Podcasts about when brandon

This episode was SO good, we’re re-airing it for you this week! If you’re ready to scale your company fast, tune in to hear how Brandon and Kaelin Poulin took LadyBoss Weight Loss from a startup to a company with 350,000 customers in just a few short years.    Don’t miss this in-depth, behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to grow and scale a successful company like LadyBoss, which helps women lose weight, transform their health, and love themselves and was named number 4 on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing privately-held companies in the United States in 2019, in a few years instead of a few decades.   The strategies, the mindsets, the vision, the customer relationships--you’ll hear it all. Everything you do starts with you Brandon and Kaelin started in network marketing separately, before they ever met, and both found their way into weight loss, health, and fitness. Network marketing taught them how important developing and maintaining relationships are to success. It taught them how to listen and find out what people really want. It also taught them how to face rejection, over and over and over. Finally, it taught them about personal development, something they now know is critical to both their early success and their ongoing success. Everything you do starts with you, and if you’re tripping over the same issues within yourself, it’ll trip up everything you try to do. Dig in and do it When Brandon and Kaelin were ready to start their own company, it wasn’t the ideal time to pull away from the company they’d been with for five years. They were two months behind on rent, on their car payment - basically everything - and in danger of sinking even further into a financial black hole. With their backs against the wall, they locked themselves away from the outside world for two straight months, and worked around the clock to launch their company. It didn’t take stars aligning, or a fairy godmother waving a magic wand. All it took was the commitment to dig in and do it. How to get off the shiny penny highway With no shortage of tools, training, and strategies available in the world, Brandon and Kaelin often found themselves cruising along the shiny penny highway. Look, another awesome software we need! Look, another “new” marketing strategy we have to try! There was always something new to try. To avoid getting stuck on the shiny penny highway, Brandon and Kaelin developed a litmus test to help them decide whether “the next thing” was worth their time and energy: Was it what their customers and their company needed at that exact time? If not, they steered clear, because it was a distraction, not a step on the path to fulfilling their vision. Saying no to what didn’t align with their vision also allowed them to simplify, while simultaneously (and quickly) growing their company and better serving their customers. Don’t neglect the customer relationships A lot of companies fall into the trap of being cool and aloof with their customers. Brandon and Kaelin’s experience in network marketing helps them see it differently. They know, from years of experience, how crucial the customer relationship is to their success, so rather than shut their customers out, they encourage communication with their customers. Without customers, you don’t have a business. Don’t neglect them. A must-have mindset for all business owners Once your success reaches a certain level, it’s all other people see. But Brandon and Kaelin have been kicked in the teeth, made mistakes, and have had to get very resourceful to make it where they are. And it’s likely to continue to be that way, because that’s just the nature of business. Brandon and Kaelin are successful not because they haven’t faced challenges, but because they know they have the power, always, to overcome any challenge. Believing and accepting that no matter what comes your way, you have the power to deal with it and find another way forward, is a must-have mindset for all business owners.   Outline of This Episode 05:29 Backs against the wall 12:40 Trial by fire 20:56 Why the shiny penny highway goes nowhere 29:36 Never forget exactly who you’re serving 34:01 Are you doing this to your customers? 38:48 The secret to becoming and staying a team 46:15 How to handle it when the hits keep coming Resources & People Mentioned LadyBoss Weight Loss: https://ladyboss.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ladyboss/ https://www.facebook.com/LadyBossKaelin https://www.youtube.com/c/LadyBossWeightLoss Music for “Just The Tips” is titled, “Happy Happy Game Show” by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Connect With James and Dean James P. Friel: CEO Quickstart: https://jamespfriel.com/ceo-quickstart/ Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/hustledetox/ Facebook Group (BulletProof Business): https://www.facebook.com/groups/1107362546297055/ Site: www.jamespfriel.com Interested in being a guest on the show? Dean Holland: Blog: www.DeanHolland.com FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/DeanHollandHQ Billion Dollar Project: https://www.facebook.com/groups/BillionDollarProject/ JTT Facebook Page - https://www.facebook.com/justthetipsshow/

One of the biggest beverage trends of 2021 is the unbelievable growth of ready-to-drink beverages. In 2020, the RTD beverage market revenue increased 40% compared to the year before for a total of $489 million in sales. It’s an emerging market, and many want a piece of it. To do it, you need to have a good product. A unique one. My guest has just that. Brandon Schwartz is the co-founder of DRNXMYTH, a company that’s tapping into the premium RTD market. What separates them from the others? Innovation. They use 100% natural ingredients and their packaging keeps the alcohol and juices separated until the time of consumption. And although the company was launched only last year, it has already made significant noise in the top-shelf RTD market. We discuss everything from how his experience in the beauty industry helped him understand the importance of packaging to how the alcohol industry was impacted by the pandemic.Key TakeawaysIntroduction (00:00)When Brandon realized he’s an entrepreneur (01:40)The unique concept of DRNXMYTH (03:44)The first big obstacle Brandon and his partner came across (06:10)The challenges of getting your product on the market (10:00)What Brandon learned from his experience in the beauty industry (13:57)Raising capital vs. not raising capital in 2021 (19:07)Innovation in the alcohol industry and how COVID-19 impacted it (20:58)Brandon’s bucket list item he wants to accomplish in the next 12 months (23:36)Additional Resources You can get in touch with Brandon Schwartz at brand@drnxmyth.comVisit the official DRNXMYTH website by clicking here—You can find the transcripts and more at http://bizninjaradio.comBe sure to follow me on Instagram @bizninja—Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, YouTube, or anywhere else you listen to your podcasts.If you haven’t already, please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts!

One of the biggest beverage trends of 2021 is the unbelievable growth of ready-to-drink beverages. In 2020, the RTD beverage market revenue increased 40% compared to the year before for a total of $489 million in sales. It’s an emerging market, and many want a piece of it. To do it, you need to have a good product. A unique one. My guest has just that. Brandon Schwartz is the co-founder of DRNXMYTH, a company that’s tapping into the premium RTD market. What separates them from the others? Innovation. They use 100% natural ingredients and their packaging keeps the alcohol and juices separated until the time of consumption. And although the company was launched only last year, it has already made significant noise in the top-shelf RTD market. We discuss everything from how his experience in the beauty industry helped him understand the importance of packaging to how the alcohol industry was impacted by the pandemic.Key TakeawaysIntroduction (00:00)When Brandon realized he’s an entrepreneur (01:40)The unique concept of DRNXMYTH (03:44)The first big obstacle Brandon and his partner came across (06:10)The challenges of getting your product on the market (10:00)What Brandon learned from his experience in the beauty industry (13:57)Raising capital vs. not raising capital in 2021 (19:07)Innovation in the alcohol industry and how COVID-19 impacted it (20:58)Brandon’s bucket list item he wants to accomplish in the next 12 months (23:36)Additional Resources You can get in touch with Brandon Schwartz at brand@drnxmyth.comVisit the official DRNXMYTH website by clicking here—You can find the transcripts and more at http://bizninjaradio.comBe sure to follow me on Instagram @bizninja—Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify, Google, Stitcher, YouTube, or anywhere else you listen to your podcasts.If you haven’t already, please rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts!

In the last installment of the Professional Transition Series, Brandon Smith joins CJ to discuss his path to coaching. He began lifting because he grew interested in cheerleading in college. When college & cheerleading ending, so did lifting for awhile.  He worked in hospitality services and restaurants, and though he enjoyed it he thought about continuing down this path into his 60s and ultimately knew he needed to make a change. He began to lift & coach. Brandon found that his hospitality experience and his ability to quickly connect to people made a huge impact on his coaching ability. This is something that has popped up again and again in the series, is that you bring the tools you have from your career and life experience. You have skills that can help you be a better coach: don’t be afraid to use them. For those who have trouble striking up conversation, Brandon recommends talking about the things you’re passionate about. If you’re not passionate about discussing training and lifting, you might need to think twice about whether you want to be a coach.  Another thing Brandon recommends is being honest. If you don’t feel like an expert, just be honest. Say that you think you can help improve their deadlift or squat and have some humility and underpromise and overdeliver.  It really takes a relatively low level of proficiency to be able to help most clients. Don’t suck, and you can help. Use the teaching scripts, improve your eye, understand some basics and you can help someone quite a bit. When Brandon started coaching people, he programmed lots of bosu ball and other stuff, and began to see a pattern of clients not improving much beyond 6 months. He searched for answers as to why this was occurring, and came to simpler, harder, more effective training with barbells.  Brandon loves learning & coaching & getting better, and thinks it’s really all about getting a little better everyday. You’re either getting better or getting worse. Getting 1% better every day can make a huge difference. Getting 1% worse every day, similarly, can make a big difference. Choose growth.  Finally, CJ & Brandon discuss mentorship & getting a mentor. Brandon ultimately says, just ask someone who you would like to be your mentor. Most of the time, they’ll be flattered and say yes. If they don’t want to, it’s probably because of time, and that’s okay, so find someone else.  GET STARTED with one-on-one online coaching FOR FREE! Get your FIRST MONTH FREE on all strength and nutrition coaching plans.  No discount code needed and includes a 10-day, no obligation trial.  https://bit.ly/2MKeOoh Special offers from BLOC and our partners:  https://barbell-logic.com/offers/ Connect with the hosts Matt on Instagram Niki on Instagram Connect with the show Barbell Logic on Instagram The Website Barbell Logic on Facebook podcast@barbell-logic.com   

When Brandon leaves the house for a party, his family doesn't know it's the last time they will see him. His drowning leaves them all wondering whether it was a tragic accident or something more nefarious. Without an investigation, they never will. Join us tonight for an exclusive interview with Brandon's mother, Mrs. Shirley Mitchner on her plea to the Lansing Police Department and the District Attorney to re-open the case for a proper investigation of the untimely and tragic death of her youngest son. For more information on Brandon Mitchner's story, please watch the YouTube video "Brandon Mitchner Down the River: A Mother's Story" at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pb5eXjPBukY Sign the petition to re-open this case at https://www.change.org/p/brandon-mitchner-african-american-male-age-22-was-left-to-die-in-the-lansing-grand-river-by-his-busi-the-attorney-general-to-investigate-my-case?utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=custom_url&recruited_by_id=08e73f40-d03e-11e4-bba5-cbdc75db3462&fbclid=IwAR13ghNbupusA8-R4sqR9dhyCVTH2Hk3Fte0uS2Z9KCkxIlK0jXFGXR3n0Y For our show notes and work cited please visit our website at https://truecrimedatenight.com/. Follow our Podcast at our Instagram Page https://www.instagram.com/tcdn_podcast/ or at our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/tcdnpodcast --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tcdnpodcast/support

When Brandon asks pre-pro dancers what they want to do, the most common answer he gets is "I want to do it all!" As dancers, we have many options in our career path. We want to dance on Broadway, background for celebrities, and in Europe. The issue is, we need to be specific about what we want to do first, and go all in. How do we make choices and then take action?In this episode, Brandon gives four ways for dancers to make some hard decisions on what direction they want to take in their careers. He'll offer four ideas to make picking a career that makes sense for you!Episode Shoutout: Taylor Mitchell (@mitchellmovement on IG)Connect with Brandon!Instagram: @itsBrandonColeman | @BreakingTheWallPodcastWebsite: www.BrandonColemanDance.com/BTWP

Should you rush to reach FI? Or use it as a map in a lifelong pursuit to master your relationship with time, money, and happiness? Brandon, from the Mad Fientist, wishes he would have found more free time to work on other goals while on his journey to FI. When Brandon was first on the show four years ago, he had just reached FI and discussed the psychological hurdles he had to overcome. What's changed for him since then, and with the benefit of hindsight, what would he do differently? Brandon's dream as a child was to write music and put it out in the world. However, his musical tastes are not mainstream, so becoming a pop star was never one of his ambitions. He did not want to just be a consumer, he wanted to be a creator and always felt that it was his job that was holding him back. It wasn't until after reaching FI that he realized it wasn't was what holding him back at all. He had been spending his free time on things like television on travel instead of his music project. His problem was psychological. As a math and science guy, he didn't believe he could do it. Trying meant the risk of failure, and if he failed, the dream would be gone. It took Brandon two years to come to grips with and get over that hurdle. During his pursuit of financial independence, Brandon has tunnel vision, with all his time and effort devoted to making and saving more so that he could reach FI more quickly. The result was a decrease in his overall happiness. He admits that he did it wrong. The whole point is to master the relationship between money, time, and happiness. Mastery is probably better to focus on over goals. Goals delay your happiness because you are always looking to the future instead of enjoying the present or the journey. Reaching FI for Brandon didn't have an impact on his life other than making him more confident that he could step away from his job. Motivating yourself to do something is hard when you don't have any sort of external motivation to do it. In 2017, Brandon wanted to do two things: get better at songwriting and get fit. The personal trainer he was working with asked him how much he wanted to bench press or how much muscle mass he wanted to put on. Those were goals Brandon didn't care about. With his mastery mindset, he only wanted to get healthy and stay healthy. In contrast to getting fit, his specific goal for songwriting was to write a song and share it with his brother. When he finished it, not only was it awful, but the whole process was awful and it caused him to quit pursuing any additional songwriting until he summoned up the courage again in 2019. Pursuing mastery may be summed up by asking, “Am I better today than I was yesterday?” Continuing to answer yes is pursuing mastery. Brandon found it to be true that doing something consistently changes who you are. He never felt like a musician until he was doing it for 25 hours a week. He still feels like his triangle is skewed toward money at the expense of time and happiness so he has been trying to figure out how to use money to get more time or increase happiness. For example, he wrote eight songs and wanted to get them to sound as great as possible, so he hired a Grammy award-winning sound mixing engineer to help mix his album. He was able to both learn and make a better final product. He doesn't want to waste money but does want to figure out how to use it efficiently and maximize the triangle of money, time, and happiness. There's a lot of unconscious spending in society that doesn't really bring happiness either. Getting on the path to FI helps you sort out the equation a bit more. We're terrible at knowing what will make us happy. That's where experimenting comes in. Experiment with your spending and your activities. What still feels good a week later versus ended up being meaningless. It's okay to spend money sometimes as long as you do it from a place of value. If you are in a deprivation zone, one thing that helped Brandon was to relax for two years with respect to his spending. If it was something he and his wife wanted to do, they did it. At the end of the year, although it felt like they had lived an extravagant life, they spend just $3,000 more than normal. In the deprivation zone, you are testing the lower limits. You can test the upper limits and then hopefully find the sweet spot. It's difficult to find where the sweet spot is for you without testing the limits. Once you have the bigs things taken care of, the little ones don't seem to matter. Brandon had already limited his large structural recurring expenses. What he had given himself latitude with were the everyday one-off decisions that in aggregate, turn out to barely move the needle of his finances. Brad and his family have anchored themselves to a $2 per person per meal per day rule. It helps them to apply intentionality to their meal planning. He thinks it's better to try and optimize and then dial it back if gets to be a little too much than continue to go through life being unaware. Brandon is an introvert, so announcing publicly that he is releasing his first album is a big deal. Back when he wasn't making progress because he wasn't putting the time in, he talked his brother into going to a park and playing a show. The thought of doing it was scary, but he already knew what it was like not to it. He wanted to know what the world would be like if he did do it. While playing in the park, a man slipped Brandon his email address. It turned out he source talent for a music festival in Scotland and asked if they wanted to play at it. Brandon taking that chance in the park reminded Brad of a quote by Scott Young, “Your deepest moments of happiness don't come from doing easy things. They come from realizing your potential and overcoming your limiting beliefs about yourself”. Both financial independence and the pursuit of financial independence allow you to begin building armor. Failure is good. You have to be bad at something before you are good at it. FI definitely helped Brandon build his armor. He didn't have anyone to answer to or worry about stumbling across what he was doing. He also uses an alter ego for his work in the financial space, as well as another for his music. Something that Brand did to progress with his music was conduct an ultralearning experiment. He took three months where he blocked out all other activities competing for this attention to do the thing that he wanted to do, which was write songs. He committed to devoting 25 hours a week and built spreadsheets of prioritized tasks. He says it is the only reason he succeeded. He focused on the hours and the effort and then by-product comes out of it. For others just trying to get started learning, Brandon thinks copying what you love is a great place to start. Your unique set of influences is enough to make what you do unique. The unique skills each of them possess is what lead to this very podcast. Brad being a CPA with a travel rewards website is what got him a guest spot on Brandon's podcast. Then Jonathan heard the podcast and discovered both Brad and he lived in Richmond, which lead him to first contact Brad. Every good idea comes out of a bad idea, or an okay idea, or even a mediocre idea. You do not need to get it right the first time. The fact that you are willing to try gives you the opportunity to get feedback and iterate into something amazing. Brandon's album is available for just $5! You can pre-order your copy at ChooseFI.com/album. Resources Mentioned In Today's Conversation ChooseFI Episode 017 Mad Fientist and Origin Story James Clear “Forget About Setting Goals. Focus on This Instead.“ Ultralearning: Master Hard Skills, Outsmart the Competition, and Accelerate Your Career by Scott Young If You Want To Support ChooseFI: Earn $1,000 in cashback with ChooseFI's 3-card credit card strategy.  Share FI by sending a friend ChooseFI: Your Blueprint to Financial Independence.

