#534: Chason Forehand is a mission-driven leader who turned a turbulent childhood, addiction, and homelessness into a blueprint for building a life of impact. After a pivotal moment of compassion from a chef who helped him get clean, Chason committed himself to paying it forward. In this episode, he shares the practical steps and lessons he’s learned, from overcoming adversity and silencing your inner critic to creating sustainable change through his nonprofit, Transformation Kitchen. As host of...
Aug 11, 2025•59 min•Ep. 534
#533: Scott Raven is a former Fortune 500 executive turned liberation expert who helps overwhelmed entrepreneurs escape the cycle of burnout and build businesses that support their lives, not consume them. After experiencing his own breaking point and trading one “prison” for another in his first business venture, Scott developed the Liberation Framework: a strategic system rooted in the Six Dimensions of Freedom, from time sovereignty and operational independence to sustainable success. Through...
Jul 28, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 533
#532: Joe McKay is an Australian business coach and solopreneur mentor who helps founders and solo business owners build thriving, opportunity-generating brands. After leaving a secure government job in Australia, Joe relocated his family to France, where he grew a six-figure solo business by overcoming his own fears of posting online and sharing his voice. Today, he specializes in helping busy founders and consultants create high-impact thought leadership content, while coaching solopreneurs to...
May 12, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 532
#531 - Henna Pryor, CSP is a dynamic Workplace Performance Expert who speaks and writes about performance mindset, interpersonal dynamics, high-impact communication, and embracing bumps in a world that keeps optimizing for smoothness. She is a regular Expert Columnist for Inc. Magazine, 18x award-winning author of Good Awkward , and an in-demand global keynote speaker. Her playful personality and insightful talks blend 2 decades of working with corporate leaders and teams with a fresh, science-b...
Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 15 min
#530: Katrina McGhee is a Career Break and Sabbatical Expert, creator of the Break Blueprint, BreakSpace and the author of Taking a Career Break for Dummies . As a certified master coach with an MBA, Katrina helps mid-career professionals create happier, more fulfilling lives by designing bold and transformational breaks. Her clients return from their breaks recharged, inspired, happily-employed and forever changed. On their time off, her 60+ clients have traveled the world, launched a business,...
Mar 10, 2025•59 min•Ep. 530
#529: Matt Doan is a transformational coach and entrepreneur dedicated to helping senior professionals break free from the constraints of corporate life and build sustainable, purpose-driven businesses online. After spending a decade climbing the corporate ladder in management consulting, he faced a personal crisis that forced him to reevaluate his path. Determined to reclaim his life, he immersed himself in entrepreneurship, coaching, and high-level mastermind programs, ultimately developing a ...
Mar 03, 2025•1 hr 6 min
#528: Sigute Zitikyte is a passionate advocate for multi-potentiality, helping ambitious individuals embrace their diverse interests and build careers that evolve with them. After spending a decade in the "multi-passionate shame cycle," feeling constrained by traditional career expectations, she broke free from a linear path and turned her creative pursuits into a thriving business. Through personal experience, she understands the struggle of balancing ambition with societal norms and now empowe...
Feb 10, 2025•1 hr 20 min•Ep. 528
#527: Kasey Jones is a renowned personal brand consultant, business growth strategist, and advocate for personal and professional empowerment. She specializes in transforming overworked and underpaid solopreneurs into profitable CEOs of businesses they love, using a bespoke blend of strategy, branding, systems, and mindset development. With nearly two decades of experience in early-stage growth strategy, B2B sales, demand generation, personal brand development, and relationship building at scale...
Jan 20, 2025•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 527
#526: Dr. Benjamin Ritter, founder of Live for Yourself (LFY) Consulting and award-winning author of " Becoming Fearless ," is an international leadership and career coach, Sr. Talent Management Consultant, Top LinkedIn Voice, global speaker, and host of The Executive , and the Live Fearlessly Podcasts. Ben has coached over 500 leaders with a strong focus on senior-level executives across multiple industries and geographic regions, within organizations that varied in scale from 50 to over 250,00...
Dec 09, 2024•55 min•Ep. 526
#525: Nicole Greene is a Business and Lifestyle Strategist for badass women founders and executives who are committed to high performance in multiple non-negotiable roles (think executive, founder, mom, caretaker). Her actionable strategies and systems help these women step out of survival mode and achieve success, in life and business. Nicole’s passion for this work comes from her own experience making herself small (and eventually burning out) across a highly successful career, from defense in...
