I created this podcast because I believe that much can be learned from digging deep with intentional performers. You can learn more about me and my company at www.strongskills.co.
Episodes
7 days ago
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Wednesday Nov 06, 2024
Tanya Vogel has had quite a career in athletics and she’s kind of just getting started with her impact and influence in not just athletics, but beyond it as well. She’s been a distinguished leader in collegiate athletics for nearly 3 decades. Recently, she concluded her tenure as the Director of Athletics at George Washington University; she served in that position for 7 years. Her journey at GW began in 1992 as a student and All-American soccer player. She’s in GW’s hall of fame and she earned multiple degrees at GW including a BS, and MS, and an MBA. So, Tanya is a learner, which is going to be the core of today’s conversation; she loves to learn, she loves to grow. Additionally, she was recognized for her playing career becoming the first women’s soccer player to be inducted into the GW athletic hall of fame in 2002. She became their head coach at the age of 25. So, Tanya at GW is certainly an icon and somebody that the Athletic Department for a long time has looked to for leadership as a player, as a coach, and as an athletic director. In that athletic director capacity, she cultivated a culture of excellence resulting in 19 conference championships and a cumulative GPA of 3.62 among student athletes. One of the things that’s going to be abundantly clear in today’s conversation is that Tanya is a competitor; she loves to win, and she cares deeply about human beings and developing them and cultivating them and pouring into student athletes. She’s a recognized national figure; she’s served on key NCAA committees and chaired the Atlantic 10 Athletic Director’s Council. She’s also a graduate of the Georgetown Transformational Leadership Coaching Program and she’s an ICF certified coach. We’ll talk a little bit about her journey to becoming an executive coach, and I may have actually played a small part in that journey and maybe a spark to have her explore that journey. In addition to her coaching practice, she serves as a consultant for the Pictor Group, which helps her continue her commitment to leadership and organizational development, specifically within the athletic world. So, Tanya is a competitor, she’s a leader, she’s a coach, she’s been essentially the CEO of an athletic department (that’s what the role of an athletic director is), and she has seen just about everything when it comes to collegiate athletics. So, this is a conversation about culture, this is a conversation about leadership, this is a conversation about mindset, and most of all it’s a conversation of two friends chopping it up and chatting about what they’re passionate about, which is people.
Tanya had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“I don’t make too many decisions without processing, without thinking through things” (8:05).
“I felt like I took [George Washington athletics] about as far as I could take it” (10:00).
“I feel like comfort and discomfort overlap” (12:35).
“I’m comfortable in discomfort, and I can be uncomfortable in comfort” (13:35).
“Our competitive advantage is going to be seen in how we treat one another” (14:55).
“Culture is people” (22:30).
“It can’t just be high fives and I love you” (25:30).
“Confidence and motivation come from within” (27:30).
“Just be insanely curious” (28:05).
“I work really hard to gather the data and do the research” (32:10).
“When you’re a head coach, you’re not going to be liked” (34:20).
“Leadership is not about being liked” (34:40).
“Every job I’ve gotten is by somebody that’s known me” (40:30).
“Be great where you’re at” (42:05).
“Mentors play a huge role in our growth and development, but advocates are key [too]” (47:15).
“Genuinely, most people want to feel useful” (55:55).
“I have this burning desire to go into the grave still learning; I just want to do that forever” (1:01:45).
“94% of women in the C-Suite have competed in athletics” (1:08:55).
Additionally, you can find the Ripple Impact website here and connect with Tanya on LinkedIn.
Thank you so much to Tanya for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Wednesday Oct 30, 2024
Joe Quitoni is the Founder and CEO of Unify Align. Unify Align collaborates with clients to reimagine the people and customer experience, delivering real-world solutions that supercharge business growth. Joe knows a thing or two about collaborating with clients, specifically around people and customer experience. Throughout his career, he has used his skills in organizational transformation to create game-changing advantages for some of the world’s biggest brands. Before starting Unify Align, he put in over 20 years at the Ritz Carlton hotel company, where he served as the Director of Human Resources before jumping over to the brand’s consulting firm, The Ritz Carlton Leadership Center, where he led the team as Global Head of Delivery. For those unfamiliar with what they do at The Ritz Carlton when it comes to the leadership center, think of it similarly to what Disney does; both of these organizations are known for customer service, so they actually train other businesses and other organizations on how they can serve. So, certainly if you’ve ever been to a Ritz Carlton, you have a sense of what the vibe is there. We’re going to talk about vibe quite a bit in today’s conversation. When he was working at Ritz Carlton, he transformed and evolved their approach and methodology, which created dramatic positive impact to the clients and businesses that they served. But Joe isn’t your typical corporate suit; he is someone who is unique in the way he thinks and how he delivers information. He brings a modern twist to the world of consulting; he’s armed with a Master of Science in Industrial/Organizational Psychology and applies an innovative methodology to his work, where he delivers successful outcomes for a diverse portfolio of companies and clients. We’ve talked offline about some of those; they are truly remarkable. He works with startups, he works with Fortune 500 giants, he’s even worked with sports organizations, and he is someone who cares deeply about leadership, connection, inspiration, motivation, and really thinks about how an environment, how a vibe, how a culture, can drive not just customer experience, but employee experience as well. He’s known for his keynote speeches, which is actually how I found him, and also working alongside all kinds of different leaders inside organizations to ultimately help them develop what he calls “a very intentional vibe.”
Joe had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“This word culture has been around for decades, but we have evolved tremendously as a society” (6:55).
“The simplest way you can define culture is it’s everything in the environment” (7:20).
“This word ‘vibe’ is… the energy, the attitudes, the beliefs that influence shared motivation, productivity, and engagement in an environment” (8:15).
“This feeling of empowerment certainly allows for that authenticity to come through” (12:20).
“A purpose statement creates a sense of pride, it’s inspirational, it’s motivational, and it shifts the headspace of an employee” (13:55).
“You can’t just have the words; you as an organization need to clearly define what your perspective is of that belief and then you have to take it one step further; you have to attach specific behaviors” (15:15).
“I like to center the vibe around the employee” (17:10).
“When we’re talking about the word experience, consistency is the most important word in that” (18:25).
“Far too often, people mistake customer service and customer experience as the same thing” (18:50).
“Every single interaction… should have a beginning, should have a middle, and should have an end” (19:25).
“I don’t want people to fit the mold; I’m a huge fan of diversity of thought and challenging the status quo” (26:05).
“Accountability is one of the biggest reasons as to why something sticks or why it doesn’t” (28:15).
“When you’re practicing accountability, I think it’s a coaching moment” (31:45).
“Any time we engage in work, it’s always a co-created process” (38:00).
“No consulting job should have a one-size-fits-all” (38:30).
“Reach far and then go one step further” (42:10).
“I equate loyalty and being a brand ambassador as being very similar” (50:20).
“Brand ambassador is what we should all be shooting for” (50:55).
“Every day is a new challenge” (54:30).
“I continue to learn every single day and I think that’s the thing I love most about what I’m doing today” (54:35).
“Success is at the heart of everything that we do” (56:20).
“I want to transform the headspace and the mindset of your employees” (56:30).
Additionally, you can connect with Joe on LinkedIn and check out the Unify Align website here.
Thank you so much to Joe for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Wednesday Oct 23, 2024
Harris Fanaroff is the Founder of Linked Revenue. Linked Revenue is a company that helps Executives and sales and marketing teams utilize LinkedIn to generate new business.