My good friend and soul brother, Brandon Lucero, joins the podcast today for a paradigm shifting conversation. Brandon has been a part of numerous web-based companies over the last 8 years. He started early by building, growing and selling websites while attending UC Irvine. Some of those sites were even reaching 20,000 unique visitors in a day. With a wide portfolio ranging from humor to information sites he has bought, created, flipped, and developed numerous sites throughout his time in college. After leaving UC Irvine, he began working for a video marketing company and a local daily deal site based in Southern California. He quickly became VP of Production at the video marketing company where he held that position for 3 years before starting SoldWithVideo.com. Since founding SoldWithVideo.com he has been helping small businesses increase their local advertising through video marketing, while keeping it extremely affordable. When not at the SoldWIthVideo.com offices working on his or client's businesses, Brandon enjoys backpacking, mountain biking, cycling, camping, running, watching movies, and hiking. In this episode, Brandon Lucero talks about transforming our belief system and navigating through limitations by thinking differently, creating differently, and connecting with our audiences in more transformative ways. We talk about teamwork and the importance of well-being over winning in terms of revenue and numbers. Plus, we hit on debt and what Brandon did when he found himself at rock bottom. In this Episode You'll Learn:  All about today's guest, Brandon Lucero [ 0:50 ] How Brandon describes himself [ 5:20 ] What Brandon is excited to be working on [ 8:50 ] The ways to navigate our limiting beliefs [ 13:15 ] About the never-ending battle with our thoughts [ 21:30 ] How to think about our brands + messaging [ 28:10 ] When Brandon was judged for doing what he loves [ 34:00 ] Why we should set high goals [ 43:15 ] The importance of happy employees [ 46:50 ] Why Brandon never blames himself for anything [ 53:50 ] Tips on simplifying our methods [ 65:10 ] The different ways we can do our educational content [ 71:40 ]   Soul Shifting Quotes:  “If you want a million-dollar business, you have to be the million-dollar business owner first.” “Actions produce results.” “Be judged for doing the things that we love to do instead of the things that we don't love.” “If we want to create something, we need to be those people first.” “Evolvement only happens when we quiet the mind.” Links Mentioned:  Learn my 7 Secrets to Uplevel Your Brand & Land Your Dream Clients  Grab your FREE training, How to Call in Your Tribe + Create Content that Converts  Text me at 603-931-4386 Learn more about Brandon by following him on Instagram or heading to https://brandonlucero.com. Listen to The New Generation Entrepreneur. Check out https://soldwithvideo.com.  Tag me in your big shifts + takeaways: @amberlilyestrom  Did you hear something you loved here today?! Leave a Review + Subscribe via iTunes  Listen on Spotify   

In this episode, I have the opportunity to interview successful investor, Ryan Murdock. Ryan spent ten years in the electronics manufacturing industry before transitioning to real estate investing and property management in 2007. Today, he is VP of Acquisitions at Open Door Capital, a real estate investment company from Bigger Pocket’s Brandon Turner. Ryan has extensive management experience in many facets of real estate including retail, office, multi-family, HOA, nationwide consulting, and mobile home parks. He has been a licensed real estate broker since 2008 and owns and operates a portfolio of residential rental properties.   Before Ryan got into real estate investing, he worked as a production facility technician in the electronics manufacturing industry, traveling all over the world. His priorities really changed when he got married and found himself having to decide if he wanted to continue to live overseas. He bought his first rental property when he was thirty years old and has been building his “empire” ever since!   Ryan’s first investment was in a duplex in Bangor, Maine and he lived on one side while renting out the other, “house hack” style. He financed this investment very traditionally and talks about how this was his first experience with having difficult tenants to deal with. He bought a few more duplexes and was looking aggressively at foreclosures to find other deals, while at the same time he started his own property management company. He ran this company himself for about five years and then eventually paired up with a bigger management company that had a network of employees that he did not. At about this same time, he also got his real estate license so he could pursue his own deals.   Eventually, Ryan got to a point with his own portfolio where he was able to leave this company and go back to managing only his rental properties, aided by much better systems, technology, and automation. As he started to broker other deals and do some consulting, it made sense for him to give the project management portion to his past employers so he could spend his time in more profitable endeavors.   Ryan utilizes the BRRRR strategy with his properties, so we spent some time discussing how that worked for him. He talked about how he was completely reinvigorated by finding the BiggerPockets podcast and learning about different strategies that he had not yet explored. It made him take a hard look at his portfolio and get money out to use as working capital to invest in more properties. He encourages our listeners to take a hard look at their own properties in order to maximize their cash flow. I then asked Ryan what made him pick up his life and move to Maui and join forces with Brandon Turner. Ryan and Brandon had partnered to buy a mobile home park and developed a relationship through that process. When Brandon moved to Maui, he asked Ryan to come out and give him a hand, and a week-long stay turned into a month. Brandon eventually hired Ryan as his personal assistant.   Because Ryan initially hooked up with Brandon by feeding him a mobile park investment lead, we spent some time exploring this investing strategy. Ryan talked about how to evaluate these types of investments and the techniques they used to add value to these communities. Once Ryan moved to Hawaii, they got really invested in Open Door Capital, Brandon’s company which exclusively buys mobile home parks. At the time of recording, they owned about 10 different communities with approximately 1500 lots. Ryan went into quite a bit of detail about what they look for in an investment of this kind and also the type of investor that they look for to partner up with them. He also pitched the “Bring Brandon A Deal” promotion they are running now if someone finds them an off-market mobile park deal.   Ryan has an incredibly diverse background in investing and in life, so you do not want to miss this entertaining and informative episode of the Just Start Real Estate Podcast!   Notable Quotes:   “The real driving factor for getting into real estate was that I just couldn’t see myself in another corporate job for the next thirty years.”   Ryan Murdock     “I went on Amazon and bought every real estate and property management book they had because I had no idea what I was doing.”   Ryan Murdock     “Maybe if I had read some different or better books I wouldn’t have made so many mistakes.”   Ryan Murdock     “If I am going to be married to my own rental properties, I might as well start managing some for other people and generate a little income.”   Ryan Murdock     “If you feel like you are getting close to hiring help, you are probably already past the point when you should.”   Mike Simmons     “I think a lot of people are like me - I had 10 cents in my bank account and every day is a struggle to hustle.”   Ryan Murdock     “There are different tiers to financial freedom… it doesn’t happen overnight.”   Ryan Murdock     “Finding and listening to the BiggerPockets podcast really lit a fire under me again.”   Ryan Murdock     “I encourage other investors to keep an eye on their properties’ financials.”   Ryan Murdock     “I just want to buy and hold everything.”   Ryan Murdock     “Because of Brandon’s platform and reach, he is able to attract some extremely talented people.”   Ryan Murdock     “I’m always amazed at the ways you can make money in real estate.”   Mike Simmons   Links: Level Jumping: How I Grew My Business to Over $1 Million in Profits in 12 Months Real Estate Investing for Dummies Property Management for Dummies BiggerPockets Podcast Open Door Capital Bring Brandon A Deal Return on Investments Just Start Real Estate JSRE on Facebook Mike on Facebook Mike on Instagram Mike on LinkedIn Mike on Twitter  

When Brandon was just 3-years-old when he was diagnosed as a Juvenile Type 1 Diabetic. Brandon's journey with Diabetes is a survivor’s story. Growing to become a brittle diabetic, he underwent 9 surgeries, lost a kidney, told that death was imminent, and raised over $250,000 to pay out-of-pocket for a life-saving pancreas-only transplant.Growing up on an egg ranch in Southern California, he went on to receive degrees in Theology, Education, and History. He went on to do missionary work and teach high school social studies. He earned a law degree, interned at the Department of State, and worked as a law clerk before my body started shutting down. Brandon is now embarking on a new chapter in his life. Which includes a book about how he overcame the impossible, motivational speaking, blogging, and using his story and experiences as a resource.THIS IS THE STORY OF BRANDON MOUWWATCH BRANDON'S STORY ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/gHFzdDsaRVISUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR6-YTo3kWQbxTUDp07hnBA?sub_confirmation=1LISTEN TO MORE STORIES ON BTYS: https://backtoyourstory.buzzsprout.comFOLLOW BACK TO YOUR STORY ON SOCIAL MEDIA:• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR6-YTo3kWQbxTUDp07hnBA• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/backtoyourstory• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/backtoyourstory• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/backtoyourstoryVISIT OUR WEBSITE: www.BackToYourStory.comFOLLOW BRANDON'S STORY:• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonmouwofficial/?hl=en• Website: https://brandonmouw.comWEEKLY GIVEAWAYS! ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

Tonight, my special guest is Diane Marger Moore who is the first ever prosecutor to obtain a conviction for murder without a body in the state of Indiana.Purchase her book here: https://bit.ly/BUYINCONVENIENCEGONEEnjoy "Ad- Free" editions and get access to archived podcasts, bonus editions right from your Apple Podcast App and many others! https://www.patreon.com/mysteriousradio/Where is Brandon Sims? The four-year-old had not been seen since July 3, 1992, when he attended a birthday party with his twenty-year-old mother, Michelle Jones. Jones was employed, confident, talented, smart, assertive and involved in many community activities in Indianapolis, Indiana. In contrast, when he was last seen, Brandon Sims, an only child, was a serious, quiet, thin boy who rarely maintained eye contact with his mother. After that night, he was never seen again. His body has never been found. For years Jones lied to her friends about Brandon, telling some that he was living with his father and others that he was staying with his grandmother in another state. When Brandon’s father, who had been in jail, came looking for Brandon, Michelle’s shocked friends confronted her. She confessed that Brandon was dead. She repeated her story of how Brandon died to a detective, after she admitted herself to the local psych unit. Days later she checked out of the unit and refused to reveal where he had hidden Brandon’s body. She was sure she had gotten away with murder.And she would have except the detective didn’t believe her story. He enlisted the help of a novice prosecutor because no experienced prosecutor would take the case. In Indiana, no one had ever been convicted of murder without a body. That prosecutor has written a book that reads like a mystery novel instead of the real murder prosecution. Truth is stranger than fiction where Santeria curses, the law and politics are only a few of obstacles to justice.Support the show (http://www.patreon.com/mysteriousradio)

Brandon Straza founded American Option Insurance in 2011 after spending over a decade in both the financial services and insurance industries. He was born in Decatur, Illinois, where he attended Millikin University, graduating in 2000 with a degree in business finance. When Brandon's not running American Option Insurance, he's engineering several other projects and spending time with his wife, Angela, their son Liam, and their goldendoodle, Veil Olivia. They're active in the community and their neighborhood. On This Episode: Brandon reflects on being told by a teacher that he would never amount to much. Learn how Brandon developed the idea that he didn't want to work for someone. Hear helpful tips for building strong relationships with customers. Brandon explains the genesis of “The Naked Agent.” Key Takeaways: Learn all the ways people say no so you can find a reason to make them say yes. Listen to tone and watch facial expressions. Find a positive emotional connection with your prospects. Tweetable Quotes: “The word ‘no' is such a driving force.” “When people have experiences, you should always take advantage of learning from them.” Brandon Straza https://www.americanoig.com/ (https://www.americanoig.com/) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mastermind-effect/id1524511812 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mastermind-effect/id1524511812)

Tonight, my special guest is Diane Marger Moore who is the first ever prosecutor to obtain a conviction for murder without a body in the state of Indiana.Purchase her book here: https://bit.ly/BUYINCONVENIENCEGONEWhere is Brandon Sims? The four-year-old had not been seen since July 3, 1992, when he attended a birthday party with his twenty-year-old mother, Michelle Jones. Jones was employed, confident, talented, smart, assertive and involved in many community activities in Indianapolis, Indiana. In contrast, when he was last seen, Brandon Sims, an only child, was a serious, quiet, thin boy who rarely maintained eye contact with his mother. After that night, he was never seen again. His body has never been found. For years Jones lied to her friends about Brandon, telling some that he was living with his father and others that he was staying with his grandmother in another state. When Brandon’s father, who had been in jail, came looking for Brandon, Michelle’s shocked friends confronted her. She confessed that Brandon was dead. She repeated her story of how Brandon died to a detective, after she admitted herself to the local psych unit. Days later she checked out of the unit and refused to reveal where he had hidden Brandon’s body. She was sure she had gotten away with murder.And she would have except the detective didn’t believe her story. He enlisted the help of a novice prosecutor because no experienced prosecutor would take the case. In Indiana, no one had ever been convicted of murder without a body. That prosecutor has written a book that reads like a mystery novel instead of the real murder prosecution. Truth is stranger than fiction where Santeria curses, the law and politics are only a few of obstacles to justice.