Oct 07, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 525
#524: Brian Ondrako is, first and foremost, a dedicated Dad to an amazing young boy who keeps him energized and young at heart. As the host of the Just Get Started Podcast for over six years, Brian has built a platform for meaningful conversations and personal growth. Alongside his podcasting journey, he writes blogs three times a week, has published two children’s books with a third on the way, and serves as a Sales Mentor to B2B Founders and their teams. The past several years have been transf...
Sep 10, 2024•1 hr 22 min•Ep. 524
#523: Jason Silver is a multi-time founder of kids and a multi-time founder of companies. He gets his biggest thrill helping modern employees and their teams unlock a better way to work—surfing is a close second. He was an early employee at Airbnb and helped build an AI company from the ground up back before AI was the cool thing to do. Today, he advises a startup portfolio valued in the billions on how to build great, lasting companies that people actually enjoy working for. He’s a sought-after...
Sep 03, 2024•1 hr 19 min•Ep. 523
#522: In 2020 when the pandemic hit, Alex and his wife Michelle took their kids to Wisconsin to visit his parents. What was supposed to be a 3 month trip ended up being a family move as the Comptons could not get back to the Philippines and decided to migrate to the US. It was during that time that Alex was exposed to business in the US, when he was asked to be CEO of a small company. It was a significant time of learning that eventually ended up leading Alex to spending more time talking with a...
Jul 29, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Ep. 522
#521: Julie Bee is the founder of TJB Media (2021) and BeeSmart Social Media (2008). She’s an award-winning podcast host, a leader, a professional speaker, and an entrepreneur. Julie is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program (10ksb) and a proud alumnus of West Virginia University. Julie started her career as an accountant but quickly discovered that path was not a good fit for her creativity. After losing her job in 2008, Julie founded BeeSmart Social Media. Julie contin...
Jul 12, 2024•1 hr•Ep. 521
#520: In 2021, Alli Rizacos took the leap and left the corporate world to pursue her dream of building a coaching business while traveling the world. In less than 3 years, she has built a recognizable brand on LinkedIn and a successful coaching business nearing $1M in revenue. Tune in to learn how Alli transitioned from corporate work to becoming a coach and her journey to entrepreneurial freedom.
Jun 26, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 520
#519: Amy L. Riley is an internationally renowned speaker, author and leadership development consultant. She’s worked with organizations such as Deloitte, Cisco Systems and Aon Hewitt and has over 20 years of experience working with leaders at all levels. Amy earned a Masters of Science in Training and Development (MSTD), with an emphasis in Organization Development (OD), from Loyola University in Chicago, Illinois. She is a Certified Professional Behavioral Analyst (CPBA), a certified Tiara Int...
Apr 22, 2024•1 hr 12 min
#518: I dove headfirst into finance for one reason. Money. As a 20 year old I simply neglected who I was, and looked to go to the place I could make a lot of money. How ignorant. I ignored my real talents. Despite natural skills in writing, speaking, and presenting, I chose the expected path. Here’s the truth: Our system, from college to career, often buries our genuine strengths under a pile of “shoulds.” It took me too long to listen, to unearth those dormant skills, and truly embrace them. Wh...
Mar 20, 2024•6 min
#517: Welcome, everyone, to another episode of The Break podcast, where we delve into the depths of resilience, flexibility, and overcoming life's obstacles. I'm your host, Mike, and today's conversation promises to be nothing short of enlightening. Today, we're exploring a topic that resonates with each and every one of us - setbacks. Life's unexpected twists and turns can knock us off course, but it's how we respond to these challenges that defines our journey forward. You know, we often envis...
Mar 18, 2024•59 min•Ep. 517
#516: In chasing “success” we forget what it is to just be human. I feel like my struggles have been about getting back to just being a person. I don’t want to just succeed at some line of work that no one will remember. I don’t want to just save for retirement that might not ever come. I don’t want to be one dimensional. I want to be a Full Stack Human. What does that mean?
Mar 13, 2024•7 min
#515: Heyooo, So The World Economic Forum recently released their top 10 "skills for the future of work." Guess what made the list: flexibility, adaptability and resilience. Why are those so important to the WEF? Because the WEF knows that the future is changing rapidly, and companies need employees who can thrive in a rapidly changing environment. The job market and the world at large are changing quickly, and what served you yesterday likely won't serve you in the future - especially if you're...