They focus on 3 areas:
- Helping executives generate thought leadership content
- Growing and nurturing their network
- Creating a business development strategy and executing on it
Harris has over 28,000 followers on LinkedIn and has spent the last 4 years understanding how to best use the platform. He lives right outside Washington DC with his 1-year-old son and wife. He was a former MLB draft pick and Division 1 college baseball player.
Harris had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“I had always wanted to be an entrepreneur” (7:35).
“I didn’t know how to deal with those failures as an athlete” (15:45).
“If one person will find value from what you’re going to share, it’s success” (18:50).
“Getting laid off was the best thing that ever happened to me” (21:40).
“Find out what they care about, and then do it for them” (23:15).
“If AI can write it, then don’t put it on LinkedIn because nobody cares what AI says a leader should do” (25:10).
“Give me the raw version, let me understand that person, because at the end of the day, people buy from people” (27:35).
“I want your personality to come through in your content” (27:45).
“I’m terrible at delegation, like most founders are” (29:00).
“I have to be relatively relentless with what I spend my time on” (29:50).
“When I leave this planet, I want to help give other people jobs” (33:35).
“The more I can do to build relationships, for myself and for my clients, the higher probability for success when it comes to the game of business” (36:05).
“You shouldn’t sell on LinkedIn” (40:15).
“If you wouldn’t do it in person, don’t do it on LinkedIn” (40:45).
“Sharing thoughtful content consistently increases your ability to get lucky from a business development perspective” (1:03:25).
“If you have better, stronger relationships with more people, your business is going to be easier” (1:03:45).
Additionally, you can connect with Harris on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to Harris’s newsletter here.
Thank you so much to Harris for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
Wednesday Oct 16, 2024
Dr. Diane Hamilton is one of those people that came on my radar and just didn’t stay off of it. She is one of the leading experts when it comes to studying curiosity in the world. She’s written multiple books about curiosity, she’s the creator of the curiosity code index which tries to help us understand what actually gets in the way of our ability to stay curious, and for that I am extremely grateful. I took the curiosity code index, and actually the focus of a lot of our conversation today is us unpacking my scores and her explaining the different factors that cause us to perhaps retreat from curiosity. She’s a thought leader in other fields, including leadership, sales, marketing, management, engagement, personality, and, as I mentioned, curiosity. She has spent time with some of the best leaders in the world. So, today’s conversation certainly focuses on what she’s learned, what she’s studied, what she’s researched, and how we can apply it to our lives. She’s a keynote speaker that’s also been featured in a multitude of publications that you’ve heard of, such as Ink and Harvard Business Review. If you are someone who’s interested in curiosity, perhaps you’ve seen her speak at a company or at a conference or on other podcasts.
Diane had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“I spent years researching and studying what happens to curiosity [over the lifespan].”
“Both curiosity and creativity tend to peak at age 5 and then diminish.”
“This fixed mindset is something that will shut you down completely.”
“It’s challenging to meet everyone in the way they want to be met.”
“You can’t teach all kids the same way.”
“You rely on the foundational aspects of what you know, but you need to continue to grow.”
“A lot of people are afraid of the ramifications of stepping outside of what’s comfortable.”
“We don’t want to be the one not doing what everybody else is doing.”
“There’s no better way to learn something than to teach it.”
“For a culture to be curious, it has to come from the top down.”
“[Personality assessments] bring up all of these ideas to think about.”
“Each year, you meet people that open up new ideas for you.”
“You just don’t know who you’re going to meet that might change your whole trajectory.”
“You don’t know what you don’t know until you try something.”
“Nobody wants to look like they didn’t prepare.”
“If you’re the smartest person in the room, it’s a pretty boring room.”
“With technology, information overload is a real thing for people.”
“It’s easier to get along with the group.”
Additionally, you can follow Diane across social media @drdianehamilton and purchase her books, Cracking the Curiosity Code and Curiosity Unleashed, anywhere books are sold. You can also find everything you need to know about Diane on her website.
Thank you so much to Diane for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Oct 09, 2024
Wednesday Oct 09, 2024
Jason LaRose has built quite a reputation for himself throughout his career in his desire to help companies scale and grow. He worked for companies like Under Armour, where he became their President of the North America Region. He then went onto Equinox Media, where he served as the CEO, helping them build out their technologies and their content. From there, he co-founded and became President of a company called The Post, which is actually how we got connected; The Post has created a community for former athletes, and some current athletes, to come together to learn together and support each other. It is an amazing networking group that continues to grow. Most recently, he became the President of Bombas. If you’re unfamiliar with Bombas, it is an incredible, mission-driven apparel company (and as I said to Jason, I am currently wearing their socks, their socks are really what put them on the map). They created a company that not just created comfortable and quality socks, but also with a mission behind it where they give away apparel for every apparel that’s bought, and they support homeless shelters all throughout the country. So, Jason is somebody who’s been at the ground level of companies, he’s helped companies scale and grow from $1 billion to $5 billion, and at his core he’s someone who considers himself to be an operator, he considers himself to be someone who can create strategy and execute by using amazing systems, and I think that’s going to come across in today’s conversation. And he’s someone who clearly values culture; he values mission, he values doing good while also doing well. I think he has great clarity and it’s going to come across in our conversation as far as what he sees a successful business is and his own growth as he’s developed himself through the years.
Jason had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“The mission at Bombas is just too hard to pass up” (5:55).
“The mission [at Bombas] is who we are; it’s why the company was founded in the first place” (7:25).
“At Bombas, we give [the consumer] a way to be a part of the solution” (8:10).
“Brand is a promise” (12:00).
“At Bombas, we talk about three words all the time: comfort, quality, and mission” (12:25).
“Everything contributes to mission” (13:35),
“Mission only matters [at Bombas] if you sell” (14:00).
“I probably hate to lose more than I love to win” (19:05).
“I love to look out and see the potential conditions for success being there” (19:15).
“More than anything, what I love is growth” (19:30).
“I’m not very good at [being] content” (23:20).
“Over time, I’ve learned to be more appreciative and take those moments to reflect” (26:55).
“Founders are special people” (28:50).
“I’m enamored with people who know things that I don’t know” (29:25).
“Really great founders are maniacal about their brands” (32:15).
“Scale doesn’t come just because you have a great idea” (33:40).
“What athletes are most amazing at is watching the film” (39:35).
“Great athletes and great coaches don’t only have one solution” (43:20).
“Once you get people aligned around the mission, you can do almost anything” (44:15).
Additionally, you can follow Bombas on all social media platforms and connect with Jason on LinkedIn.
Thank you so much to Jason for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Oct 02, 2024
Wednesday Oct 02, 2024
Mitch Warner is a managing partner of the Arbinger Institute, which is a global leadership development firm. He directs the development of Arbinger’s leadership development programs and highly customized large-scale organizational culture change initiatives. Mitch has been instrumental in Arbinger’s rapid growth, including its expanding international presence in over 20 countries. He’s also a heck of a writer; he’s the co-author of Arbinger’s bestselling books Leadership and Self Deception (which we get into at length in today’s conversation), The Anatomy of Peace (which we actually don’t really dive into in today’s conversation), and The Outward Mindset (which is really the precursor for a lot of our conversation today). Mitch is obsessed with mindset and how mindset can impact how we show up not just for ourselves, but for the people around us. Mitch has delivered training and consulting internationally to leaders and organizations across a broad range of industries. He’s a sought-after teacher, speaker, and advisor to leaders of corporations, governments, and organizations of all kinds around the world on the topics of leadership, collaboration, mindset, and culture change. He also is at the forefront of conflict resolution, alignment, and strategy. This conversation gets deeply into mindset, really into leadership, and we’re going to talk about how mindset impacts leadership at great length. Lastly, I bring myself into today’s conversation and I hope you appreciate it; I try to make these conversations as real as possible and bring in current challenges that I am dealing with, so I hope you find your own place and space in today’s conversation and think about how you can increase your own self-awareness and maybe some of the things you’re struggling with on a day-to-day basis, whether it’s personally or professionally.