When Brandon and I were engaged, a lot of things went sideways. We had work issues, mental health challenges, and needed a new wedding venue less than three months before our wedding. We dealt with a lot during our engagement and I know if you're engaged right now you're dealing with a lot WITHOUT a pandemic thrown in the mix - and now you're dealing with that, too. This episode is a bit of encouragement to keep going and some practical advice on how to deal with different difficulties that might show up in your engagement, like adjusting your wedding plans, talking through the hot button topics on a deeper level, and how to go about discernment as a couple before you're married.  Resources Mentioned Four Horsemen in conflict discussion from the Gottman Institute Spiritual Warfare and the Discernment of Spirits by Dan Burke Ways to Support the Show  Check out the Becoming Gold Shop for reminders of the beauty in refinement for your home ♥️ Leave a rating and a review to help others hear about the show, too. Take a screenshot of you listening to this episode and tag me @lauraannesmid so I can see you tuning in!  

After studying at Tisch School of the Arts in New York, Brandon David Cole set a goal of writing and directing three feature films by the time he was 30. Not only did he hit that goal, but his three indie features, which he also produced and edited, all sold for distribution!Brandon David Cole started his filmmaking career making BMX videos at age 14 with his dad’s 2-piece VHS camera. Eventually filmmaking became more of a focus than BMX riding for Brandon and he found himself at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts Film & Television program.After graduation from NYU, Brandon wrote, directed and produced 3 independent feature films, all of which were sold for distribution. He has directed several television commercials and music videos, and edited a long list of reality television shows for MTV, VH1, Discovery, Spike, Speed, MSNBC, G4, Style and E!.Brandon has made his own dollies, jibs, car mounts other support gear for all three of his feature films, working with machinist friends to create custom rigs. When Brandon bought a Canon 7D DSLR camera and asked his neighbor to build him a shoulder rig in his machine shop, the Midas Mount brand of camera support was born.In addition to running the camera support brand Midas Mount, Brandon continues to write, produce and direct feature films, documentaries and reality television shows.For more information about Brandon’s support gear, including the new SnapFocus, go to http://www.midasmount.com.Follow Brandon on Twitter: @MidasMount.Buy Gray’s book for only $4.99! Look for it on Amazon – How To Break In To TV Writing: Insider Interviews.Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,200 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.First published May 17, 2012.

Today I spoke with Brandon about overcoming fear to chase down your dreams. When Brandon discovered a vision for his future he didn't let "No" or fear stop him from achieving his dreams and goals.

Brandon is a trained and credentialed mental health and relationship therapist. Brandon's private practice exploded when he got his Google Maps listing on the first page of Google. He became a Google Maps nerd and now helps other therapists and business owners kill it with Google Maps. When Brandon isn't seeing patients or helping others with Google Maps he's spending time with his Wife, son and twin girls.

When Brandon went to a local government organization for parenting resources, he found nothing for fathers. As a young, black man with 3 sons he decided something needed to be done. The Black Daddies Club was born. Life hasn't always been easy for Brandon. His father was murdered by a young boy, who was also murdered 2 weeks later. The detective told him, this occurs regularly. Breaking this cycle is so important, and the community Brandon is building is tremendous. Listen in as we discuss the important of male role models, masculinity, race, and the importance of community. www.theblackdaddiesclub.com Subscribe and review the show!  Join the Actidad family: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Actidad/ www.actidad.com

After a full day of funnel hacking over 300+ funnels, I want to walk you through what funnel hacking is again and make sure you’re doing it right. On this episode Russell talks about the difference between stealing and pulling inspiration while building funnels. Here are some of the interesting things to look forward to in this episode: Why copying is stealing, but modeling and taking inspiration is not. How taking inspiration from several different sources and not copying anything is exactly is the proper way to funnel hack. And what Brendon Burchard said about how he avoids accidentally taking other people’s ideas. So listen here to find out the difference in the right way to funnel hack, and the wrong way to funnel hack. ---Transcript--- What’s up everybody? This is Russell Brunson, welcome back to the Marketing Secrets podcast. Today, once again I am marketing in my Tesla and it makes me laugh because all my Tesla listening followers all messaged me yesterday congratulating me on my Tesla, so thank you. Now I know who you all are. With that said, let’s jump into the theme song, and then come back. I got something fun to share with you. Alright so yesterday was so much fun. Yesterday was funnel hacking day, but not like a normal funnel hacking day. It was like an intense, expensive funnel hacking day. So I’m working on, we have an event this summer called unlock the secrets, it’s for all my Two Comma Club X coaching members and my inner circle members and also their families. So it’s the first time I’ve ever done an event where parents and children can come. So it’s going to be really, really fun. There’s a lot of work going into it. But one thing I wanted to do as I’m teaching different funnels and things like that, is I wanted some examples and swipe files. I’ve been building out the swipe file in trello with all my favorite funnels in there. And I’ve been doing kind of slowly for a little while and yesterday I was like I’m going to spend the whole day and go hardcore on this. So I basically, in trello you can have different columns and then in the column has different cards. So I made a column for every funnel type. So it’s like Lead Funnels, Cart Funnels, Book Funnels, Presentation Funnels, Via Cell Funnels, Challenge Funnels, all the different types of funnels. Then underneath there I made a card for every funnel I like. And then I would go and in the past I’ve taken screen shots of here’s page one, page two, page three, so you can kind of see them really easily in this trello board. So what I did yesterday is I recruited two people on my team to help make this possible. I had Melanie who became the funnel purchaser, the funnel buyer, and then Leon who became the funnel screen shotter. So what happened is I would go through and find my favorite funnel, I’d post the front page link in a new trello, and then Melanie would go in and she would go through and buy it and buy everything, and then get the links for every single page in the funnel, post them inside of trello. And then Leon comes behind her and takes screen shots of every single page and posts them in there. And it’s been interesting because typically I geek out on funnels. I’ll want to funnel hack something and I’ll buy two funnels and it’ll take me the entire day because I’m reading everything, and looking at and studying and nerding out. But Melanie, she’s immune to funnels so far. We’re working on her, but as of today she’s definitely immune to funnels. So she just buys without thinking twice. She just goes to the pages and I think conservatively she spent over $10,000 in funnels yesterday. There was one offer where she’s like, “This is a $5000 offer. You want me to buy that?” I’m like, “Nah, let’s don’t buy that one, but buy all the rest.’ So I’m going to be getting in the mail this week thousands of rand-o things. From nail polish, to kidnapping board game kits, to anyway, so many random funnels. So much fun. So anyway, that’s kind of what’s been happening. But with that said, we were able to funnel hack yesterday, probably about 300 or so funnels. And the ones I loaded in there are probably close to a thousand now. So I’m done for the day, she’s going to be going in there and keep on funnel hacking and then Leon’s going to be taking pictures, and then we’ll have this huge data base of every amazing funnel that I love, the pictures and the screen shots, and it’s going to be so much fun. So I am pumped and excited and I cannot wait to get all the weird crap in the mail over the next week or two, of what we actually bought. So that’s kind of fun. A couple of things I want to talk about. Number one is funnel hacking. I’m curious how many of you guys actually still funnel hack. It was interesting, I went to my Two Comma Club X member’s and I said, “Hey, I want you guys to submit funnels that you look at, your favorite funnels so I can go and funnel hack them.” And I got a lot of really, really good ones back from a very few amount of people, which made me think for most of them, they haven’t been funnel hacking. They don’t know what funnels they like. How are you supposed to create something if you don’t know what you like? I know exactly, when people are like, when I have my bat meetings with my team, I’m like, “Okay, we’re going to build a funnel.” They’re like, “Cool, what do you want it to look like?” I’m like, “I want it to look like this one and this one, with a twist of this one, and a little bit of this one.” I don’t just create from scratch. That’s what morons do. Come on you guys. If you want to, this is art. There’s a book I just bought the other day that said like, actually I don’t know the title. The title is something like, “Great Artists Steal.” And I haven’t read the book yet, so I don’t know exactly what it says, but I’m assuming it has something to do with that, right. We don’t create from scratch, we look at a whole bunch of examples of amazingness and then we build something off the back of that. So it kind of blew my mind that there was only, I don’t know, maybe a dozen people that had any funnels to even post out of a group of almost a thousand people. I’m like, this is so crazy to me that nobody’s been funnel hacking. Nobody’s got like their favorite funnels, like at queue. I have links to all my funnels so that when I’m building something I can get inspiration. I say, okay I’m doing a webinar. Let me look at like 10, 15, or 20 different webinar funnels as I’m building this one out to get ideas for looks, color pallets, ideas, hooks, headlines, and ways they did things, and how they did the call to action, and all those kind of things. I’m doing a squeeze funnel or a lead page funnel, or a lead funnel, whatever you want to call it, to generate leads. I look at a dozen or two or three dozen to get ideas. I think a lot of times what happens is that, and this is the borderline between funnel hacking and stealing and this drives me crazy. For example, we launched the Expert Secrets book. And I took inspiration from like 50 different funnels to build that one. I spent a ton of time and energy. Same thing with the copy, I studied a whole bunch of free plus shipping book funnels and things like that to get ideas for the hooks and the angles and the copy. I did all this research and I plugged it in and we built this amazing funnel. And within an hour of us doing it, I see all these people like, ‘I funnel hacked Russell’s funnel. Here’s the share funnel link.” And they’re giving away my exact funnel with the same colors and the same everything. And I’m like, you missed it. Funnel hacking is not, look at something and then copy it exactly. That’s not how this works. Now there’s like 800 people with a funnel that looks exactly like mine. So what am I doing? I’m re-changing it. The reason why we spend time on a funnel, a funnel I’m modeling stuff. I’m looking for proven things in a funnel. Like layout, structure, concepts, I’m looking for those things when I’m funnel hacking. I’m not stealing word for word, stealing the colors, stealing the headline, which for some reason that’s what people think funnel hacking is and it’s not. That’s illegal and immoral and evil and bad, and that’s not what I’m talking about. Funnel hacking is about looking at a whole bunch of stuff and pulling inspiration. I heard somebody once say that if you copy from one person it’s plagiarism, but if you copy a whole bunch of people it’s research. That’s my belief on it. You’re looking at a whole bunch of stuff and then creating your own from that. I’m looking at all these different ideas as inspiration to model, but then I go and create something new, something better. And this is one of the main reasons why that’s so important. It’s because marketing is all about pattern interrupts. Do you guys understand this? The reason why something works really good is because there’s the pattern and then I come and interrupt that pattern. So you’re on facebook scrolling through the thing, and it’s like for example, meme videos. I remember when meme videos first came out like two years ago. Nobody was doing them, and Brandon and Kaelin were one of the first to really do it and hit it hard, and their meme videos were killing it. And then guess what happened? Everybody saw their meme videos and they’re like, “Oh meme videos.” And then their software came out and they’re like, “We create meme videos.” And it blew up and now everybody on the planet has meme videos and guess what happens? When Brandon and Kaelin came out they interrupted the pattern. They shifted it and everyone saw it and they’re like, “What is this?” and they captured their attention so they clicked on it. But then when everybody does it, you’re not interrupting the pattern, it becomes the pattern. It becomes the pattern and then it doesn’t work anymore. The same thing with hand sketched videos. Vince Palko was the dude who did the very first hand sketched video online, he did it for Mike Geary in the fitness space for Truth about Ads. And he did this video and I saw the stats about six months later. I was at a mastermind retreat with Mike Geary and he’s like, ‘Hey, yeah, Vince Palko’s the dude who hand sketched my sales video and look at the conversion.” And it was like 300% increase in conversion, something crazy. I think it was higher than that. But it was this huge increase. And I was like, “Oh my gosh.” And that was the first one I’d seen. And then what happened? Everyone in the fitness industry is like, “Ah, new videos.{inaudible}” and all the sudden the next thing you new, every single video the fitness space was a hand sketched video. But I saw Geary’s first so I contacted Vince and I’m like, “Hey, I want to do one in my market.” Because no one had done it yet, right. So there was a pattern of like, everyone was doing these Power Point VSL’s and it became the pattern so everyone was doing it, so it stopped working, and stopped becoming effective. So I was like, “I want to do the interrupt.” So I hired Vince to do a hand sketched video for us, for the original Dotcom Secrets Local webinar. We used that, and boom, it became the pattern interrupt and it worked so good. And that was the funnel, man, if you guys have heard my One Funnel Away story, that was the funnel that got me out of the brinks of bankruptcy and gave me the ability to pay off the IRS and a bunch of other craziness, because it was the pattern interrupt that grabbed people like, “What is this?” and it worked. But then, guess what happened? Everyone’s like, “Oh look what Russell’s doing.” And they all got hand sketched videos and now it became the pattern and then it doesn’t work nearly as effectively. So what you’re looking at with funnel hacking is you’re looking at the pattern. And there’s elements of the pattern that are essential. So understand that this is the model, this is the structure, this is the layout, this is the flow, this is how it works. Then your job as the artist, as the marketer, say, “Okay, this is the pattern. How do I interrupt it?” and the interrupt can be something as simple as the headline, a color tweak, a way you do your video, things like that.  If you saw the affiliatebootcamp.com you guys notice the pattern interrupt there. It’s literally almost the same concept as 30days.com. You look at both pages and you’re like, “Oh, these pages look almost the same.” I funnel hacked myself. In fact, if you look at the funnel structure, it’s literally the same. The upsell flow, everything is the same. But we needed a different hook because that’s a pattern interrupt. So affiliate boot camp versus 30days, it’s a different hook. Then I needed a different, obviously the color pallet is different. One’s blue and everything, and the other one is green and more army like. But then I needed an interrupt for the video. If the video was the same, I sat in the same spots, said the same words, said the same thing, it wouldn’t work. So I gotta interrupt the pattern. So what I do then is I did the video with the cards. So if you go to affiliatebootcamp.com and look at the top you’ll notice I did these cards, and it’s a pattern interrupt and it’s killing it right now. And I guarantee what’s going to happen is all of you guys are going to do card videos now, so there’s going to be a million of them and it won’t work anymore. But I interrupted the pattern with that thing. So what your job to do as a marketer, when you’re funnel hacking and you’re looking at stuff, is you’re looking at stuff not just in your lens of like,  ‘I’m a dentist, therefore I will look at other dental funnels.” Look at all these funnels in different markets and see it. Guess how I got the idea for the hand sketched videos. A couple of years ago my wife and I were watching YouTube flipping through stuff and we saw this kid with his hand, with these cards. And I was like, “That’s interesting.’ I clicked play and started watching it. And it was this kid telling a story about how he was dying and he told his whole story through cards. He didn’t say a word, just held up card after card. And I sat there, it was like a 25 or 30 minute video. And I watched the whole thing with my wife and we bawled our eyes out, and I think the kid ended up dying and this video had gone crazy viral. And I was like in this emotional state where I was like, I sat there for 30 minutes waiting to see, reading each card to pull me through the story. And I was like, “That is powerful.” And that night I was just like emotionally messed up. And the next morning I woke up and I said, “Holy cow, look how that triggered me.” I had to read the whole thing and I couldn’t stop reading it. So that day, literally that day I was like, “That is a pattern interrupt.” So we did our very first hand card video, which also happened to be for affiliatebootcamp.com, but it was one from 8 years ago, whenever we did the original one. And after that time, a whole bunch of people knocked me off, did hand card videos, and then I stopped and then everybody else forgot about it. And then we brought it back. So the other thing nice about pattern interrupts is you, something that is the interrupt, then it becomes the pattern, then people forget about it, then it becomes an interrupt again in the future. Anyway, so that’s, I want you guys just understanding these concepts of funnel hacking. So often we think it’s just “Oh I must find a funnel, I will copy it.” No, that is not what I said ever, ever, ever. That is unethical, immoral and wrong. And it’s stupid too because it’s not going to make you more money. It’s looking at the pattern, so I find the funnels that work and looking at the pattern. I keep the structure of the pattern. I keep the structure so it’s like, I know this layout works. The logo here, the button here, the box here, the structure will remain the same. But now I gotta come in and add my art. So I’m changing color pallets, changing things like that. I change the copy, and then I’m looking for a pattern interrupt. So what is it? Is it hand sketch videos, card videos, no video, different headline, a bold headline, a picture of me flexing in my mankini? I don’t know. I would never do that. But something that becomes the pattern interrupt.Every single ad is an interrupt. I saw Dean Graziosi with his book a while ago, lighting his book on fire and I was like, “oh my gosh, that’s a pattern interrupt. He did it in his market, which is like personal development, I’m going to do it in the marketing nerd market.” So I lit my book on fire, and that ad did awesome for a long time. It worked. And now, that one didn’t catch on.  No wonder you guys wouldn’t burn your product, which is probably good. I do know Stephen Larsen last week, went and blew up his product, it was crazy. You’ll see it soon in a funnel, I’m sure. But do you guys get what I’m saying though? Anyway, I love funnel hacking, it’s really, really fun. But it’s not stealing. It’s getting ideas to pull inspiration from. So when I know the next time I’m pulling a webinar, I log into my trello board, I look at the 400 webinars I funnel hacked and I start looking at the images. I’m looking for ideas, I’m looking for patterns, and I don’t do it where I open up the screen and then I open up Clickfunnels next to it, and I’m like copying. I don’t do it that way because it’s plagiarism. In fact, I was talking to Brendon Burchard, it was interesting. He said that when he has an event coming up, “I can’t listen to any Tony Robbins thing for at least 6 months before my event happens because I get heavily influenced. I’ll hear Tony saying stuff and I’ll like it. And I’ll be onstage talking and all the sudden this thing will come out and it’s like, ugh, that was Tony’s thing. That was not my thing. I know that how our brains work, is that we model and we see things we like to pull inspiration. If I listen to Tony too closely to stepping onstage, then I start saying Tony things and that’s not what I want. I want this to be my stuff so I have to stop listening to it.” And it’s the same thing with funnel hacking. I don’t open up, you know, Jim Edward’s webinar funnel and copy thing for thing for thing. Because then I’m copying and it’s not going to work. And it’s just like a not cool thing to do. Instead what I do is I go back and say “Okay, let me look at 5, 10, 15..” I look at all these things and I get ideas, I get inspiration and then I close the board, and then I start building something. Now I’m not copying anything, but I’m pulling inspiration. I did a bunch of research ahead of time, and now I’m like, “OH I remember this part. I liked that. And I like this and I like this.” And now I create something new, genuinely new. And that is how you grow in your market. That’s how funnel hacking can and should be used. So I hope that helps. Alright, well I’ve been in my Tesla driving around in circles for the last 14 minutes as I’ve been talking with you guys. So I’m going to go drive to the office now and get started because funnel hacking day is done and today I gotta be working on the Traffic Secrets book. I have to get chapter four done today. It’s halfway done. I have to get done today or else I will be beaten by my publisher who gave me a deadline. It also is crazy, this is the first time I’ve used like a traditional publisher and they, it was so funny because we did the whole book deal, and I didn’t read the contract because I’m not a contract guy, but I had Dave read through it and then Dave came over he’s like, “Did you know they’re giving you an advance?” I’m like, “What’s an advance?” He’s like, “That’s where they pay you before you write the book.” I was like, “Really? That’s the coolest thing ever.” Anyway, so I asked them, I was like, “This is cool.” He’s like, “Yeah, well most people they take the advance so that way they can take a year off and write a book. You’re kind of insane because you’re running a business and a million other things. But we…” oh, my kids turned on the whoopee cushion fart on the Tesla. That’s not me farting, that’s the whoopee cushion turn signal. Oh my Tesla drivers know what I’m talking about. That is embarrassing. Anyway, my kids are dead to me now. What was I talking about? They gave me this advance, right. So that was pretty cool. And they send me this money and I’m like, “This is awesome.” And then with that it’s like the chains, it’s like, “We gave you money, here’s your deadline.” I’m like, “What?” Anyway, it’s kind of funny. So I gotta write my book because I contractually have to now. But I’m also excited. And this turned out really good. I spent a lot of time in the RV on the way to Lake Powell last week and on the way home writing. My wife is amazing, she drove while I was typing it up. And man, it’s coming along really, really good. At the end of chapter four I’ll be done with the first section, which is, I’m excited for it. Alright, that’s all I got. I hope you guys are doing amazing. And I will talk to you all again soon. Bye everybody.

