Yacovelli about inclusive organizational cultures and consciously inclusive leadership (originally aired on June 29, 2020). See the video here: https://youtu.be/BJwaApL81zE. Dr. Steve Yacovelli (https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/) is a hard working, creative, energetic professional with over twenty-five years' experience in learning and development, e-learning management, leadership, change management, diversity and inclusion consulting, an M.A. in education policy & leadership development, and an Ed.D. in instructional technology and distance education. A published author, competencies include change management, instructional design, instructional systems design, leadership and organizational development, diversity and inclusion, classroom facilitation, strategic planning, educational marketing and administration, computer-based training (CBT), Web-based training (WBT), SAP, e-learning, and professional public speaking and keynote speaking. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, with consultants (“TopDoggers”) located throughout North America and beyond. We specialize in corporate learning, custom training development, e-learning creation, change management initiatives, and learning impact measurement. In short: we're focused on human learning and performance (not canines!). Ranked in the Top 10 Performance Management Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/performance_management_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 10 Workplace Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/workplace_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 15 HR Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/hr_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 15 Talent Management Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/talent_management_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 15 Personal Development and Self-Improvement Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/personal_development_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 30 Leadership Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/leadership_podcasts/

EP39: PRIDE LEADERSHIP: How to Be a More Inclusive Leader & Create a Culture Where People Can Belong with Steve Yacovelli   In this episode you're going to hear some amazing tips and processes to help anyone who is seeking to be a leader or identifies as one to learn to develop competencies and traits a leader should have and the most important trait every effective leader should hold.    One of the many important takeaways from this episodes is for people who are looking to a strong leader and one who is truly inclusive, you must    Think In Speak Up Act Out   Listen in for more on this throughout our conversations and in the book.    For Millennials, there are some great points on how to be a leader when you're struggling. One of the strategies is to not amp up your leadership courage (this is part of a chapter in the book), but to think how you're engaging and listening to your leader and them doing the same to you!    At the core of being a successful inclusive leader you should develop the following 6 competencies one at a time:   Authenticity Courage Empathy Communication Culture   Leadership is all about building relationships. Relationships are built through communication, but also have the courage to talk about things that make us uncomfortable. That courage will help establish trust.    At the very root of that foundation leadership in its most purest form is TRUST!   Effective listening is also a critical foundation to be able to support others in various landscapes of the workplace. To be a better leader you need to be an ally to somebody, show up for them. Look for ways to be a champion for others.    Steve's Book: Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ + Leader to Be The King or Queen of their Jungle give Queer people who are often identified as other an opportunity to show up in many spaces and demonstrate leadership. It allows those seeking to be strong leaders a way to learn and take action on developing the 6 foundational competencies of leadership.    The book is intended to be read but also asking the reader to actively participate and take action while reading and learning. It is a guide that includes a workbook to help anyone grow as a leader.    To purchase the book you can go to: https://www.amazon.com/Pride-Leadership-Strategies-Leader-Jungle/dp/1946384674/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1EDKNI6Y4OK29&dchild=1&keywords=steve+yacovelli&qid=1606894877&sprefix=Steve+Yaco%2Caps%2C156&sr=8-1 About Steve Dr. Steve Yacovelli (a.k.a. “The Gay Leadership DudeTM”) is Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, Florida, USA but with affiliates (“TopDoggers”) throughout the Globe.   Steve and TopDog provide guidance and solutions in leadership and organizational development, change management, diversity and inclusion consulting, instructional design, and custom e-learning creation. Whether it be through providing keynotes and facilitating leadership development programs for Fortune 500 companies like The Walt Disney Company, Bayer AG, or accenture, to providing one-on-one coaching experiences for groups like IBM, Covestro, and The Public Library Association, or creating engaging, effective training solutions for various delivery formats for folks like Tupperware Brands Corporation, The Ohio State University, and The Bill & MelindaGates Foundation, Steve is passionate about helping others be their best selves, in and out of the workplace. Steve holds a B.S. in Public Relations from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Educational Policy & Leadership Development from The Ohio State University, and an Ed.D. in Instructional Technology & Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University. A published author, Steve has written books and articles on a variety of topics: from how adults learn and communicate using technology to how to design effective training solutions for the modern, adult learner in the 21st century workplace to the impact of unconscious bias within organizations and how it can undermine organizational effectiveness. His current, award-winning and critically acclaimed book, “Pride Leadership: Strategies for LGBTQ+ Professionals to be the King or Queen of their Jungle” “came out” in June 2019.   Steve is passionate about workplace equality, and specifically how leaders can be more “consciously inclusive” to foster a feeling of inclusion and belonging for all team members. His signature keynote, “Being a Consciously Inclusive Leader,” has won praise for its engaging, approachable, and memorable way to think about unconscious bias in the workplace. But don't think he's just an academic nerd: Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory, his experience in a variety of public and private settings and applying this knowledge to the client's workplace to achieve better results. (Oh, and he's pretty good with dogs, too!). steve@topdoglearning.biz.   To find Steve you can head over to his website: topdoglearing.biz and purchase the book from there too! You can also find him on Instagram @thegayleadershipdude   BEFORE  YOU GO: Are You Looking for Some FREE Coaching?  Let's setup a free 30 minute coaching call to get you on the right path. Email us at hello@coachingwithjosemiguel.com, slide into our DM's on Instagram and Facebook @josemiguellongo We have a coaching package for everyone's needs! Be sure to visit the website: http://www.coachingwithjosemiguel.com  Don't forget to join the Facebook Community for more content and great conversations:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/LifeandBusinessCoachingforMillennials If you like this episode please leave us a review. It would mean the world. Also let us know what else you want to learn or hear. Xo, José Miguel   #diversity #inclusion #pride #LGBTQ+ #DEI #belong #courage