Mitch had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“Art is a communication between the artist and the viewer” (6:05).
“The most interesting thing about art to me is that it’s not just self-expression” (7:05).
“Everybody has the capacity for creativity” (10:45).
“The purpose of art is not photography” (12:20).
“The point is not to see the reality in the same way, the point is to realize we’re going to see that thing differently based on our experiences, based on what we’re bringing to it” (14:10).
“When I approach a person with a lens of judgment, I fail to recognize that I’m seeing myself as already different than they are” (16:25).
“No matter what form it takes, whatever I’m trying to project keeps me cut off from the people in my life” (25:10).
“The challenge with a word like ‘authenticity’ is it’s so easily misunderstood” (28:45).
“At the end of the day, all of us are the same in a key, fundamental way: we all know what’s underneath behavior, and what’s underneath behavior is how we see” (31:05).
“It’s not like our experiences are neutral; they’re all charged, and we live in an environment that has all sorts of social expectations” (46:10).
“The work is to become free of self-deception, of the lies that we tell ourselves that get in the way of us just being with other people” (52:30).
“There’s different ways to go toward a problem” (54:45).
“People have a broad spectrum of possibility” (55:40).
“If I’m self-deceived, I can’t lead” (57:10).
“People don’t respond to our behaviors… What people respond to is how they’re being seen” (58:05).
“The problem with self-deception is the fact that not only can I not see that I’m the problem, but I resist the very possibility that I’m the problem” (1:05:50).
Additionally, you can find the Arbinger Institute website here. I’d also highly encourage you to purchase Mitch’s books wherever books are sold. You can also connect with Mitch on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Thank you so much to Mitch for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Doug Stitt most recently served as the Chief People Officer for the United States Army where he was the lead HR officer for the Army's 1 million uniform and civilian personnel. He graduated from Norwich University and served around the globe in a variety of formations. He is married to Beth and has two daughters, Laura and Anna.
Doug had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“[Soldiers] all have a story and it’s unique to them” (7:40).
“Connect with the people that are making the connections” (8:30).
“[When I hear the word soldier] I think of service, I think of selflessness, I think of being a servant, I think of physical and emotional courage” (10:35).
“I wish more people knew a soldier” (16:55).
“Just because it’s a tradition doesn’t mean it’s good” (19:00).
“Innovation for tomorrow is better than the tradition of today” (19:25).
“Friction isn’t always bad” (22:00).
“People want to be wanted” (24:10).
“Culture is a long-term ebb and flow in an organization” (26:50).
“What brought somebody into the army might not be why they’re sticking around” (40:20).
“I see opportunities to go try and do something different” (41:45).
“I became a better listener than when I first joined [the Army]” (42:35).
“People don’t care about what you know until they know how much you care” (47:40).
“Coaching trees are very evident within the military as well” (54:10).
“Every soldier is a leader… that’s what it means to be in this organization” (1:01:35).
“Leader development is hard, it takes time” (1:03:20).
“I cared about [my soldiers] first and foremost as people” (1:10:30).
Additionally, you can connect with Doug on LinkedIn.
Thank you so much to Doug for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Sep 18, 2024
Wednesday Sep 18, 2024
Ashley Zaslav is the founder of Integrative Complexity, which is a high-performance coaching firm that works with made career high achievers ready to bet on themselves and test their potential. She’s also on our coaching bench at Strong Skills, and I’ve been fortunate to refer some amazing people to Ashley and hear firsthand about the work that she does with them. Some of her clients include founders of investment firms, newly promoted partners, high potential investment professionals, search fund CEOs, first time CEOs, C-suite leaders, and executive directors. Ashley is an athlete, and she was a two-time captain of the Duke Women’s Soccer Team that was a national finalist in 2011. She was the number five recruit in the nation coming out of high school. So, Ashley is absolutely a competitor, but we talk about her mindset and how it’s shifted over the years from just competing and maximizing and being the best that she can be to blending that mindset with one of wisdom, one of slowing down, one of thinking and being a little more intentional with how she shows up, while still being her competitive self. She competed globally with the US Youth National Team until she finished her career due to injuries. Injuries are a big part of Ashley’s journey; she tore her ACL three times when she was in college, and she’ll talk about her resilient mind and how she thought about injuries, and I think it’s something for all of us to take away from today’s conversation. Her approach to coaching is informed by her experience and expertise in high performance that she developed competing as an elite athlete at the highest levels, as well as working within the finance world. She worked at places like Bridgewater (if you’re unfamiliar with Bridgewater, perhaps you’re familiar with their founder, Ray Dalio, who’s got a TedTalk and has written a bestselling book and is really at the forefront of people and culture as it relates to the finance world), TPG, Brooklyn’s Capital Strategies, and at Spencer Stewart where she worked with all kinds of different elements of people practices within organizations. She received her MBA from NYU Stern and she got her bachelor’s from Duke University. She’s also very proud of being the mother to 3 kids under 5.
Ashley had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“On the outside someone can look one way and then have so many challenges on the inside” (8:45).
“Everybody has a story” (9:00).
“I do think that knowing I had faced these really hard things and gotten through them gave me this inner confidence when things would come my way” (14:20).
“I have to learn how to be when things are good” (18:20).
“I love making patterns of information” (22:45).
“It’s harder to speak up when you don’t have conviction about what you’re saying” (25:35).
“I’m very open and flexible about who I need to be to get better” (28:30).
“For me, what’s felt more organic is to be fluid” (37:45).
“There’s nothing more honest than sitting in a film room watching yourself blow a play that leads to the other team scoring. There’s no hiding from that” (41:40).
“The best companies are always balancing short term and long term” (48:15).
“One of my favorite things about succession planning is to do it well it requires almost going against all of the strong, natural impulses” (50:50).
“That ability to integrate those two realities changed my world so much” (53:55).
“[For me], success [looks] like doing work really well, doing work that I love, being present for the kids, having marriage and partnership, really enjoying life” (1:05:45).
“I do think success 3 to 5 years from now is looking back on these last 3 years and feeling like I wasn’t just striving” (1:12:15).
Additionally, you can connect with Ashley on LinkedIn.