When Brandon left his corporate job to become an entrepreneur, he quickly realized he needed to start investing in himself to grow fast enough to succeed. He needed to learn from others that came before him. Networking is key to that, which is why for this Freestyle Friday Brandon’s diving into the fascinating world of Masterminds. In this episode, Brandon recounts his experiences attending Masterminds, and networking events, and reveals what you’ll get out of his own upcoming Mastermind. The Finer Details of This Episode: Why anyone looking to market their business should work with a marketing coach as a first step. Breaking down what Masterminds are and how they’ve benefitted Brandon over the course of his marketing career. How Masterminds is the ideal alternative to the styles of networking Brandon ordinarily dislikes. To sign up for Brandon’s own upcoming Mastermind, join our Brand Growth Now Facebook community or apply directly at http://www.BrandsOnBrandsOnBrands.com/apply.  Quotes: “No matter how you got here I’m glad your path somehow led you to me.” “It’s essential to have a tribe of people that you can trust and lean on.” “I wanted to give back in a way that was similar to what I got.” “Get out there, conquer your dreams, build your brands.” Links:   Visit Brandon’s website at www.BrandsOnBrandsOnBrands.com Join the Brand Growth Now Community on Facebook at www.brandonbrands.com/community And please leave a rating and review on iTunes!

When Brandon was at the Thrive: Make Money Matter conference this past weekend, he heard some of the presenters speak on the subject of businesses that are neither for-profit nor nonprofit, rather “for-purpose,” managing both the financial growth of the former with the altruism in the latter. Traditional nonprofit organizations do very important work, but they’re ultimately limited by how many donations they receive. For-purpose businesses take the best of both worlds and create something even greater. In this episode, Brandon discusses the how and the why of a for-purpose business, relates his recent encounters with a couple of listeners, and explains how he’s using this show as a means to bring a little extra good into the world. The Finer Details of This Episode: What does it mean to build a “for-purpose” business? Brandon thanks those listeners who’ve left reviews and tracks Brands on Brands on Brands’ rise through the charts. Why you shouldn’t be ashamed of having low viewership so early in the game. Which two “mystery listeners” Brandon had the chance to chat about the show with. What you’re eligible for if you sign up for Brandon’s coaching before this Sunday (June 9). How you can use your business as a tool for good, and how Brandon specifically is giving back using his coaching. A couple of key pieces of advice that Brandon took back from Thrive.  Quotes: “If you build a business—an engine that can generate money—you can use that money for good.” “How are you gonna do something that touches people and is built around more than protecting your lifestyle and those few things that you want to accomplish in life?” “This is long term for me. I’m investing in this and this will be here long after I’m gone.” “What can you do to use your business as a tool to advocate for that cause that you already care deeply about.” “I know what I have to offer, I know that I can help people, and I hope you guys see that and appreciate that.” Links:   Visit Brandon’s website at www.BrandsOnBrandsOnBrands.com Join the Brand Growth Community on Facebook at www.brandonbrands.com/community And please leave a rating and review on iTunes!

Are you interested in being a media maven of the 21st century? Then you will definitely want to listen to this second chapter in our two-part series on how to be famous in the “New Showbiz.” In the previous episode we talked about the old showbiz vs. the New Showbiz, and we looked at the opportunities that exist for content creators today. In this episode, we talk about the specific mindsets, strategies, and tactics needed to build a successful online media platform today. This episode is a different from the rest. It’s focused on becoming a star and it’s more information packed than usual. When Brandon refers to “becoming a star,” he doesn’t mean fame for fame’s sake. He means making a valuable contribution to the world through your unique gifts and scaling it up.   (IMPORTANT: If being a star online is your goal, I highly encourage you to check out the premium, full-length version of this episode for free at https://dreamstermedia.com/NewShowbiz.) If stardom isn’t your thing, this episode still has valuable information for anyone looking to make a living online. We also examine the career of Clay Travis, who was a forerunner in the New Showbiz and who built a career as one of the most dominant figures in sports media. To learn more about the the Season 1 guests, click here. For full show notes, click here. Episode Highlights, Lowlights and Takeaways: Clay Travis’s world-famous pudding strike Picking the right audience (premium version only) How to be polarizing Overcoming fear of public speaking (premium version only) Building an audience Maximizing a launch (premium only) Tips from successful show makers Takeaways from Brandon’s past failures How and when to monetize Leeeroyyyy Jeeeenkiinnns!!   I encourage you to check out the free, premium version of this episode with additional strategies and resources at https://dreamstermedia.com/NewShowbiz. To help the show out, leave a review on iTunes. I love your feedback and I read every review! Good reviews also help the show’s visibility among the hundreds of thousands on iTunes.