This episode is sponsored by Shift. Are you ready to shift your thought leadership? Click Here.Dr. Steve Yacovelli (a.k.a. “The Gay Leadership DudeTM”) is the Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, Florida, USA but with affiliates (“TopDoggers”) throughout the globe.Steve and TopDog provide guidance and solutions in leadership and organizational development, change management, diversity and inclusion consulting, instructional design, and custom e-learning creation. Whether it be through providing keynotes and facilitating leadership development programs for Fortune 500 companies like TheWalt Disney Company, Bayer AG, or accenture, to providing one-on-one coaching experiences for groups like IBM, Covestro, and The Public Library Association, or creating engaging, effective training solutions for various delivery formats for folks like Tupperware Brands Corporation, The Ohio State University, and The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Steve is passionate about helping others be their best selves, in and out of the workplace.Steve holds a B.S. in Public Relations from Millersville University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Educational Policy & Leadership Development from The Ohio State University, and an Ed.D. in Instructional Technology & Distance Education from Nova Southeastern University. A published author, Steve has written books and articles on a variety of topics: from how adults learn and communicate using technology to how to design effective training solutions for the modern, adult learner in the 21st-century workplace to the impact of unconscious bias within organizations and how it can undermine organizational effectiveness. His current, award-winning and critically acclaimed book, “Pride Leadership: Strategies for LGBTQ+ Professionals to be the King or Queen of their Jungle” “came out” in June 2019.Steve is passionate about workplace equality, and specifically how leaders can be more “consciously inclusive” to foster a feeling of inclusion and belonging for all team members. His signature keynote, “Being a Consciously Inclusive Leader,” has won praise for its engaging, approachable, and memorable way to think about unconscious bias in the workplace.But don't think he's just an academic nerd: Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory, his experience in a variety of public and private settings and applying this knowledge to the client's workplace to achieve better results. (Oh, and he's pretty good with dogs, too!).BOOK:  you can access a PDF version of “Pride Leadership” here: https://topdog.click/Pride_eBook use code “FREEBIEE2020 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit debcrowe.substack.com

In this HCI Podcast "Throwback Tuesday" episode, Dr. Westover talks with Dr. Steve Yacovelli about inclusive organizational cultures and consciously inclusive leadership (originally aired 6/29/2020). See the video here: https://youtu.be/BJwaApL81zE. Dr. Steve Yacovelli (https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/) is a hard working, creative, energetic professional with over twenty-five years' experience in learning and development, e-learning management, leadership, change management, diversity and inclusion consulting, an M.A. in education policy & leadership development, and an Ed.D. in instructional technology and distance education. A published author, competencies include change management, instructional design, instructional systems design, leadership and organizational development, diversity and inclusion, classroom facilitation, strategic planning, educational marketing and administration, computer-based training (CBT), Web-based training (WBT), SAP, e-learning, and professional public speaking and keynote speaking. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, with consultants (“TopDoggers”) located throughout North America and beyond. We specialize in corporate learning, custom training development, e-learning creation, change management initiatives, and learning impact measurement. In short: we're focused on human learning and performance (not canines!). Ranked in the Top 15 Personal Development and Self-Improvement Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/personal_development_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 30 Leadership Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/leadership_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 15 HR Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/hr_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 15 Talent Management Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/talent_management_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 10 Performance Management Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/performance_management_podcasts/ ; Ranked in the Top 10 Workplace Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/workplace_podcasts/

Dr. Steve Yacovelli (“The Gay Leadership Dude”) is Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC, a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, USA, with affiliates across the globe. Dr. Steve has worked with Fortune 500 greats like The Walt Disney Company and Bayer to amazing not-for-profits like The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and The American Library Association; large universities like The Ohio State University and The University of Central Florida, to small entrepreneurial rock stars like International Training & Development and GovMojo, Inc. ,helping them grow, expand, and be successful with change management, diversity and inclusion, and leadership consulting . With over twenty-five years' experience in leadership, strategy, organizational learning, and communication, Steve is a rare breed of professional that understands the power of using academic theory and applying it to the corporate setting to achieve business results. This episode we discuss

In this HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Westover talks with Dr. Steve Yacovelli about inclusive organizational cultures and consciously inclusive leadership. See the video here: https://youtu.be/BJwaApL81zE. Dr. Steve Yacovelli (https://www.linkedin.com/in/steveyacovelli/) is a hard working, creative, energetic professional with over twenty-five years' experience in learning and development, e-learning management, leadership, change management, diversity and inclusion consulting, an M.A. in education policy & leadership development, and an Ed.D. in instructional technology and distance education. A published author, competencies include change management, instructional design, instructional systems design, leadership and organizational development, diversity and inclusion, classroom facilitation, strategic planning, educational marketing and administration, computer-based training (CBT), Web-based training (WBT), SAP, e-learning, and professional public speaking and keynote speaking. TopDog Learning Group, LLC is a learning and development, leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando, FL, with consultants (“TopDoggers”) located throughout North America and beyond. We specialize in corporate learning, custom training development, e-learning creation, change management initiatives, and learning impact measurement. In short: we're focused on human learning and performance (not canines!).

Dr. Steve Yacovelli, aka the gay leadership dude, is the Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC. Steve's company is a global consulting practice based in Orlando, FL specializing in human learning and performance. Steve is also the author of Pride Leadership, Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King, or Queen of their Jungle.

Dr. Steve Yacovelli, aka the gay leadership dude, is the Owner & Principal of TopDog Learning Group, LLC. Steve's company is a global consulting practice based in Orlando, FL specializing in human learning and performance. Steve is also the author of Pride Leadership, Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King, or Queen of their Jungle.