Thank you so much to Ashley for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
Wednesday Sep 11, 2024
Gretchen Rubin is one of today’s most influential and thought-provoking observers of happiness and human nature. We discuss happiness at length in today’s conversation, but we also discuss frameworks, and I think you’re going to find right off the bat that Gretchen sees things in terms of frameworks, in terms of theory. But she’s also known for her ability to convey complex ideas from science, to literature, to stories from her own life, with levity and clarity. So, we bring her into this conversation and we actually bring myself in to today’s conversation, and I think that will make it really come to life. She’s a writer, and she’s going to articulate how much she loves writing and how big of an impact writing has made on her life and how she sees the world. She’s the author of many bestselling books, such as The Happiness Project, Better than Before, and The Four Tendencies, which has sold millions of copies in more than 30 languages. Her most recent book, which we reference in today’s conversation, is Life in 5 Senses. She’s also the host of the popular podcast Happier with Gretchen Rubin and the founder of the award-winning “Happier” app, which helps people track their happiness-boosting habits. She’s been interviewed by Oprah, she’s spent time with Daniel Kahneman, she’s walked arm-in-arm with the Dalai Lama, and her work has been reported on in a medical journal (which eventually got written up in The New Yorker). So, she’s been in all kinds of interesting spaces; she’s also been an answer on Jeopardy, which is a claim to fame for her. I think this conversation will give you a sense of yourself, which is what I really appreciate about it; it’ll make you think about yourself and hopefully make you a little more aware of how you show up for you and for others.
Gretchen had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“If we want to make our lives happier, healthier, more productive, more creative, one of the things we need to figure out is how to make habits” (6:00).
“Depending on whether we meet or resist outer and inner expectations, that’s what makes us an upholder, a questioner, an obliger, or a rebel” (7:50).
“Upholders are people who readily meet both outer and inner expectations” (8:00).
“Questioners question all expectations; they’ll do something if they think it makes sense” (10:25).
“Obliger is the biggest tendency, for both men and women” (16:00).
“Obligers are people who readily meet outer accountability, but they struggle to meet inner accountability” (16:10).
“If you want to meet an inner expectation as an obliger, you need to create a system of outer accountability” (16:25).
“The way to keep a promise to yourself is to make a promise to someone else” (16:55).
“Rebels resist all expectations, outer and inner alike” (17:35).
“From the practical comes the transcendent” (19:55).
“My behavior follows from my identity” (22:10).
“Allow rebel children to face the consequences of their actions; that is how a rebel learns” (23:20).
“Sometimes these little adjustments in communication can have massive consequences in behavior” (25:05).
“Once you understand the mechanism of what’s going on, it’s a lot easier to address it” (28:10).
“For many people, there’s a sense that they kind of neglect” (30:50).
“Whatever you want to achieve in your life, even if they’re contradictory, the five senses can help you” (35:50).
“I really get tremendous satisfaction out of just being able to explore ideas in all these different ways and exercise my creativity in a lot of different ways” (40:40).
“We want to accept ourselves and also expect more from ourselves” (44:25).
“I think the word motivation is very complicated” (46:25).
“You can’t expect to be motivated by motivation” (47:30).
“I never define happiness” (1:04:45).
“We all can decide for ourselves what it means to be happy” (1:05:00).
“Negative emotions have a very important part to play” (1:06:05).
“If you get interested in something, really try to become a minor expert” (1:15:30).
“The more you know, the more questions you have” (1:16:05).
Additionally, you can find everything you need to know about Gretchen and connect with her on her website, as well as following her on all social media platforms @GretchenRubin. I’d also highly encourage you to check out Gretchen’s podcast, Happier with Gretchen Rubin, wherever you consume your podcasts.
Thank you so much to Gretchen for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Aug 28, 2024
Wednesday Aug 28, 2024
Tiffany Thompson is a unique human being. She’s driven by curiosity, and that’s going to come shining through in our conversation today. Tiffany weaves the analytic rigor of her early career as a CIA analyst with the explorative creativity of her recording artist career. So, to say she wears multiples hats or weaves multiple identities is probably an understatement. She is the founder and CEO of Artistic Leadership, which is a creative consultancy that uses the power of art to unlock creativity and connection. Creativity and connection are really what today’s conversation is all about. How can you use a spark of curiosity to improve your ability to innovate, to create, to build something? That is really at the core of Tiffany’s positioning, of her communication, of everything that she stands for.
Tiffany had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“I would consider the CIA to be a very creative and artistic place” (6:50).
“People choose to work [at the CIA] because they’re driven by mission” (7:10).
“As an artist [at the CIA], I felt encouraged to explore the things I was curious about” (7:20).
“I have always been somebody who loved creating with my friends” (13:40).
“To have a lifelong friendship, you have to let it change” (20:10).
“I’m never afraid of being the friend who leads the friendship. I actually find that to be an honor” (22:50).
“Let’s not hide the broken fractures, let’s actually accentuate them” (28:40).
“When we’re in fix it mode, it’s about speed and getting something done” (30:55).
“When you shift into mending, curiosity really becomes that tool for understanding what it is you’re trying to create” (31:10).
“Binaries are rarely helpful, or perhaps real” (35:10).
“At its core, [art] is a process” (36:25).
“Novelty is such a powerful stimulant for our brain” (50:15).
“We’re not going to succeed alone. We’re going to have to work together” (53:25).
“Part of being an artist is being a steward of your art form” (57:55).
“Discipline, to me, has two parts: it has commitment, and it has craft” (1:00:40).
“Craft is a word heavy with intention” (1:01:40).
Additionally, click here to learn more about Tiffany’s various offerings. For more information specifically about Tiffany’s music, you can find that website here.
Thank you so much to Tiffany for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
Wednesday Aug 21, 2024
James Lawrence is a serial entrepreneur with a passion for cultivating great workplaces and empowering people. You will be able to tell right off the jump that James is extremely passionate about developing people in the workforce and doing so with intentional leadership. With more than 25 years of being a CEO and founder, James loves to share his insights, not just on leadership, but also on organizational culture and the intersection of technology and the workplace. His mission is to help people love their work and get connected with their teams, because in his words, when people work better, we all win together. He’s the founder of a company called “Happy,” which is dedicated to empowering people and improving how every team works together. He is someone who is passionate about the power of technology to change how we operate, how we develop people, and ultimately, how we perform. So, this conversation dives into what currently he’s doing at “Happy,” but also backs up to some of his journey and what he’s intentionally done to better himself so that he ultimately can serve others as well.
James had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“When you have a really high performing organization, that starts with intentionality” (4:55).
“If you’re trying to lead people, that’s an entire skill that you have to develop” (5:40).
“I’ve made every mistake in the book as a leader” (7:15).
“It takes time to become a leader” (7:15).
“You can be very skilled at knowing how to do things and not be very good at teaching them” (7:50).
“People that actually tell you the current state and are willing to be honest even when it hurts, those are people you want in your corner” (10:35).
“Being a good listener is a really important part of being a leader” (11:20).
“Listening and discarding something is totally different from not listening” (11:40).
“Today, I think true leadership is about making sure that I fully heard someone, that I fully processed everything, and then for me at least it’s now just making sure I build enough time in there to when I do talk to them, I’ve gotten the chance to really think through with some intention what my response is” (16:00).
“Entrepreneurship comes in a lot of flavors” (17:45).
“The manager-employee relationship is the number one driving force in an organization” (24:05).
“We believe in full transparency” (28:00).
“We’re just at the beginning of being able to maximize humans’ happiness” (32:40).
“I love the word happy” (36:50).
“[Happy’s mission] is to make the world at work better” (37:20).
“Happiness is a complex thing… but I like it as a north star” (39:00).
“Your hiring process is incredibly important” (40:00).
“You better be really discerning with who you let in the building” (41:50).
“You’re effective when you combine motivation, capability, and experience” (42:45).
“You have to develop a lot of patience to be a good parent” (46:00).
“I like challenges and I don’t think about risk in the way that some others might” (57:40).