Show Summary: (Full Transcript Below) In partnership with State Services for the Blind of Minnesota we are proud to present, PACER Center - Champions for Children with Disabilities.  Barb and Kate sit down with Jeff Thompson of Blind Abilities in the sixth of a series of podcasts in partnership with PACER Center and State Services for the Blind. You can find the entire PACER Center series here. Barb talks about her role as Co-Director of the National Parent Center on Transition and Employment and her experiences in advocacy that led her to PACER Center. Kate shares her experiences from her journey through her kids transition from youth into adulthood. What worked and where she found answers. Join Barb, Kate and Jeff in this informative podcast about how PACER Center, State Services for the Blind and others played a role in the success of not only their kids transition into college, the work place and independence, but how Barb and Kate too, made the transition themselves in part by letting them grow. From the web: PACER Center enhances the quality of life and expands opportunities for children, youth, and young adults with all disabilities and their families, so each person can reach his or her highest potential. PACER operates on the principles of parents helping parents, supporting families, promoting a safe environment for all children, and working in collaboration with others. With assistance to individual families, workshops, materials for parents and professionals, and leadership in securing a free and appropriate public education for all children, PACER's work affects and encourages families in Minnesota and across the nation. Contacts: You can find out more about PACER Center on the web at www.pacer.org You can reach pACER Center by phone at 952-838-9000 You can find out more about State Services for the Blind on the web at www.MN.Gov/Deed/SSB And by calling 651-539-2300 Live Learn Work and Play Thank you for listening! You can follow us on Twitter @BlindAbilities On the web at www.BlindAbilities.com Send us an email Get the Free Blind Abilities Appon the App Store. Full Transcript: PACER Center: Letting Them Grow – Transitioning from Youth to Adulthood - A Conversation with Parents Barb Ziemke and Kate Reinicke Jeff Thompson: State Services for the Blind of Minnesota presents PACER Center, champions for children with disabilities. This episode focuses on a parent's perspective of the transition period from youth to adulthood. We feature to speakers today. We have Barb Ziemke. She's the co-director of the National Parent Center on Transition and Employment. Also joining us is Kate Reinicke. She's the parent of three children with visual impairments. You can find out more about PACER Center and the National Parent Center on Transition and Employment on the web at www.PACER.org. Kate Reinicke: Have high expectations. Your kids can handle it. If they can't, you make an adjustment. Barb Ziemke: Desire to have my son included and to have meaningful experiences and not to be misunderstood or for people to judge his potential on the basis of assumptions. Kate Reinicke: Then after that it was taking care of. I didn't have to worry about it anymore. This was something he was handling. Barb Ziemke: Letting grow as a concept for young adults, especially those with challenges that do make this transition more challenging, as opposed to letting go. Kate Reinicke: Everyone was there with the same purpose. We all need information, we all want information, we all want to know how can we navigate this together. Everybody's there to help out. Jeff Thompson: Realizing the possibilities. Kate Reinicke: The blind abilities and possibilities. Jeff Thompson: Welcome to Blind Abilities. I'm Jeff Thompson. I'm at the PACER Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. Today I'm joined by Barb Ziemke. How are you doing? Barb Ziemke: I'm doing great. Thanks so much for being here today. Jeff Thompson: Barb, can you tell us a little about PACER Center and yourself? Barb Ziemke: Sure. PACER Center is Minnesota's parent training and information center that receives some funding under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to help families navigate special education, students on 504 Plans, any individual with a disability who requires support or services or accommodations. Barb Ziemke: PACER is here to provide information in family-friendly kinds of language to interpret the language or the law to language that helps families be the best advocate they can be to get what their students need to succeed. We like to support high expectations and help families know about the possibilities so that they don't feel alone on the journey. I like to say PACER tries to give both help and hope. Jeff Thompson: Well, that's great. How about a little bit about yourself? Barb Ziemke: Well, I came to PACER 17 years ago. I am the parent of two children: my daughter, Kristen, and then her younger brother, Brandon. When Brandon was born, he had an unspecific developmental disability with global developmental issues, including he has hearing only on one side and very poor fine motor skills and a variety of challenges, including intellectual disability. Barb Ziemke: As a parent, it just threw me for a loop. My background is education, but I didn't know anything really about disability or about special education, and so I dove head first into being involved in some local efforts to include families as much as possible in both policy and practices for helping young children with disabilities really have inclusive educations that led to great outcomes. Barb Ziemke: I lifelong have been an advocate for children, but when Brandon was in about seventh grade, I remember thinking, "I think I finally know what I'm doing around advocating as a parent within the education system. I wonder if there's any kind of job out there where you could help other families who maybe don't have a background in education or don't have the family support that I have, or maybe they don't speak English as their first language or they have a disability themselves." I thought of PACER and, fortunately, they had a job opening, and I became an advocate. Barb Ziemke: My primary role here for 15 years was as a special education advocate. Then a few years ago, PACER really realized that it's not enough to get students through school because the big challenge often is what some people call the transition cliff, when you have to make that transition into adulthood. We started the National Parent Center on Transition and Employment to support families and young adults as they launch into adulthood. I am co-directing that project along with our transition team here. We've partnered with State Services for the Blind for the last couple of years to provide more support for the pre-employment transition services, especially as it relates to family engagement in that process. Jeff Thompson: Well, you've done a good job with that. Let me go back a little bit. When you first realized that you had to start advocating, what feeling was that? Was it empty or were you lost? Barb Ziemke: Well, the first feeling was being overwhelmed and a bit scared. Mainly it stemmed, for me, and every parent is different, but I don't deal well with the unknown. I'm a researcher, I'm an information person. Because Brandon didn't have a specific diagnosis and his early prognosis was we're not sure if he'll ever walk, talk, be independent, it was difficult to figure out how to proceed when I didn't have any good idea of what the end might be. To plan with the end in mind when you don't know what the end could be was really daunting. Barb Ziemke: I had an older daughter, and although none of us can predict the future, I had basic expectations for her that were similar to my own life trajectory. Now I assumed she'd graduate from school, go to college, probably get married someday. Now I had Brandon, and I was supposed to make sure he got what he needed, but no one could give me a clear picture of where we were headed. Initially, it was pretty overwhelming. Jeff Thompson: Taking that experience, you brought that to PACER Center once you found them. Barb Ziemke: Exactly, because I remember what it was like. I also remember so much that desire to have my son included and to have meaningful experiences and not to be misunderstood or for people to judge his potential on the basis of assumptions. That drove my advocacy because I found that although the professionals who came alongside us were wonderful and we couldn't have accomplished what we did without them, that the parent voice was pivotal because other people can't care as much and they don't know as much. We are the experts on our kids. Barb Ziemke: It's just really drove what I do here at PACER because I really feel like if parents don't know how important they are in their role and if they don't have the support they need, that young people won't do as well. At the core of all this, I really care about youth and children success. Jeff Thompson: Oh, great. It's a great thing that PACER is doing. There's other parents that come here for the same thing now as you did. Barb Ziemke: That's right. Those parents who don't become a professional staff advocate, the families that come to our workshops and use our resources online, it's training to be the best advocate they can be as well as to help support them in helping their youth and young adult to be the best self-advocate they can be and to make this transition as families with some supports during the process. Jeff Thompson: One of those parents we have here today. Barb Ziemke: I'm so thankful that Kate Reinicke has joined us today. Kate and her husband participated in a workshop and a focus group for us. One of the things that I personally have found really challenging as the parent of a young person with a disability was this process that we're supposed to be engaged in of consistently letting go, and especially as we reach the transition years, I would hear from many professionals, "Barb, you just really need to start letting go." Barb Ziemke: I have to say that for me that phrase early was a little bit like in my face, a little bit too much. I thought, "You have no idea why I'm concerned the way I am about this and the legitimacy of those concerns." At our house, we're big fans of Charles Schulz. When I thought about letting go, the visual image I got was like I'm flying the kite and the kite is up now and I'm supposed to let go. Then I think of Charlie Brown's kite in the tree and the string all wound around the branches and I'm thinking, "There's no way I'm letting go of this kite." Barb Ziemke: Over the years, I don't know where I heard the phrase ... It's out there, other people use it ... "letting grow" as a concept for young adults, especially those with challenges that do make this transition more challenging as opposed to letting go. I found that when I looked at it that way, I could see more of a role for me. It wasn't just an, "Okay, I'm done now," it was, "How do I cultivate some soil? How do we find an environment that's appropriate for this kind of seed? What can we do to support growth in collaboration with professionals and others? Then place our young person there and back off a bit and let growth occur." Barb Ziemke: Over the years, I've learned that the hard way. Sometimes I haven't let grow as much as I needed to. If people are listening to this who know me, I pretty much kill all the plants I try to grow, so it's not the best analogy. I did a little research, though, about growing and the two things I found really interesting were that the size of the pot is really essential, that if the pot is too small, you'll stunt their growth of their roots. If there's not enough space around the plant on the top of the soil, the plant can't grow. Barb Ziemke: I just, as a parent, I could see that what my role was going to be was make sure that we had increasingly larger pots and that I gave increasingly more space. Really, as I talk to families, I like to try to help them envision the growth process more than the letting go at this point; although, of course, you're always, as parents, letting go. That's part of what we do. Barb Ziemke: As I was thinking about doing this as part of a podcast, my concern was I have the perspective from having worked with families from all different kinds of disabilities. Then my own personal perspective as a parent of someone with a developmental disability and intellectual disability, but I don't know what it's like to parent a son or daughter who has visual impairment or is blind or deaf-blind, and I really wanted that voice to be part of our conversation. Barb Ziemke: I immediately thought of Kate. She had participated in a focus group and I talked with her at a workshop. She and her husband have, I'll let her tell you, more than one child. She has a lot of experience and she's in the middle of it. I'm really thankful that Kate Reinicke agreed to be with us here today. I'd like to introduce you and ask Kate to tell us a little bit about herself. Kate Reinicke: Hello. I'm Kate Reinicke. I'm the parent of three children, all of which have visual impairment. They range in age from 17 to recently 20. Our oldest is a sophomore at North Hennepin Community College. Jeff Thompson: Kate, how did you find PACER? Kate Reinicke: My family, we moved up here in November of 2012. Our middle son is severely autistic. In moving up here, we needed to know what kind of resources and supports were available here. I actually found PACER through a Google search, looking for supports and resources for our middle son in regards to his severe autism. Jeff Thompson: With the visual aspect, did you find State Services for the Blind? Kate Reinicke: Actually, the visual teacher for the blind and visually impaired, TVIs, we have a great set of those in the Anoka-Hennepin School District. They actually got us in touch with State Services for the Blind. We signed up our oldest son at the age of 14. Jeff Thompson: Because that's the age where transition students can apply for services. Kate Reinicke: That's correct. I was surprised that it would be that young. In my mind, transition was graduating from high school and moving on to college or career. To have a child sign up at 14 was a pleasant surprise to think about all the training that they could do in those years leading up to graduation. Jeff Thompson: Some possibilities were opening up. Kate Reinicke: Exactly, the blind abilities and possibilities. Jeff Thompson: Plug. With all those possibilities coming your way, what was it like before that happened? There had to have been some doubt, some confusion, as Barb was mentioning earlier in her situation. Now here we are with the blindness, the visual impairment aspect. What was that like for you? Kate Reinicke: These are actually my stepchildren. Coming in not only as a step-parent but also starting to learn more about our kids' disabilities, we were also in transition about learning what their visual impairment was, what the cause of it was, how severe is it going to get. We learned through the years that it's actually a genetic disorder called Bardet-Biedl syndrome, and it causes the children to have retinitis pigmentosa. With retinitis pigmentosa, I'm sure most of your listeners know, tunnel vision, loss of color vision, and blind spots in your vision. Kate Reinicke: As we're learning more about that, it was very helpful to have the TVIs and State Services for the Blind there to show us that there were already pathways set for kids like ours that, unlike Barb, we weren't starting from scratch. There were programs and resources already in place that they could help us get in contact with. Like Barb said, I'm the type of person that if I'm presented with a problem, I want to know as much as I possibly can so that I can come up with a good solution, so that the more I can learn, the better I feel. Jeff Thompson: What were some of the first solutions that came across your pathway? Kate Reinicke: TVI definitely and working with the IEP process at schools. Jeff Thompson: Did something surprise you? Was there a moment like a wow moment? Kate Reinicke: What I learned with retinitis pigmentosa is that our kids can become virtually blind in low lighting situations. In a lot of cases, I'd never paid attention to that. Going to restaurants and realizing, "Oh, it's actually pretty dark in here. My kids are going to need a sighted guide by holding my elbow," or walking through the hallways of their high school, "This area is really not well lit. This is going to be a problem," but also realizing how much accommodations could be made for our children so that they could succeed, and also getting in touch with BLIND, Inc., where BLIND, Inc. stands for Blindness Learning in New Dimensions and understanding that there are not things that my kids can't do, they just have to do them differently. Jeff Thompson: Yeah. That's a local training center for adults and transition-age students in Minneapolis. Barb Ziemke: Kate, what you just said now just reminds me to the importance of that starting early. Most parents are not thinking about what's going to happen after school at age 14. They're just trying so hard to make school work. I just love that reminder that what you need, though, is several years at least once you've identified what they need to learn the skills to develop. You're learning what accommodations are helpful. You need that time, the technology. Waiting until 18 or 19 will not give you that time. That's one of the things that we try at PACER in our training with families is start earlier than you think you need to. I just really appreciate that illustration of age 14. Barb Ziemke: The other thing it just brought to mind for me, Kate, was I'm just wondering did you encounter any lower expectations for your children than you and your husband have or in general? Did you feel like the people working with your son or daughter, you have both, right, were on the same wavelength as you? Did you ever have to close that gap? Kate Reinicke: Thankfully, the folks that we were working with didn't have lower expectations. If anything, they were at the same school of thought as you are, that have high expectations, your kids can handle it. If they can't, you make an adjustment. Jeff Thompson: With that positive attitude that you have, how was it as your son started college and started spreading his wings a little bit? Kate Reinicke: Again, the more that I knew, the better I felt. Going to college myself, I never had the experience of working with a disabilities office or an accessibilities office. I didn't even know it existed. Coming to different workshops, either through PACER or through SSB, specifically focused on transition-age students and bringing in people from different universities that could talk about their disability offices or accessibility offices put both myself and my son at ease knowing that they already had mechanisms in place to help him and, again, not coddle him, not give him an advantage, but level the playing field. Barb Ziemke: That's so important. The whole idea behind all of this for families is that it's not just the son or daughter that's going to transition. We as parents actually have to transition as well. We're learning new skills, we're learning about what's out there, and we're having to change our approach. Barb Ziemke: One of the main things I emphasize when we talk to families about what comes next is like IEPs don't go to college and IEPs don't go into a workplace, and IEPs don't go to your resident manager of an apartment. While your role will change, you'll still have a role, but it will become more like an advisor, a mentor, a supporter, not the decision-maker. You're going to move from the driver's seat to the passenger seat and then, hopefully, the backseat and then out of the car at some point. Barb Ziemke: But in that process, Kate mentioned something so important, and I want to just address that. Kate sounds like a brave parent. I have some friends who are like Kate. They were able, unlike me, to learn about some new opportunity and just get some information and just send their kid off and be rejoicing as they went. Barb Ziemke: There are a lot of different kinds of parents, and I am more what professionals would call probably too cautious and maybe overprotective. I can still remember ... I kick myself to this day. My son is now ... He just turned 30. I do want to say he's living in an apartment in the community and he works at a community job. He successfully, both of us, made this transition. Barb Ziemke: But I remember early on there was an opportunity from his deaf, hard of hearing teaching said, when Brandon was in seventh grade, "Oh, I think it would be really great for him to go to Camp Courage. They have a literacy camp." I thought, "Oh, that sounds really good. Is it a day camp?" "No, it's a residential camp." I immediately thought, because of the needs of my son, "Well, that's not a possibility. He can't do that. He has other disabilities besides his reading disability, and you don't understand how much support he would need." It's all in my head, but I shut it down way too quickly. I went to the website and it didn't tell how they give the supports for overnight support. Barb Ziemke: This is a little reminder to professionals. Give us the information we need to make informed decisions upfront. Don't assume we know what you're talking about with your programs, because from our focus groups and surveys, about 30% of parents of kids who have blind, vision impairment have another disability with that. The support needs go beyond the support for their visual impairment. But, regardless, at this time I just shut it down and we didn't go. Barb Ziemke: Now that I work at PACER, I know about that camp and I know about the wonderful outcomes. I know now that camp has been around for 15 years, no child has ever been lost or probably injured. All the things I had in my mind that could have happened, I didn't need to base my decision on unfounded fears if I would have known upfront when I heard about the opportunity to take a breath and say, "What do I need to know in order to be able to do this? What does Brandon need to know upfront in order to want to do this?" Then do the detective work upfront. That has, all these years later, I think, "Gosh, darn it. He could have been ahead of the curve." Barb Ziemke: For those of you parents who do have some of the concerns and fears and your kids perhaps do have additional support needs, there are things that are dangerous for our kids out there. The safety concerns are not invalid. The unpredictability of an environment is a real thing. I just want to encourage you to take that breath and ask yourself: what would help me be able to even consider this? Sometimes it's talking to another parent like Kate, whose son has gone off to college. She might be willing to say, "Hey, it worked and this is why," or contacting PACER, State Services for the Blind, and get that information that you need. Jeff Thompson: Well, it sounds like Kate just pulls up tuck and roll and her kids just goes out there. I'm sure it's not that easy, though. Kate Reinicke: No, it's not that easy. This is after years of training myself to not be afraid for him. You have to decide what kind of adult do you want your child to be. Do you envision them being confident and independent, or do you envision them to be tied to your apron strings for the rest of their lives? My kids want to be independent. They want to learn Braille. They want to learn the technology. They want to have their own homes someday. Kate Reinicke: My husband teases them that they're going to live with us forever and it thrills me every time when they say, "No way, dad. No way." Keeping that in mind that they are still teenagers, they still have things to learn, thinking back to how did I learn to be independent and knowing that my kids need to go through the same thing just a little bit differently. Jeff Thompson: Exactly. Barb Ziemke: That reminds me, too, of just a really important principle of the dignity of risk. Some of your listeners may be familiar with that. Robert Perske, a long time ago, talked about how in our really well-intentioned efforts to keep people safe and to make sure that they don't experience harm, we sometimes take away the dignity that we all us adults should have in making choices and being able to make mistakes and perhaps even being allowed to fail. Barb Ziemke: Of course, there's risk management involved in this. Part of the trick for parents is this delicate balance between risk management and then offering the dignity of risk opportunity that all of us needed. If you talk to almost anybody who's successful in any field about how they got successful, they almost always come back to mistakes they made and what they learned from them. Barb Ziemke: I realized just personally for myself that my well-meaning flying in at the moment I notice that there was something that was challenging to my son, and a lot of things were challenging for him, was, as Kate said, I had to think to myself, but if I do it for him, what does his future look like versus could I just wait a minute? Barb Ziemke: I just read a phrase recently that, as our sons and daughters are moving towards adulthood, this young adulthood stage, that when they contact us with a problem, we should walk as if we're walking in molasses. Just slowing down this ... I don't know if it's true for other parents, but this immediate need to intervene, and even just start to, if your son is 14, 15, your daughter is 16, 17, you start to intentionally give it longer for them to be able to figure it out themselves. There's that quote "Mistakes are the portals of discovery", and so just allowing mistakes. I like what you just said about giving them those opportunities. Kate Reinicke: Like you said in becoming a mentor and a teacher, having our kids start to take over aspects of their lives that we had always handled, for instance, refilling a prescription, I taught my son how to do that. We put the phone on speaker phone, it's an automated system, and together we went through. I showed him how it was done. The next time he needed it, I watched him do it. Then after that, it was taken care of. I didn't have to worry about it anymore. This was something he was handling. Kate Reinicke: The same went with making his own appointments. He knows to check in with me regarding the family calendar and transportation, but learning also through his TVI that Metro Mobility is an option, Uber is an option to get him where he needs to go, that that works out, too. But he's also learning to check in with others to see how his schedule can mesh with others. Barb Ziemke: Which is huge for adult living, managing your schedule. I like what you said because it makes me remember, too, around the medication thing. When it just occurred to me we go to doctor's appointments together, and I would go to the desk and show them the insurance card. I thought, "What?" One day I just thought, "What am I doing this for?" There are things he can't do and he does need support for, but he can go and show them their card. Barb Ziemke: As parents, I think just thinking through, "Oh, wait a minute. Is this something they could do? Could we back off?" and now instead of doing for them, do with them. Then again move back. Perfect example with how much we schedule our kids and keep track of all their appointments. Now we have technology. Teaching them how to use the technology to do that is a great way to help them in this transition and for us to let go. I couldn't have let go or let grow like I was able to with my son when I say he's living in an apartment without technology because he has an iPhone, we have immediate communication, there's GPS built in. If he gets lost, he has emergency numbers. Barb Ziemke: I think as families, too, that's the kind of support that can help support you. My daughter doesn't have a disability, but when she had a cellphone, she used to call it her leash because she knew I could find her when she had it. That's one technique. Kate Reinicke: That's another good point that technology can be extremely helpful. I'm always grateful to SSB and PACER for introducing us to different technologies that I didn't know existed. On top of that, there are low tech options that are helpful for folks for everyday needs. My mother-in-law actually turned us on to Independent Living Aids and other vendors that sell very low tech items that actually we end up using every day that I didn't know existed. Again, the more you can learn, the better you'll feel. Jeff Thompson: What is the importance of meeting other parents of children with a disability as blindness? Kate Reinicke: It's been great to see how they're treating their kids and also to have them model behavior, if they've been working with their kids if they're kids are older, but also to just talk shop, for lack of a better word. When we sit down and chat, it's usually, "Oh, I just found this new app," or, "Oh, I just heard that such and such station is now doing video description," or, "I just heard my son's friend actually did an internship with a company that does video description," or, "One of the women that my stepdaughter rows with, she is fully blind now, and she just recently got a job working with a company, making sure that their website is more accessible to people who are visually impaired. It never occurred to me that that was a job. It never occurred to me that that was an option." Kate Reinicke: Being able to sit down with other adults that are either parents of youths or the youths themselves or recently adult, it's great to learn about the things that you didn't even know were out there. It's only by gathering information, sharing information, saying, "You know what? I tried this, I didn't care for it. I tried that, and I loved it." Kate Reinicke: Even between the children, my oldest son really enjoys his video magnifier and really liked the more low-tech version of it. That really worked for him. My youngest, she really liked the high tech tablet-driven video magnifiers that could do a few more things, but that was right up her alley. She loved knowing the ins and out of that technology. Also thinking that one size fits all, it's not true. Your kids have preferences just like anybody else, and it's great to find those. Jeff Thompson: In finding parents, PACER Center has a big hand in that, don't they? Barb Ziemke: I will say that one of my selfish motivations for coming to work for PACER was that I already understood that a real key to success was being able to access other families who had gone through similar experiences, but were perhaps a few steps ahead of me on the road. I knew that all the advocates here are also parents of kids with disabilities and that I would be talking with families a lot. Barb Ziemke: Honestly, and I say this in my workshops, I think about 80% of the real practical, tangible tips that I received about what app or what service or what program, even other services that are available, somehow came through another parent who mentioned it or I saw a resource around that. PACER, we don't do support groups per se, but I think our workshops are an opportunity to see that you're not alone in this. There's a lot of families who are doing the same kinds of things that you're working on and just informal conversations when you get involved in State Services for the Blind activities and you're dropping off kids or picking up kids. Barb Ziemke: Those are just organic opportunities to connect with families, but there are through resources online some great online supports for the family connect and other opportunities. PACER's page, the SSB partnership website page can refer families to other resources to connect with families. Jeff Thompson: Kate, you and your husband came here to the workshops. Kate Reinicke: We did. We first started with coming to the IEP workshops because that was a new process for us. Understanding what our rights were, what our role was supposed to be, and what schools were not only expected to do, but capable of doing for us was extremely helpful in not only being able to read the IEP and understand what it was saying, it can be a different language, the language of education. It can have some jargon in it that you're not familiar with. Kate Reinicke: Being able to sit down and work one-on-one with another parent advocate to say, "What does this really say? Is this actually helpful or is this just documenting all the things that are wrong with my kid?" After that, we signed up for the PACER newsletter and their mailings, and you can get very specific about what kind of mailings you would like to receive, to have the knowledge of what other workshops were coming up. Kate Reinicke: I would say one of the most helpful ones was the housing fair that you had held. My husband and I came to that as well to learn about what kind of options are out there for youths with disabilities and transition-age adults for where they can live, because they're not going to live with you forever and you're not going to be able to take care of them forever. Barb Ziemke: That's right. Jeff Thompson: Well, that's great information. Barb, how can they get a hold of PACER? Barb Ziemke: There's a few ways that you can do that. We do have a really great website with tons of information on it. If you go to the workshops and livestream, we do many of our workshops via technology as well. There is a list that you can sort by location, by date, by topic and take a look at what's coming up for usually the next three months or so. Again, signing up for our newsletters is a great way to stay in touch. Barb Ziemke: Our National Parent Center on Transition and Employment has a twice monthly e-newsletter that goes out that highlights all sorts of resources for all sorts of disabilities. These aren't specific to vision impairment, blindness, and deaf-blindness, but there's so much overlap between the laws you need to understand and what youth need to do to prepare. Barb Ziemke: You can also call and talk to a real person. It's one thing I really like about how we do business here. When you call, you'll talk first to someone at our front desk, who'll take some basic information, and then that will get routed to the most appropriate person to respond within PACER. We do, as Kate said, work individually with families around transition planning in their IEP. Advocates help if you're in disagreement with the school and you need to resolve that. We participate in conciliation and other methods for coming to agreement about educational plans. Barb Ziemke: Then our Transition and Employment website, there's an email link there. You can email us specific individual questions as well as just get help. We do a lot of resource and referral. I often say we don't know everything, obviously. You can't know everything. But we know a lot about who knows everything, and we try to connect families to who you need to connect with in order to get that question answered. That would be the primary ways. Barb Ziemke: Kate mentioned before that there is no one size fits all either to the students or to the parents. I think for parents who might be listening today who have young adults or children even with a visual impairment plus like perhaps autism or a severe ADHD or a mental health issue that's perhaps quite significant, you may be thinking, "Well, that sounds really great, but you don't really understand the challenges and how far behind we are in certain areas," and I don't understand your specific situation, but even for me, I found that having unrealistic expectations about the transition into adulthood was not helpful. Barb Ziemke: Typical youth nowadays are not routinely getting their college degree by age 21 and moving out of their family home. Adolescence has really extended up into the late 20s. For me, I realized that there was no way by age 21, when school was over, that we were going to have a plan in place for where our son would live, work, do everything that he needed to do. Barb Ziemke: I tried to go to a five-year plan. What do we want by age 26? What do we need to be doing to do that? I will say in our particular situation, it wasn't until our son was 28 that he was now living in an apartment successfully, had been to a college program for students with intellectual disabilities, which he didn't go to until he was 25, had work experience in between that he really needed. Take the pressure off yourself about the timeline, focus on what the hope for destination is there, and then just keep taking steps forward, and you will most likely come to a successful outcome. Jeff Thompson: It's great. Like Kate mentioned earlier about the pathways that she found that, Barb, you helped blaze earlier, pick up the bread crumbs that people have left behind and just take those and keep moving forward. Kate Reinicke: You may have to do some synthesis. You may have to take what you have learned in a workshop about helping students with autism and blend it with a workshop that you learned about how to help students with blindness. Chances are there will be another parent there who knows what you're going through and chances are that the moderator or the expert that they've brought in to speak about that topic has had to narrow it down to fit into the one to two-hour session. But if you take a few moments afterwards and ask them, "Well, my student has multiple needs. Can you tell me more information regarding my situation?" they will be more than happy to share their email, take a few minutes to chat with you, or give you information where you can find the answer to your questions. Please don't ever feel alone or that your situation is so unique that no one can help you. Jeff Thompson: It may seem that it's oceans apart, but there's so much common ground once you get down to the nuts and bolts of it all. Kate, the first time you came to a PACER Center workshop, what did you expect and what did you find out? Kate Reinicke: I expected to be ushered into a small conference room with a few chairs and someone with a screen down and a slide show, giving out a few facts here and there that maybe I could figure out how to utilize in my own life. I was shocked to walk in and find multitudes of parents. Your largest room was filled from wall to wall with parents like me, with kids like mine, with questions that I had. What was great was no one felt inhibited to ask question. Parents ask questions a lot. Kate Reinicke: Not only that, if there was a question that the moderator or the presenter possibly didn't know the exact answer to, sometimes there was another parent saying, "Oh, we just went through that. I can speak to that," or, "I'll talk to you afterwards." Everyone was there with the same purpose. We all need information, we all want information, we all want to know how can we navigate this together. Everybody's there to help out. Jeff Thompson: Now with the individual education plan, that's some place where you would have to get on top of, and advocate for. What was that process like as you ... The letting grow? Did you transition through that, too? You said age 14. Kate Reinicke: We did, not only with PACER Center's help but also with the TVI. They wanted to make sure that our kids, again, had a level playing field. SSB was great about allowing us to have technology evaluations and showing us what was available and coming to realize that there are so many different types of technology that our kids had options. What do you like? Do you like this? Do you like that? Do you prefer this? Do you prefer that? They could be in the driver's seat about what was most helpful for them. Jeff Thompson: That's great. At what point during the IEP did your son start speaking up for himself? Kate Reinicke: What was great about the teachers and the team that was put together for our kids was they made a point to specifically ask our kids questions and say, "Mom and dad, we don't want to hear from you. We want to know what does your kid need? What do they want? What have they noticed? And give them the opportunity to not only express what they found to be a problem or a challenge, but also encourage them, well, what do you think would be a good solution? Be able to participate in that conversation and that give and take over, well, what would be the best of all worlds and let's compromise to what works for you and what works for the staff." Jeff Thompson: That's when self-advocacy starts. That's a lifelong skill. Kate Reinicke: Any person, whether they have disabilities or not. Barb Ziemke: Looking for those opportunities to give them voice and choice I think is a key to it. Again, that swooping in- Kate Reinicke: [crosstalk] Barb Ziemke: ... when we know that maybe we do know more and maybe we would have more to bring to the table, but allowing them that opportunity to speak for themselves is really powerful. Jeff Thompson: Kate, could you tell us a little something? Did you ever get the phone call or during a conversation where all of a sudden that light went off like, "Oh, my gosh. He's grown up"? Kate Reinicke: The light bulb went off for me that we'd reached a really good level with his independence when he could come home from class and say, "You know what? I had this problem," and my mind would immediately go to, "Oh, I need to jump in and fix this for him because that's my job as his mother," but I took a minute, I took a breath, I took a beat and said, "What do you want to do about it?" He said, "I already handled it. I walked down to the disabilities office and I explained what kind of problem I was having," or, "I walked down to the TRIO office and I explained the problem I was having. I sought help for myself. I'm just telling you about it. I'm not asking you to actually help me." Jeff Thompson: He's growing up. Kate Reinicke: Yes, exactly. Jeff Thompson: It goes back to you, Barb, let it grow. Barb Ziemke: That's a beautiful illustration of really what research even shows as, for young people in general, what they need from adults is for us to listen to validate their feelings or emotions about whatever the situation is and then support them in their ability to either fix it or take the next step. A perfect illustration of that. Barb Ziemke: One thing I wanted to talk about a little bit, too, is how I think sometimes it's harder for parents of kids who have challenges to make the shift at the same time as other students, like when they get to high school, to see them as high school students or to see them as a young adult. I learned that I needed to put on a bit of a new pair of glasses. My son has developed a mental disability, which delays him in many areas, but guess what? He still started growing a beard. He is becoming an adult even if intellectually he's at another stage. Barb Ziemke: Thinking through some of the things I wish I would have done earlier, for instance, if a son or daughter is still living at home, maybe even to go to community college. Perhaps it's time to move the bedroom down to the basement, give them a microwave and a mini fridge and redecorate a room that might still look like a childhood room to help them and to help you see them as the young adult that they actually are and are becoming. Just getting that shift from, "This is my child." Barb Ziemke: At PACER, we intentionally within our project here use the word "youth" instead of child when we're talking to parents, or young adult, because we as parents sometimes, they're our children forever, but we need to see them in this new light so that we can actually change the dynamic of our relationship. Jeff Thompson: You can't just squeeze them and keep them small like in The Waltons. Barb Ziemke: It doesn't work. I tried, it doesn't work. I think one of the tendencies for families who have students who are in high school particularly is to focus a lot on the educational component as far as academics. Academics are really important. With an overlay of visual impairment, there is a lot of work that has to be done to make sure that they do well academically. The skill acquisition around literacy skills is huge for successes in adults. Barb Ziemke: That's all important, but I think families need to consider once the school bus doesn't come anymore, once school is out of the picture, what you got on the history test may not be all that important unless your hope is to be a historian, and to look holistically at what are you focusing on. We know for students with visual impairments, blindness, for instance, having experiences in recreation and leisure, physical activities, extracurriculars, those are often where skills are developed that are going to actually allow them to have the confidence they need to have when they're in an unfamiliar environment, and that often families ... Barb Ziemke: And I don't have that perspective, but I have one from my own perspective of in trying to protect them from these environments that seem fraught with danger when you are feeling like you don't have the ability to navigate them, high school's really a time to look for those opportunities and, again, then work with your IEP team or State Services for the Blind to come up with what are those accommodations, what are those safety nets that could be put in place so that they don't lose that experience. Barb Ziemke: Social skills are going to be huge, and that's usually where those are developed, not in academic classrooms in high school. Really broadening your perspective of school is not really all about academics. College degrees don't really of themselves guarantee success. Looking at the big picture. Kate Reinicke: A couple of things that I wanted to mention that also helped our family and I feel could help other youths and parents alike is to have experiences with role models. I can honestly say as an adult in her 40s I had not met more than two or three visually impaired people in my everyday life. Now that my children are becoming more involved in the blind community, having those opportunities to meet other adults who are independent and successful not only can assure parents that it's possible, it is possible. Kate Reinicke: I know it's hard for you to imagine because you rely on your vision so heavily, it is possible to live an independent life without your vision and to then also show your children, your youths that there are successful adults out there doing what they like to do, doing what they want to do, and not feeling marginalized, not feeling that they can't. Again, they're just doing things differently. Kate Reinicke: Being involved in programs through SSB, Sheila Koenig had some really great programs. It was a job fair where all of the participants were blind adults. They ran the gamut from working in corporate America to being a package handler at UPS. The students could walk through and talk to everyone about how they were able to do their jobs successfully as a visually impaired person. I think that inspires our kids and also puts the parents at ease. Kate Reinicke: My kids have had great experiences with Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute with their adaptive sports programs. Again, they have to interact with the coaches and volunteers. I back off. I'm not going to be helpful as my stepdaughter is snowboarding down the hill. Their SHARE program, I can't highly recommend enough. Whatever activities your child enjoys, Stacy Shamblott can find them and find ways to make them adaptive to whatever supports your child may need. Kate Reinicke: My oldest son really enjoys playing the drums and has had the opportunity in the past few years to play in bands in bars and give performances and not have us hover over him. He did just fine. It was wonderful to see him express himself doing something that he loved and having an audience cheer. Jeff Thompson: Role models. That's very important. Like when you said you only knew two or three people or just met two or three people, but when they can meet a peer, someone their own age, and like, "How are you doing that?" or, "They can do it. Why can't I do it?" it just increases their self-determination and it just seems to roll after that. Barb Ziemke: I think a key component of that for all of us parents in this letting grow process is coming to terms with some of the limitations and there will just have to be some supports and ways that we ... Accommodations in place, but focusing, like Kate just said, on the strengths and the interests and the preferences. What makes this kid tick and how can we use that to launch them into adult life? Because who of us wants to have a job we don't enjoy? When we define ourselves, like if the three of us had more time to talk, I could probably see you get really excited when you talk about some of your personal interests or hobbies or things that you really like to do. Barb Ziemke: I think as parents, I always say we need to be strengths finders, strengths finder 101 to our youth and young adults. Sometimes they don't see it, and to notice what they're good at and not, again, make it all about academics but who they are and what they can contribute and how their personality and their relational skills call that out and help them see it, because that's really what they'll build their future off of. Jeff Thompson: I think this has been a great conversation for anyone that's listening to take all those analogies that you used, Barb, in the beginning that was so great, about the plant, the pot size, and the space needed to grow, and then the apron strings. I've heard that so many times, but when you can actually apply it and see [inaudible] you have to respond and let it grow, that's awesome. Thank you, Barb, thank you, Kate, for coming onto Blind Abilities. Thank you, PACER Center for putting this together with State Services for the Blind. Barb Ziemke: Thanks so much. Kate Reinicke: Thank you. Jeff Thompson: Be sure to check out PACER Center, champions for children with disabilities, on the web at www.PACER.org. Check out State Services for the Blind of Minnesota at www.MN.gov/deed/SSB. Live, learn, work, and play. A big thank you goes out to Chee Chau for his music. You can find Chee Chau on Twitter @LCheeChau.. From PACER Center, State Services for the Blind, and Blind Abilities, thanks for listening. We hope you enjoyed. Until next time, bye bye.  [Music]  [Transition noise]  -When we share -What we see -Through each other's eyes... [Multiple voices overlapping, in unison, to form a single sentence] ...We can then begin to bridge the gap between the limited expectations, and the realities of Blind Abilities. Jeff Thompson: For more podcasts for the blindness perspective check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com. On Twitter @BlindAbilities. Download our app from the app store, Blind Abilities, that's two words. Or send us an email at info@blindabilities.com. Thanks for listening. 