Feb 28, 2024•2 min
#514: You can do anything, but you can’t do everything. You must choose your path with the best odds. Look there's 2 places people start when creating options: "I have no options. I can't imagine what else I could do." "I can do anything! How do I choose?" It's work to realize that neither starting point is reality, but once you do you begin to see that the path to creating options starts with thinking about our odds.
Feb 21, 2024•8 min
#513: Welcome back to another episode of The Break podcast, the space where we unpack the remarkable stories of individuals who've faced life's challenges head-on. I'm your host, Mike, and today's conversation is one that you don't want to miss. Our guest today is Danielle Cobo, a powerhouse in resilience, courage, and unwavering determination. Before we dive into the heart of her story, a little sneak peek caught my attention recently – Danielle's truck. It's not just a vehicle; it's a symbol. ...
Feb 19, 2024•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 513
#512: I got fired in the middle of a meeting. Well, I was told the next day, but it happened in that meeting. I knew it. What a terrible feeling. I was up all night, walking the streets of Seattle in the dark by myself. My mind racing between panic and planner modes. I need a job Can I even get a job? Why did this happen? Who do I reach out to? How much runway do I have? What do I tell my wife and kids? Fortunately, my terror was short lived and I pivoted into a FT, highly paid consulting role w...
Feb 14, 2024•6 min
#511: FUD = Fear. Uncertainty. Doubt. The triad that keeps us from betting on ourselves. And keeps us on the incremental path to nowhere. I used to be a FUD. I grew up in a very fiscally conservative household. My parents are well off, but massive penny pinchers. This isn’t bad, in fact it’s noble. However, saying no to even the slightest risk of losing isn’t great for personal growth. So naturally I was extremely risk averse for the first 20 years of my life. Until I learned about the BARBELL s...
Feb 07, 2024•7 min
#510: I'm back and energized, to dive into something that's been on my mind – and probably on yours too: the messiness of Career Change. I know, just reading those words can send a flutter of anxiety through your chest, as it has for me many times - 6 to be exact. Yes I've made no less than 6 major career changes. And not the "I'm changing companies" kind. More like the "I'm changing industries, roles, skill sets, going to build a business then go back to corporate and then build a business to g...
Jan 31, 2024•7 min
#509: I thought a lot about how we can build our capacity to take action towards what WE want. That can seem scary because we fear what other people will think, and we think we are RISKING a lot. After all, if what we want is different than our peers, doesn't that make us an outsider? Weird? A loner? We've all heard the expression “no risk no reward.” But if you’re not learning to take risk, you’re missing out on much more: No risk no confidence. No risk no growth. No risk no learning. No risk n...
Jan 24, 2024•5 min
#508: We're delving into the profound topic of reinvention, exploring how to pursue our passions, even when it means taking a leap of faith. In today's interview, I had the privilege of sitting down with Roger Osorio, a remarkable individual who embodies the essence of reinvention. We unravel his personal journey from a corporate job to becoming a math tutor and eventually a teacher. Roger shares his insights into the transformative power of finding fulfillment and happiness in one's work, even ...
Jan 22, 2024•1 hr 35 min
#507: Our guest, Arun Gupta, brings a unique perspective to the table, one that challenges conventional notions of purpose and profit in one's career. We're about to dive into a topic that could reshape how you think about your own professional journey. But before we get into that, I want to share a thought-provoking student testimonial from Arun's website, which perfectly sets the stage for our conversation. It goes like this: "Rather than thinking about your career decisions as a series of tra...
Jan 09, 2024•1 hr 13 min•Ep. 507
#506: Ok, so 2024 is knocking at the door and I just learned a new word. Actually 2 new words. First, my kids taught me the word "rizz" which means something about flirting or having game. Lo and behold rizz is Time Magazine's word of the year! I couldn't believe it! The second is "career pathing", as in the act of figuring out your path. I never really knew this term existed, but it makes sense. The core problem we have in "career pathing" is that individuals have much more autonomy in and resp...
Dec 20, 2023•8 min
#505: Henna Pryor, PCC is a highly sought-after Workplace Performance Expert and an award-winning 2x TEDx and global keynote speaker, virtual presenter, author, and professional executive coach. She’s known for her science-backed approach to improving the performance, habits, and actions of hungry high achievers – in her fun, no-nonsense, no-jargon way – to move them from their first level of success to their next one. She has been invited to speak twice for TEDx in New York City and Wilmington,...
Dec 18, 2023•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 505