“I have always liked challenges; I like pushing myself” (59:10).
“All we have is time, so where do we want to spend our time?” (59:50).
“I love building things. I’ve always been a builder and that’s where I thrive” (1:02:30).
Additionally, you can find everything about “Happy” here and connect with James on LinkedIn as well.
Thank you so much to James for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
Wednesday Aug 14, 2024
Before I get to Micah Hendler’s bio, I want to acknowledge there are things in this conversation, there are themes in this conversation, there are ideas in this conversation, that I don’t agree with. And if you look back to our podcast guests in the past, we have tried to bring a variety of people to the podcast for dialogue and to learn other people’s perspectives. And just because you’re learning it doesn’t mean you have to agree with it. So, as you’re listening to today’s conversation, I would hope that there are elements that you disagree with me on or disagree with Micah on. And that’s okay. We need to continue to have dialogue with people that we may disagree with and we need to find where we do agree. Human beings are meant to find a sense of belonging and often we seek out people that are just like us and we create tribes that then may cause us to be ignorant toward another group. And so, if there are things that are said in this conversation that make you think, great. If there are things in this conversation that you disagree with, great. Listen. And I did my best to do the same. There are times where maybe I’ll push back or maybe I’ll ask questions, but I’ll tell you after this conversation that Micah and I agreed to go get a cup of coffee together and I think that’s the point. And that is really what Micah is all about.
Micah Hendler is someone that believes in the power of using our voices, and specifically around music, to change how we see other people. He’s a Forbes 30 Under 30 recipient for his work in the music industry. He is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Jerusalem Youth Chorus, which is and Israeli-Palestinian music and dialogue project that he started years ago. Obviously, October 7th of this past year of 2023 impacted their chorus in a variety of ways and he’s going to talk about that in today’s conversation. The chorus has been featured on programs such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and PBS, and they’ve also been featured in media outlets like The New York Times. Through the co-creation of music and the sharing of stories, the chorus empowers young singers from East and West Jerusalem to speak and sing their truths. And that is a big piece of what Micah is trying to create. He wants to create a space where people can authentically show up as themselves and share their perspective. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re always going to agree, but he wants to create spaces where people can share their perspective and create dialogue that hopefully will lead to peace, justice, inclusion, and ultimately equality. In addition to his ongoing bridge building work in Jerusalem, Micah has brought some of his Jerusalem Youth Chorus experience back home and serves as a co-director of music for Braver Angels, which is America’s largest grassroots movement working on political depolarization. And that’s a big piece of today’s conversation. Certainly Israel gets headlines for divides and war and fighting and hate that does exist in that region, but if we look inward and we hold a mirror up to our country, we certainly have our own challenges that we are dealing with on a daily basis. Micah’s work using music to help people see each other as people is essential for the entire world and not just for Israel. During the pandemic, Micah co-founded Raise Your Voice Labs which is a creative culture change company that helps organizations, companies, and communities realign and reengage around a shared vision and builds cultures of resilience, adaptability, inclusive leadership, and supportive accountability. In this time of profound change, Raise Your Voice Labs has helped dozens of groups rediscover themselves, reconnect to one another, and find their musical north star. Micah writes for Forbes, he talks about music, society, and social change, and he actually currently lives in my neck of the woods in Washington, DC, and I’m excited to get to know him better as we continue to learn from each other
.
Micah had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“[It’s vital to make] sure that whatever we’re doing, people feel seen and heard and represented properly in the music that we sing” (14:55).
“Maybe there’s something beyond just fighting about who’s justified or who’s right or who’s suffered more… there’s this other plane of existence where actually all can be” (18:30).
“Maybe my music can do some good” (19:40).
“Balancing [curiosity and conviction] is the key challenge in all of the work that I do” (29:15).
“We do the movement a disservice by basically alienating anyone who hasn’t already arrived at our conclusions” (30:40).
“We’re trying to thread the needle on moving the needle” (32:00).
“One of the things we’ve done to try and navigate this paradigm is to really focus on values” (35:25).
“Everybody is looking for belonging and they find it in different ways” (36:20).
“What the chorus is trying to do, and is doing, is ultimately just creating a space where people can come and be fully themselves and come to really own the space” (37:15).
“Music naturally creates more trust” (38:55).
“Peace, justice, inclusion, and equality: when we sing, we sing for those values” (44:25).
“For me, extremism is not defined by a set of positions but by a way of approaching the world” (49:40).
“People have experienced so much trauma, or reactivated trauma… that it’s so easy for people to become weaponized against each other by these extremist leaders” (57:00).
“We are trying to show that there is an alternative [to extremism]” (1:05:35).
Additionally, you can find the website for the Jerusalem Youth Chorus here and Micah’s personal website here. You can also follow the Jerusalem Youth Chorus across social media platforms @JerusalemYouthChorus.
Thank you so much to Micah for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
Wednesday Aug 07, 2024
Melissa Urban is a badass. And we talk about that term badass and why she likes and why she appreciates the label and explains why we may attach that label to women who are doing big things, but we don’t necessarily attach it to men. So, who is Melissa beyond being a badass and what has that baddass-ery led to? It led to her co-founding and becoming the CEO of the Whole 30 brand. She’s also a recovered addict, a New York Times Bestselling Author, a mother, a podcast host, a nature churchgoer (those are her terms), and she also talks about boundaries quite a bit and wrote a book all about boundaries, which is called The Book of Boundaries. If you are in the health space, you’ve probably heard of Melissa and her Whole 30 brand and blog and books. She’s really created quite an empire around that concept. But today’s conversation is not just about all of Melissa’s successes; it’s also about some of the challenges and failures she’s had when it comes to partnership and relationship and her own journey and experience and learning to be vulnerable and learning to share that sometimes she’s not okay and sometimes she struggles just like the rest of us and how she’s thought deeply about what she presents to the world and her willingness to share some of the more vulnerable pieces of herself. So, this conversation hopefully will light you up, will hopefully make you realize that there often are no real gurus out there and we’re all just trying to do the best we can, and even if we’re having some success, we still may be having challenges that we’re dealing with on a moment-to-moment basis that may not be presented on social media. Speaking of social media, she has certainly built quite a following on Instagram, and so we talk about some of the downsides that come with social media and how she’s learned to create some boundaries for herself.
Melissa had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“I am always thinking of boundaries… as protecting future me, setting future me up for success” (7:30).
“People don’t like confrontation. People don’t like saying no” (8:50).
“We have this habit of automatically saying yes… because we want to meet other people’s expectations” (9:20).
“We have to create that pause” (12:50).
“In the absence of a plan, the brain is going to do what is easy and what is rewarding” (15:45).
“I love the idea of a 30-day commitment” (18:55).
“Black and white rules are actually easier for the brain to follow” (19:20).
“I like structure. I like routine. They’re very comforting to me” (24:10).
“Over the years, I’ve lost that dogmatism; I’ve lost that [idea that] there is only one right way” (27:45).
“There is no one size fits all. There is no one best way. And my job is to figure out the path that works best for you” (28:25).
“I discovered I loved hanging out with myself” (34:25).
“[Women] are often told that our needs and feelings and comforts don’t matter as much as men’s” (38:50).
“I think I know myself really well and I’m really confident in who I am and what I’m not” (42:00).
“I think there’s an element of badass-ery in any woman who claws her way up to the C-suite, because it’s harder for us than it is for a guy, especially a white guy” (43:10).