Where is Brandon Sims? The four-year-old had not been seen since July 3, 1992, when he attended a birthday party with his twenty-year-old mother, Michelle Jones. Jones was employed, confident, talented, smart, assertive and involved in many community activities in Indianapolis, Indiana. In contrast, when he was last seen, Brandon Sims, an only child, was a serious, quiet, thin boy who rarely maintained eye contact with his mother. After that night, he was never seen again. His body has never been found. For years Jones lied to her friends about Brandon, telling some that he was living with his father and others that he was staying with his grandmother in another state. When Brandon’s father, who had been in jail, came looking for Brandon, Michelle’s shocked friends confronted her. She confessed that Brandon was dead. She repeated her story of how Brandon died to a detective, after she admitted herself to the local psych unit. Days later she checked out of the unit and refused to reveal where he had hidden Brandon’s body. She was sure she had gotten away with murder.And she would have except the detective didn’t believe her story. He enlisted the help of a novice prosecutor because no experienced prosecutor would take the case. In Indiana, no one had ever been convicted of murder without a body. That prosecutor has written a book that reads like a mystery novel instead of the real murder prosecution. Truth is stranger than fiction where Santeria curses, the law and politics are only a few of obstacles to justice. INCONVENIENCE GONE: The Short Tragic Life of Brandon Sims-Diane Marger Moore