“I’m really good at empowering people and helping them make changes that stick” (47:35).
“I think often we extend others a grace and an understanding and a compassion that we are not willing to extend ourselves” (50:50).
“I don’t say things just to be nice” (53:30).
“We are not a weight loss diet” (56:15).
“Social media is such a blessing and a curse” (59:35).
“Social media is a pull, not a push. You always control what comes into your feed” (59:40).
“I have really strong boundaries and I hold them, and that’s how I make social media a place that works for me” (1:01:05).
Additionally, you can find everything Whole 30 related on their website and follow Whole 30 on all social media platforms @Whole30. You can also follow and connect directly with Melissa on Instagram.
Thank you so much to Melissa for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
Wednesday Jul 31, 2024
Lauren Sisler is an Emmy Award winning sports broadcaster, a former collegiate gymnast, an ESPN sideline reporter, an author, and a keynote speaker. While those accolades are super impressive and certainly her resume is impressive, this conversation gets into some of the challenges Lauren has faced personally. She lost both of her parents with their hidden battle with prescription drug addiction within hours of each other. I’m going to let her share what that was like for her. This conversation is as much about that watershed moment and tragedy as it is about her talent and her success. She’s vulnerable in this conversation; she’s willing to share her full self with all of us, and that’s what really makes this a really unique conversation. I think you’re going to find Lauren to be joyful, she is upbeat, but she is also not going to sugarcoat some of the things that she has struggled with and some of the challenges she’s faced in her life. And so, this is a conversation about joy, about adversity, about emotion and how we handle emotion and our relationship with our emotions, so it covers the full range of the life experience.
Lauren had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“That was one of the hardest things for me: the milestones that had been missed over the years” (10:00).
“I had this indescribable love for my parents. And that love has continued to grow since they passed” (10:40).
“I feel very fortunate for 18 years of my life to have parents that loved so deeply, unconditional love” (15:00).
“I want to be so transparent with my son because I do believe that transparency and vulnerability is huge” (16:25).
“Lessons can be learned in the way that we navigate life, navigate our experiences” (17:35).
“While I can take some things from my parents, it doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing” (18:10).
“Time is fleeting. Time is non-refundable” (21:50).
“I’ve been given this gift of perspective and realizing that, literally, we have this moment in time, and we have to lean into it and grab it and embrace it” (23:10).
“Now those milestones aren’t so much of [my parents] not being here, it’s celebrating all the memories of them and also the new memories that have been created since they’ve left us” (24:35).
“No matter how hard you work to make someone happy, it’s not your responsibility to determine what the end result will be and their response to it” (27:35).
“The healing process and everything we go through is not linear” (31:45).
“I will make it my job to make sure [my son] understands what addiction is and how it can literally get its claws inside of you and never let go” (36:05).
“The shackles of shame were so tight around my wrist” (40:00).
“My parents aren’t defined by how they died, but by how they lived their lives” (40:20).
“I could not face the truth of what was inside those toxicology reports. I was so fearful of what I would see and what I would learn” (41:40).
“We are going to continue to experience loss, we are going to continue to experience those struggles” (43:15).
“Shame is 1000% going to be woven throughout your life” (44:40).
“Fall in love with your story” (45:20).
“Instead of running from adversity, you attack it” (46:55).
“When I started leaning in, I found purpose in what I do” (47:50).
“A lot of times, I was so afraid to speak about how I really felt” (54:50).
“We sometimes have to be more of advocates for ourselves” (57:20).
Additionally, you can find Lauren’s website here where you can find out everything you need to know about her, her new book, and sign up for her newsletter. You can also connect with her on all social media platforms @laurensisler.
Thank you so much to Lauren for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
Wednesday Jul 24, 2024
Ruben Gonzalez is going to inspire you with our conversation today. He is 61 years old and he is still attempting to make it to the next Olympics in the sport of luge. If you know anything about luge, you’ll know that it is a difficult sport that’s hard on the body that comes with danger. And Ruben knows a lot about the sport of luge. He’s competed in 4 different Olympics in the 3 different decades. He’s currently attempting to become the oldest Olympian to ever compete. He has experienced a lot in the sport of luge, but he’s also run with the bulls in Spain, he’s climbed Mount Kilimanjaro (the highest mountain in Africa), he was a torch bearer at the Salt Lake City Olympic Games, he has written books, he’s a keynote speaker, he is really a unique soul who is passionate. He really reminded me a lot of the people that I studied and wrote about in my book, Shift your Mind. A lot of today’s conversation is going to focus on Ruben’s mindset; what he’s done to create a mindset to help him in preparation and in performance. I think even more so than those two places and spaces, you’re going to learn about how Ruben sees life, then lens through which he sees it, and how much he always wants to continue learning and growing and reading and studying and researching. He is someone who is not going to stop developing himself in order to be the best version of him.
Ruben had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“I was always looking for my adventure” (6:00).
“What drew me to the Olympians, it wasn’t their athleticism, it was their spirit, their heart” (7:00).
“If you study the lives of great people, you’ll figure out what works and doesn’t work in life” (7:40).
“Belief gets you started… [and] desire keeps you going” (10:05).
“The harder it is, the easier it is for me. Because I’m not a quitter; I’m a bulldog” (14:25).
“The luge is my vehicle, and it’s probably the only vehicle that’s going to get me to that destination: [the Olympics]” (20:00).
“I had a different motivation for each [Olympics]” (25:05).
“I can live with not making it, but I can’t live with not trying” (25:10).
“If I make it [to the Winter Olympics and set the record as the oldest athlete to compete ever], I actually hope someone will break it at the next Olympics because that means I got old guys out of the woodwork and got them working out (27:00).
“I’m 61 years old. I’m sliding better and more consistently than ever before” (32:45).
“You’ve got to have perseverance, but you’ve got to be coachable. You’ve got to be humble” (33:15).
“[Legacy] means a lot [to me]” (49:20).
“On the sled, you’ve got to be calm, cool, and collected” (52:55).
“If you change your focus, the fear will disappear” (56:10).
“I don’t want the fame. I want to be under the radar” (1:11:35).
“Keep on keeping on and hopefully things will work out” (1:14:25).
Additionally, you can find Ruben’s website here and connect with him on Facebook as well.
Thank you so much to Ruben for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
Wednesday Jul 17, 2024
If you live in the Washington DC area, Lindsay Czarniak is a name that you’re probably familiar with. She’s an Emmy Award winning broadcaster who spent several years as the sports anchor and reporter for NBC Washington. Also, if you’re familiar with NBC Washington, you’ll know that they have become somewhat of a factory for talent in the sports broadcasting world. That really traces back to the days of legendary broadcaster and sportscaster George Michael, who started the George Michael Sports Machine, and it really was one of the first pioneer sports shows. George Michael called Lindsay the best hire he ever made, which is pretty high praise coming from a legend. After NBC, she decided to move to Connecticut, where she worked at ESPN from 2011-2017. She anchored SportsCenter, Sports Nation, and NASCAR Now. We’ll talk about NASCAR in today’s conversation and how it impacted her journey and how she really loves the sport and all that comes with travelling and also being a mom and having a career. So, this conversation gets into Lindsay’s background, her personal life, she’s married to Craig Melvin who hosts The Today Show so we’re going to talk about his perspective and Lindsay’s perspective and how they’re a bit different, and how Lindsay has had what she calls a zigzag career. She said it’s zigzag, but from my perspective, Lindsay is someone who has range. She loves to look at new things and new ideas and new concepts and create. She’s very creative and very curious as to how she can continue learning and growing and developing. She’s also worked for the NFL on FOX and as a NASCAR reporter. A lot of her roots and her history involve NASCAR. She talks in today’s conversation about working at the Belmont. Currently, she’s a freelancer, so she bounces around from different sporting events. You may be familiar with Lindsay, but if you’re not, this is just a real genuine conversation that gets into interviewing, that gets into growth, that gets into mindset, and I think you’re going to love learning with Lindsay on the podcast today.
Lindsay had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“I’ve become obsessed with interviewing two people at the same time because I find it such a challenge and there’s such an art to trying to do it well” (7:55).
“I do think I have a certain amount of shyness. I know I do. And I worry about what people think” (13:25).
“[When you’re interviewing someone], you are setting [them] up to have this internal video of what they’re talking about” (15:45).
“It’s a special thing if you can give someone the opportunity to do something and talk about something that they don’t normally get the opportunity to do” (19:55).
“More often than not I never even look down at my paper [during an interview] because you’re just in it” (23:15).
“If I’m holding it lightly, it’s usually because it is something I really want to ask” (26:25).
“[I try to think a lot about] who is my audience, who is really listening to this?” (29:40).
“It’s a complicated place to be all of a sudden freelancing” (42:30).
“I really think there’s other stuff within this sports broadcasting thing that I would love trying” (43:25).
“At some point, freelance is scary” (44:20).
“You have to give stuff up if you want to be there with your kids” (46:15).
“You can’t do it all, but you also have to say yes to some stuff you might not want to do if you want to follow that trajectory” (46:20).
“Loyalty is valued” (46:40).
“The work I’m doing now is some of the most fulfilling stuff I’ve ever done” (50:40).
“I love live TV. I love interactions with co-hosts” (56:45).
“It’s so important in those jobs (like sideline reporting and broadcasting) that you’re taking your time to get to know the players, to get to know the coaches” (1:03:25).
“Sometimes it’s okay to just love what it is that you’re doing” (1:05:05).
“You can’t fake the amount of work you put into it” (1:10:55).
“Things change for no reason” (1:11:45).
“If you see it, go be it” (1:12:20).
“One word to define success: camaraderie” (1:13:25).
“Camaraderie and human connection to me are so big” (1:17:10).
Additionally, you can connect with Lindsay on Instagram and Facebook. Also, when you tune into the Olympics, make sure to watch Lindsay’s broadcast on USA Network.
Thank you so much to Lindsay for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
Wednesday Jul 10, 2024
Dr. James Doty, or as he wanted me to call him, Jim, is a Clinical Professor of Neurosurgery at Stanford University. He’s also the Founder and Director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, which is an affiliate of the Stanford Neurosciences Institute. So, you’re going to learn pretty quickly in today’s conversation that Dr. Doty has been on the neurosurgery side and on the neuroscience side of studying the brain. He is obsessed with research and science, and he also blends in this sort of artistic way of thinking about how we can show up in the world. He’s the author of a self-help book called Into the Magic Shop, which is a neurosurgeon’s quest to discover the mysteries of the brain and the secrets of the heart. I think that best describes how Jim shows up. He very much values the brain, but he also values the heart. His most recent book, which is a big part of our conversation today, is called Mind Magic, which is all about the neuroscience of manifestation and how it changes us and helps us evolve and impacts how we show up in the world. He has been very philanthropic with Stanford University’s School of Medicine. He’s one of the largest donators of any graduate or faculty member at the school. He endowed the Chair of the Dean of the School of Medicine at Tulane University as well following Hurricane Katrina and helped refurbish its library, in addition to setting up a scholarship for socioeconomically disadvantaged students to commit to a career of service. He cares deeply about giving back, helping people, and being part of something bigger than himself. The other word that is really important to remember when you listen to Dr. Jim Doty talk is disadvantaged. He came from a disadvantaged upbringing; he’s going to reference that in today’s conversation. And so, you’re going to hear him talk a little bit about capitalism and some of the downsides that may come with that structure and that system, and how he struggled in his early days as well. He’s also a CEO; he’s the founder of Happi AI, which is a new mental health app which uses emotion detection with AI to really help people on their journey and be able to regulate their emotions. He’s served as a CEO for many different bio companies through his career, including Accuray, which ended up IPOing for $1.3 billion in 2007. He served in the 90’s as their CEO. So, he’s got this leadership background, but he’s also been in surgery centers and has been operating on people, and on the research side. So, he has these intersections that make him a really fascinating human being and I loved my conversation with him. It’s about much more about simply his successes, it’s also about the challenges and the failures Dr. Doty has had along the way. So, I think you’re going to find him to be vulnerable, open, and he also knows who he is. He’s very comfortable in his own skin and doesn’t mince words and is convicted on a lot of his beliefs based on the curiosity that he’s had previously.
Dr. Doty had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“So many people are so afraid of being judged, or accepting themselves, or being authentic” (7:25).
“[We have] programs that are training people to be more compassionate towards themselves” (7:55).
“In the modern world, many people feel uncomfortable talking to another human” (9:20).
“Nowadays we’ve created a narrative of a minimum wage, not a living wage” (15:40).
“Massive economic inequalities is a fundamental aspect of [the growing need for mental health treatment]” (19:35).
“That’s what many of us need in this world: an empathic listener” (23:15).
“When children grow up in an environment [where they face many adverse childhood experiences], it’s like a warzone; it’s traumatizing” (23:50).
“Post-traumatic stress disorder doesn’t have to be from war” (24:05).
“I no longer had anger and hostility towards my parents, because they did not have the toolset to take care of themselves” (25:40).
“When I changed how I interacted with the world, it changed how the world interacted with me” (26:05).
“Manifestation is the ability to embed an intention into your subconscious so that, by doing so, it increases the likelihood of whatever it is you wish to happen to occur” (27:45).
“I was seeking to get external affirmation to tell me I was worthy, to deal with my shame. And of course, it did none of those things” (31:50).
“As a species, we are not wired to have complete self-focus” (32:30).
“We have a genetic imperative to care” (32:45).
“What people don’t realize is that many of the thoughts they have don’t actually have to do with them” (44:50).
“All of us are manifesting all the time. It’s just what are we manifesting?” (46:00).
“We create the limiting beliefs that stop us from believing in the unlimited possibilities that each of us have” (48:35).
“The greatest way for you to imbed an intention is through defining your goals or your intent” (51:35).
“Our purpose in life is to care for others” (52:10).
“Let go of outcomes” (53:05).
“You need to choose a path that is respectful towards yourself” (54:50).
“Your subconscious is always listening” (1:01:15).
“Medical school beats your empathy and compassion out of you” (1:04:15).
“Many people get so attuned to helping others that they don’t do self-care, nor are they compassionate to themselves to create boundaries, that allow them to be their best selves and then they burn out” (1:08:10).
“Every one of us, every day, has the ability to improve the life of at least one person” (1:15:30).
Additionally, you can find Dr. Doty’s website here, where you can learn more about him and also purchase both of his books. You can also find the website for Happi AI here. You can also reach out to Dr. Doty via email at jrdoty@stanford.edu.
Thank you so much to Dr. Doty for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Jun 26, 2024
Wednesday Jun 26, 2024
Allison Shapira, MPA, CSP, is a former opera singer turned entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and international expert in leadership communication. She is the Founder/CEO of Global Public Speaking LLC, a certified woman-owned small business that teaches speaking skills to leaders so that they can build better client relationships, inspire their teams, and confidently lead their organizations into the future.