This is a special episode of the Bruce Lee Podcast honoring Brandon Bruce Lee. We just celebrated Brandon’s birthday February 1st and coming up on March 31st is the 25th anniversary of his passing, so Shannon wanted to share some stories of growing up with Brandon as her big brother and share some excerpts from Brandon’s journals.  Shannon and Brandon had a very special relationship and Brandon viewed himself as her protector. Brandon was also the typical older brother in that he loved to mess with Shannon playing pranks and picking fights, but there were instances where he would come to Shannon’s rescue. If he thought Shannon was in trouble, or had really hurt herself, or if someone was picking on her, he would come to save her. Brandon was a larger than life soul. He was a voracious reader and would have a dictionary with him so that when he encountered a word he didn’t know he would look it up. Brandon knew the definition of everything and he got a perfect score on the English portion of the SATs. His favorite book was “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance." Brandon was super sharp, smart, and theatrical. He loved to tell stories and capture the attention of the room and was able to sell any story he told. Brandon always knew that he wanted to be an actor. Even though it could have been daunting to go into acting like his larger than life father Bruce Lee, Brandon saw himself as different from his father because Bruce Lee’s passion was martial arts and Brandon’s passion was acting. Brandon was an artist through and through. He only went to one semester of college at Emerson before dropping out to pursue acting. Since he was Bruce Lee’s son, Brandon was expected to do martial arts and be in action films. So while being Bruce Lee’s son opened some doors for him, he was pigeonholed as an action star. However, neither Brandon nor Shannon studied martial arts after their father died. Brandon eventually started to study martial arts around the age of 19, and because he was naturally coordinated he was able to pick it up quickly. He studied at the Inosanto Academy with Dan Inosanto and picked up proficiency in muay thai and JKD, but while he enjoyed martial arts it was not his life’s passion. Brandon studied martial arts because he kept being asked to do action films, but ultimately wanted to be a real actor and not be stuck in action roles. Brandon was romantic, bohemian, and literary. He kept journals and wrote letters written in a way that reminds Shannon of an old timey “days of yore” style of writing. Fun epitomized Brandon. He loved to play jokes, and had a big boisterous laugh and a huge smile. He was a daredevil and used to skateboard and ski, he was constantly breaking bones, getting stitches, and knocked himself unconscious a few times. He was always building rickety skate ramps in the backyard.  Brandon loved nature. From when they were young, their mom would take them on camping trips and he continued to love nature and camping as a teen and adult. When he was an adult he would take his motorcycle and go on solo camping trips. On one such camping trip, when he was around 19 or 20, Brandon rode up with some friends and then he went off on his own into the wilderness. He ended up in a meadow when a rainstorm hit. He pitched his tent, but it was old and had holes so it was waterlogged and leaking, barely keeping him protected. Here he wrote some journal entries. “Day 5: I am depressed again. This trip, which was supposed to save me, is failing. I am having extremely fatalistic feelings. I’m in the woods now – alone. Right now, I wish I had some other people around. This small blue tent has become a prison of sorts. Outside, it’s raining, and if it rains much harder, I am going to die. Literally. I am far from help and it is cold and wet. Never have I been alone for this long. The tent is sagging around me, and a flood of water is rushing into the meadow…I want to go home. If the weather doesn’t improve tomorrow, I may snap.” “Day 6: Aha! I have it figured out. The day began with rain. There was a brief period of sunshine, which induced me to begin packing up. I was in high spirits. But then the crafty rain caught me just as I was taking the tent down and utterly soaked both it and me. I reset the tent and huddled within. This brief period while I sat in a water-logged tent – which bore a new rip made by my careless step – was, in a sense, my catharsis. I was truly fearful, with that gut fear one may experience after losing large sums of someone else’s money – but I do not believe I was fearful for my life. No, I was fearful for my ego, for my comfort.  The rain eventually stopped and the sun actually shone intermittently. With a zeal born of fear, I rushed forth, took down the dilapidated tent, packed my bags and set off at what can only be described as a dead run. The meadow had seemed to have acquired evil – bad karma. Through some sort of grace (the good karma of affirmative action) it did not rain again. In fact, I had the distinct impression that I was the storm front, for the small patch of blue sky through which the sun peeked occasionally seemed to center itself directly above my head and follow me as I walked. I made it to China Camp without further ado. Whereupon, being a man of extreme good taste, I moved into the men’s bathroom where I am at present and where I expect to remain. …The weather is a great gumption effector, and I hope I did not carve “I’M HAPPY” on the bathroom door ephemerally. I am no longer alone, for I have as company now myself. After you have been away from other people long enough, there is nothing to do but be with yourself. Your ego – which operates solely for others – is gone. Hopefully I will make it to a town tomorrow where it is my fervent desire to check into a hotel. This tent has had it anyway. An interesting note – my flashlight batteries just died very slowly. Good thing I have more. I’M HAPPY.” Brandon always had an excellent grasp of writing. Here’s an excerpt from his 8th grade graduation speech his teacher had them write as an exercise: “To me, my educational career thus far, seems to resemble (in a way) the myth of Sisyphus; who was forever condemned to push a boulder up a steep hill in Hades; but ere he reached the top, the boulder would slip from his grasp. …The more we learn, the more we are forced to realize we do not know. As Socrates said, “I am the smartest man in all Athens because I know how ignorant I am.” As an aspiring actor, Brandon understood that being Bruce Lee’s son gave him access to the industry and landed him meetings that he would not have had normally. But being Bruce Lee’s son also pigeonholed him in the action genre, which is not where he wanted to be. Brandon approached the roles he got wholeheartedly, but he was using these action films toward the goal of landing future dramatic roles. When Brandon got “The Crow” he was very excited because it was a different genre than the typical action films. While there was some action, the role was dramatic with the main character being a tortured soul. One of the reasons that this role was successful for him was because Brandon’s portrayal of this role was very engaging, emotional, and deep. Even though Brandon struggled with being Bruce Lee’s son in the acting industry, he knew what he wanted and did not rely on the legacy of his famous father. With just the short time that Brandon was working in film, he had begun to be recognized as Brandon Lee, not just as Bruce Lee’s son. “Yes, I think that I could share the fact that I am Bruce Lee’s son with someone else. It is a fact that it is both a burden and a blessing, which one it is will be determined in years to come when I intend to share it with the whole world.” From a camping trip in northern California: “Gorgeous. It is absolutely gorgeous. The sun is out, the sky is blue. Few black clouds mar the horizon. Time passes slow up here. I will make a concerted effort to concentrate on it alone.” Brandon was the only other person who walked in shoes similar to Shannon. Even though they were four years a part, they had a deep bond between them. Brandon died just a few weeks before his wedding and he had asked Shannon to be his best man. They lived a part when they were adults, but the times that they spent together were very meaningful. They would have real conversations and talk to each other in a very real way. Shannon always knew that he was there for her, and that he still is.  Thank you Brandon for sharing your artistic beauty and work you gave the world. Today we honor Brandon Bruce Lee. ----- Social media links for Brandon Lee: https://www.facebook.com/BrandonBLeeOfficial/ https://www.instagram.com/brandonlee/ https://twitter.com/brandonblee