She teaches a graduate-level course at the Harvard Kennedy School and has spent 20 years developing leadership communication programs for Fortune 50 companies, government agencies, and non-profit organizations. She has worked with prime ministers and their cabinets and CEOs and their leadership teams, teaching them authentic leadership as a way to inspire their constituents and teams.
She also travels around the world with the nonprofit Vital Voices Global Partnership, teaching leadership communication to help women leaders grow their business, run for office, or launch a nonprofit.
Allison is a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) and a Certified Virtual Presenter. She holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School and is an internationally-renowned singer/songwriter who uses music as a way to help others find their voice and their courage to speak.
As an avid tech enthusiast, Allison has incorporated artificial intelligence into her keynotes, workshops and coaching to help people improve their speaking skills. More broadly, she is researching the intersection of AI and authenticity and what that means for the future of human connection.
Allison is the author of Speak with Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence Others (HarperCollins Leadership), which was a Washington Post best-seller, and the new companion e-guide Speak with Impact VIRTUALLY. She has spoken at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Next Gen Summit, the Most Powerful Women in Banking LEAD Conference, and was a finalist for 2017 Woman Business Owner of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners, San Diego Chapter.
A lifelong learner and world traveler who has taught public speaking on nearly every continent, Allison can ask for directions in ten languages but can only understand the responses in four. One of the proudest moments of her life was singing the National Anthem for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Allison had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“[There is so much value in public speaking in] not reading every single person’s body language” (8:05).
“[Our perceptions of] body language expressions can be accurate, but they’re not necessarily related to us or what we’re saying” (9:05).
“What I’m doing is co-creating a reality between me and each member of the audience” (10:30).
“I’m always very intentional about the energy I’m creating with myself so that I can perform at my best” (12:20).
“’It depends’ is one of my favorite answers because very few issues are binary” (15:45).
“I’m always someone who’s loved to learn new things. I love going from not knowing to knowing” (16:10).
“Why you?” (24:35).
“You’re not the center of attention. Your message is the center of attention” (26:00).
“I do [need validation]” (29:05).
“I don’t just do this work as a job. The work that I do is an extension of who I am and what I believe and how I want to show up in this world” (29:35).
“It’s hard to balance the strategy of running the company with the creativity of making new content” (31:30).
“AI is going to affect every part of our lives in ways we can control and ways we can’t control” (34:20).
“When you’re speaking, you’re actually engaging the audience in conversation” (41:10).
“[Executive presence is] a way of speaking and acting that makes others take notice and listen” (41:30).
“Confidence comes from a belief in our ability to affect a positive outcome” (43:05).
“The amount of time you spend preparing for a presentation is based on two key factors: how well you know the material and how important the occasion is” (45:50).
“Opera music is so rigid and folk music is so make it up as you go” (52:05).
“Public speaking is closer to folk music than to opera” (52:45).
“We are sometimes too close to who we are to really tap into what drives us the most” (57:05).
“I am a super empowered, growth-oriented citizen of the world” (57:55).
“When we tap into our own emotions, we actually tap into the emotions of our audience” (1:01:25).
“The more personal I am in my songwriting, the more the audience relates to my journey” (1:02:25).
“Clarity is a muscle, and we learn how to build that muscle” (1:05:15).
“Your energy affects the energy of all the other people in the room” (1:05:25).
Additionally, you can connect with Allison on LinkedIn. I’d also encourage you to purchase Allison’s book, Speak with Impact: How to Command the Room and Influence Others, anywhere books are sold. You can also subscribe to her newsletter here, find her personal website here, and find the Global Public Speaking website here.
Thank you so much to Allison for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.
Wednesday Jun 19, 2024
Wednesday Jun 19, 2024
Bill Kraus is on a mission. And I use that word intentionally. He is the co-founder and owner of Mission Barbeque, which opened its doors for business on September 11th, 2011. And of course, that date is not a coincidence. Bill and his co-founder Steve “Newt” Newton, who came from Outback Steakhouse, were very intentional from the beginning to make sure that they built a business that was purpose-based. They cared deeply about serving their employees, their customers, their community, and they’re unapologetically patriotic. They believe in serving our first responders and our military, and that’s going to come across tried and true in today’s conversation. Before starting Mission Barbeque, Bill had spent a lot of his career working in the sports industry. He worked for the NFL, he worked for the brand Champion, and he also was one of the first employees for Under Armour. He helped Under Armour grow and expand at an amazingly rapid pace. He helped that company grow its revenues from $20 million to an excess of $800 million. He oversaw the following functional areas: he helped them with brand marketing, sports marketing, product merchandising, business development, licensing, and team sales. And yet, it wasn’t until he got with Mission Barbeque that he really became this purpose driven leader and wanted to create something bigger than himself. He really cares deeply about service and that’s what today’s conversation is about. What I love about Bill, regardless of what you think of him or Mission Barbeque, he is clear on who they serve. He constantly is trying to challenge us to think intentionally about how we can serve people, and he is obsessed with serving the constituents that exist at Mission Barbeque. They show and share their love for soldiers, firefighters, police officers, first responders, and they don’t hold back in calling those people heroes. So, you know as soon as you enter Mission Barbeque that they are purpose driven, that they are clear on what they value, and also, their barbeque is really really good. If you’re in the Mid-Atlantic region like me, you’ve probably been to one of their restaurants. And if you’re outside of this area, you’re probably going to start to see their restaurants pop up. They’ve already gone as far west as Colorado and they have big plans to continue to grow and make an impact. So, today’s conversation is certainly about Mission, it’s certainly about impact, and I think at its core it is about service.
Bill had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:
“I just don’t think we’d feel right about doing business on [Memorial Day]” (7:05).
“[Calling our employees teammates] creates more of a bond and a unity” (8:15).
“I was going to find my own way to serve and give back and make a difference in a more meaningful way” (10:10).
“The gifts we have we are given to share” (11:40).
“There’s that fine line between confidence and cockiness that you have to have a certain level of commitment, especially when you take that risk to start your own business” (12:10).
“This is a lot more than just a pulled pork sandwich as much as the experience we’re trying to create for our consumer” (19:10).
“The consumer feels like they are appreciated at Mission Barbeque” (20:20).
“If for some reason we do make too much [food], there’s probably a firehouse or a police station that would gladly take some of that food at the end of the day” (26:55).
“You have to embrace the data, but that can’t be your full factor in making decisions” (28:20).
“Every day is Veteran’s Day at Mission Barbeque” (33:10).
“Your life doesn’t need to fit into your job” (37:25).
“We welcome and encourage leaning into [gratitude over entitlement]” (44:50).
“If you want to go fast, you go alone. If you want to go far, you go together” (46:55).
“At the end of the day, if [Newt and I] aren’t in agreement, we’re probably not going to do it” (47:15).
“[A hero is] somebody that is much more than just themselves and realizes the role that they played on a team” (53:00).
“As hard as the walk was, thank god that it led to this” (55:50).
“The numbers are what the numbers are, but how are people feeling?” (1:00:00).
“If you do it right, no matter what business, and you align yourself and find the right people, and there is a purpose to it, success can be found” (1:03:25).
Thank you so much to Bill for coming on the podcast!
I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.
Thanks for listening.