When Brandon, the august editor of the Beverly Beat, finds out that his developing story on sweatshop labour at a local apparel company implicates the former owner of his publication and its current publisher's father, he reaches out to a colleague at another publication to cover it without being accused of a conflict of interest. Just kidding! He sends Steve, not a journalist, to get the truth out of Rush. Fortunately for everyone, Donna's source is able to stop by the office to speak to someone about her experience, and crying women are Steve's Kryptonite. Elsewhere, David is having a harder and harder time ignoring how racist the band he's managing is; Val and Noah are still being extremely annoying in whatever passes for a relationship between them; and when Kelly fails to identify Brandon's shooter at a police lineup, Brandon is extremely understanding about it, jk lol he's a bitch about it. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Brandon Bal is an Area Manager for American Forest Management (AFM) and earned his B.S. at Michigan Tech. Brandon leveraged some of AFM's programs and was able to further his education online while he was still working. On the show, Brandon explains the benefits of furthering your education online, how to manage and work with older foresters, and the leadership lessons he's learned from Band of Brothers.   Key Takeaways: [:55] A message from Leadership Nature. [1:35] A quick intro about Brandon's background. [3:00] How did Brandon become interested in forestry? [6;40] When Brandon was at American Forest Management (AFM), he was able to take advantage of furthering his education online. [8:15] What has been the most fun about Brandon's career so far? [9:45] Brandon discusses how the most challenging thing that he's had to face in his career was one of his staff members committing suicide. [11:30] What kind of leadership lessons has Brandon learned along the way? [18:00] Getting good at communication is the hardest thing to do, but it's by far the most important. [19:00] What kind of mentors has Brandon had over the years? [21:10] What advice does Brandon have for young professionals? [23:05] Brandon has had some failures throughout his career. What did he learn about that? [24:45] Where does Brandon see the forestry profession going in the next couple of years? [27:15] Brandon recommends reading Band of Brothers for leadership lessons.   Mentioned in This Episode: Americanforestmanagement.com Brandon on LinkedIn Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest by Stephen E. Ambrose

His platoon was counting on him. He couldn’t come back a failure. Brandon had been deployed to the Middle East four times. He’d seen the ugliness and destruction war had caused. And now he was being sent straight to sniper school. This is one of the most stressful jobs as a Navy SEAL. He would have to learn how to make quick decisions. Hard decisions. “The only easy day was yesterday,” he said. “That's our motto.” Brandon is one of the most accomplished sniper teachers of his time. He changed the system. And implemented positive reinforcement, which allowed him to see firsthand how having a good “mental mindset” propels people into success. In his memoir, “The Red Circle” and his newest book, a New York Times bestseller “The Killing School: Inside the World’s Deadliest Sniper Program,” Brandon shows you exactly how to train for a “champions mindset.” He uses mental management strategies: visualization, positive self-talk, solution-based thinking and so on. He is the master of his own fate. And now you can be too... -- Here's what we talk about: [6:08] - I don't normally do this. But this time I gave away the “table of contents” of what I wanted to discuss with Brandon Webb: - I wanted to cover Brandon’s ideas on war- discuss the issue of teaching people to kill people (to me, this is the elephant in the room)- Brandon was one of the first deployed to Iraq. So I wanted to ask about his ups and downs going to war, coming back and going to war again  -“Obviously, I don’t want to learn how to be a sniper” I said, “but what I really want to talk about is peak performance.” Both of Brandon's books to talk about this, especially his section on “mental management.” I wanted to learn what tools and habits I need to do today to make myself a master of my own fate. That’s essentially what this show is about… becoming the master of your own fate. “Choosing yourself.” [30:16] - I needed to know. Islam itself. What is the fight? Is this really a fight of religions? I asked Brandon why radicalism has spread so quickly in the Middle East. He pointed out the economics and the gap between rich and poor. “The social and political situation is not very good… Saudi Arabia, for example, has a very elite royal ruling class but the working population is very poor.” He said people join the fight because they need a cause. They need to belong to something. A military is a tribe. I get this question all the time. “How do I find my purpose?” Some people find their purpose in a fight. In a mission. In a cause… Brandon explained that the people who join these radical groups, or any group, were probably suffering in life. And they wanted to fill a hole in their life. They wanted what any human wants: a feeling of belonging. That’s the powerful force pulling them in. When Brandon was 16, his dad threw him off a boat in Tahiti. Brandon had to find his way back. And eventually he joined the military, became a Navy SEAL and then became a special ops sniper. There were 23 of them and 220 tried out. The question he gets most often is one of ignorance, “How many people did you kill?” But that's not what it's about for Brandon. And maybe that's what separates good from evil. He continued to tell me how radical governments incentives people to join “the cause.” He said they pay you to become a martyr. I couldn't believe it. “Is that true?” I asked. “Yeah,” he said, “As a state sponsor of terror, Iran is funding and fueling the conflict in the Middle East, especially with Israel.” And the Internet makes it worse, too. Brandon tells me how... [59:03] - Brandon was training people to be peak performers in incredibly high stake situations. It wasn’t just target practice. Someone would be shooting back. He expected each and every one of his students to perform at a perfect level. Eighty and ninety percent was no longer acceptable. I wondered how you could teach someone to perform under these high standards. The key: visualization. [1:02:30] - “I’ve seen it,” Brandon says, “I’ve seen it while on the firing line. They think about it and then it transfers to behavior.” If someone says don’t flinch, they’re going to flinch. Brandon made up the ranks. His job was to train snipers. And he wanted to start by programming his students with good habits. So instead of focusing on the negative (don't flinch), he focused on the positive (keep your eyes on the target.) [1:03:52] - “I’ve always been pretty good at math,” Brandon says, but once he started his own business he started to doubt himself. The financial statements were too hard, he was no good at it. He started thinking he “can't”, but he caught himself. And change his self talk. Listen to how he did this in our interview. You’ll also hear how to create the narrative necessary to support it.   [1:07:26] - Brandon left the Navy. And started his own company. But he didn't know when to let go. It wasn't working out. He lost everything. A month later his wife was asking for a divorce. And the kids went with her. “I had to have the conversation with all his neighbors: “Where'd your family go?" It was embarrassing. He said it was the first time he felt like he really failed in life. I asked how he bounced back. He told me this: “Failure is necessary to being successful in life. There's a big difference between quitting and failure.” [1:17:14] -We we're talking about gold medalists. And how they have a different mindset. He told me some of the expectations he holds for himself. And how you can create “the mind of a champion” with visualization tactics, hard work and confidence. (He also tells me how someone even gets confidence to begin with.) -- Also, if you like today’s show, subscribe! Then you won’t have to check back and you’ll be first to hear new episodes. Thanks! -James See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Brandon and I were having marriage problems, we went to Christian marriage counseling at our church. It was a group counseling session. There’s a reason men hate being dragged to those things! The first thing they did is have us confess our sins out loud and then opened the scriptures to Colossians 3:5 and... The post Christian Marriage Counseling – Where’s the POWER of Change? appeared first on Grace Bible Studies Online.

This week we are joined by Phil Joyce from Powder Keg brewing in Niwot, Colorado. Ryan's Buzzed Words- Larkin: house- Brandon: Cantillon- Phil: Niwot Brandon's Buzzed Words- Eric: Sour- Ryan: expansion- Phil: Amalga Eric's Buzzed Words- Ryan: donkey- Brandon: donkey- Phil: donkey Phil's Buzzed Words- Brandon: cantillion- Eric: house- Ryan: construction So when Ryan says expansion, donkey, or construction, you drink. When Larkin says sour, you drink. When he says house you drink twice. When Brandon says Cantillon drink twice. When he says donkey, drink once. When Phil says Niwot, Amalga, or donkey, you drink.

In this episode we talk about Colorado's weird liquor laws, the changes to those laws as a result of the "grocery store bill", and what those changes mean for breweries like Odd13. Eric's buzzed word selections:- Ryan: twitter- Brandon: fruit or fruited as in "fruited IPA" Brandon's buzzed word selections:- Ryan: bill- Eric: Louisiana Ryan's buzzed word selections:- Larkin: King Soopers- Brandon: Liquor So when Ryan says "Twitter" or "bill", you drink. When Larkin says "Louisiana" or "King Soopers" you drink. When Brandon says "liquor" or "fruit", you drink.

This week we spend some time talking about the Great American Beer Festival and coming up with the benchmarks of our crushability scale. Our crushability scale is blatantly ripped off from @TravisRodgers' Rose/Carroll scale for haircuts. Brandon: - Ryan - Medal - Larkin - Allagash Larkin: - Brandon - bias (in relation to judging) - Ryan - merkin. Ryan: - Larkin: BJCP - Brandon: merkin So when Ryan says "medal" or "merkin" you drink. When Brandon says "bias" or "merkin" you drink. When Larkin says "BJCP" or "Allagash" you drink.

In this episode we talk a bit about sour beer making. Specifically we talk about how we make sour beer and how it is similar and different from traditional producers and other modern producers. Buzzed words from Brandon: - Larkin - "hook" or "horns" (in reference to his beloved football) - Ryan - "kick off" or "kick up" Buzzed words from Ryan: - Brandon: funk - Larkin: allagash Buzzed words from Eric: - Ryan - aromatic - Brandon - international citrus units So, when Ryan says "Aromatic" or "Kick off/up" you drink. When Eric says "Allagash" or "hook em horns" you drink. When Brandon says "funk" or "international citrus units" you drink.

When Brandon and Jason said they wanted to talk to a music industry photographer they only had one guy in mind. He was busy…but Dusty said he would do it if we had bourbon. Your guides supplied the drinks and Dusty supplied the stories. Today’s show is an inspiring tale of a small town kid getting out in the world and figuring things out. The guides thought Dusty had been taking pictures all his life, but come to find out it has been a recent discovery!? He has taken pictures for some of music’s biggest stars--Kelly Clarkson, Brantley Gilbert, Augustana, Maggie Rose, and Easton Corbin to name a few. His photos have been featured on CMT, Rolling Stone, People Magazine, National Geographic, and various online and local publications. Dusty’s decision to live in Nashville is an unconventional story but so is everything else about him. He began his adult life studying business at Mizzou, which led to leadership roles and traveling the world abroad. Literally, on a whim he planted himself in Nashville to be a songwriter?! On the road of discovery Dusty realized he was a natural at photography which led to the idea of brand consultation. Dusty started JAX in 2015 to offer brand consulting and management. His clients include Easton Corbin, Brantley Gilbert, Kelly Clarkson, Augustana, Dashboard Confessional, Filmore, and more. Let’s not forget the tours he’s worked on--One Direction, Carrie Underwood, and Dixie Chicks for starts! We hear some exciting stories ranging from Dusty’s experience on the One Direction tour, traveling the world, and of course him working closely with today’s hottest celebrities. This episode is for entrepreneurs figuring things out. If you need some advice when it comes to social media and the purpose of such outlets like Facebook or Twitter we gotcha covered. Social media problems? We can help! There is a long conversation on the subject of branding and marketing as a player, artist, or anybody of business. Dusty supplies his tips for longevity in the industry from an outsiders point of view, and also as one neck deep in the business. Most importantly…What Apps Do You Use? Thanks to Fat Bottom Brewing for the support! Special thanks to Steven Gilbert for supplying this weeks music.

Brandon Beachum is the host of The Positive Head Podcast, a place of inner-discovery, positivity, and mind-expanding news. Brandon and his co-host Dalien discuss some of their favorite quotes, take questions from the audience, and expand on topics of enlightenment on this Mon-Fri podcast; and every Wednesday, Brandon interviews consciousness change-makers. Sit back as today's episode is filled with spirituality and personal discovery. 06:25 - How much prep time goes into each of Brandon's guests? 07:35 - Brandon does five episodes a week. 09:45 - Brandon and I talk podcast equipment. 10:20 - What inspired Brandon to start his own podcast? 14:40 - Brandon talks on how he met his co-host, Dalien. 18:00 - When Brandon and Dalien were in a band, they were definitely ahead of the times. 19:25 - Your current dreams are actually leading you to your true destiny. So don't get too attached to your dreams. 20:30 - The art of living is a delicate balance. You don't always get what you want, but you get what you need. 21:25 - Why did Brandon decide to create a podcast five days a week? 26:00 - Brandon explains what 'soul family' is. 27:10 - After doing this podcast for a year, Brandon's audience has increased quite dramatically. 29:50 - Happiness is a choice and if Brandon can impact one person, he's absolutely happy with that. 32:30 - How does Brandon structure the show? 35:40 - Happiness and positivity requires daily work. 37:30 - Everything you've seen in the world is a reflection of some vibration that you've previously offered. 37:40 - The way through it, even if you don't like it, is to surrender to it and accept it. It leads you here. 38:55 - Brandon talks about his relationship with money. 46:45 - You're the lead actor in your own private movie, so it's about making up the story you want to see more of. 47:40 - We create our reality with our beliefs. 49:40 - Life is happening for you, not to you. 52:20 - People need to get out of their own head sometimes. 54:40 - Understand that whatever is happening is happening for a good reason. 57:20 - Brandon talks about an experience he had with physics. 01:03:00 - There is no right or wrong way. All you have to do is get on the path. 01:04:10 - Brandon talks about religion vs. spirituality. 01:06:20 - What is the most misunderstood thing about Brandon? 01:08:25 - What has Brandon changed his mind about recently? 01:12:20 - What is the meaning of life? FULL SHOW NOTES: http://www.podcastjunkies.com/brandon-beachum-interview/★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★