Janet Sherlund chronicles her life as an adopted child. Being adopted made her feel as though she was living a “borrowed life,” undermined her sense of trust and personal value, and impacted every decision she made. It also led to a lifelong quest to find her biological mother, with the hope of finally feeling a tether to this world, a sense of belonging, and ultimately, herself. Adoption is often painted as a happy, inspirational act - a baby finds a family and lives happily ever after. But the...
Jul 02, 2025•37 min•Ep. 551
Dr. Kristen Williamson is a licensed professional counselor, neurodivergent advocate, and proud ringleader of a “neurospicy” family. Her life is a mix of late-night epiphanies, juggling mental health myths, and a daily dose of laughter as she navigates autism, ADHD, and parenting kids who keep her on her toes (and sometimes hiding snacks). Here’s the deal: growing up, she always felt like she was dancing to her beat, but nobody gave me the playlist. It wasn’t until adulthood that she realized sh...
Jun 25, 2025•38 min•Ep. 550
Mike Burnop is Virginia Tech’s Hall of Fame network analyst and the two-time Virginia Sportscaster of the Year (2019, 2023). He attended Roanoke Catholic High School, where he is a Hall of Fame inductee. Mike was inducted into the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2000. Mike enters his 42nd season in the Hokies’ football booth. In addition to his role as an analyst, Mike handles all postgame interviews from Virginia Tech’s locker room. Mike was a star tight end at Virginia Tech during his pla...
Jun 18, 2025•35 min•Ep. 549
Jo Whipp is freer now than she has been in her past. She is still healing, grasping what she thought her life was supposed to look like while pretending it’s something it isn’t. She committed to stopping living in the past and starting to create her future. Life, the journey, is a forever-growing, forever learning, forever-unfolding experience. She thinks the analogy of the butterfly works so well. Some struggle to overcome more than others. There were moments when she longed for the ultimate fr...
Jun 11, 2025•37 min•Ep. 548
Austin Davis is a visionary leader in teenage behavioral health and addiction treatment. He has spent the past 15+ years committed to transforming the lives of teens and their families. He uses the power of faith in the recovery process to help his clients grow into healthy and happy members of their community. His dedication to teen mental health makes him a driving thought leader in the industry. He has spoken to parents, community health professionals, educators, and teens nationwide—sharing ...
Jun 04, 2025•39 min•Ep. 547
Jacques Delorme is a farm kid raised in rural Saskatchewan and currently residing in Regina with his two children. He completed a Bachelor of Education degree in Chemistry, physical education, and general science in 1990 and became a master teacher and coached volleyball, curling, badminton, softball, and track and field. He is a science educator who dedicated the past 10 years of his life to personal development including training as a Shaman. With a deep interest in helping others through writ...
May 28, 2025•39 min•Ep. 546
Joan Quinlan has overcome multiple life traumas brought about by her early lifestyle. Her family culture was one of working beyond any life adversities rather than finding anyone who could empathize with her. That culture caused her to repress many of her early life anxieties, which led her to excessive alcohol consumption. The term for this was formerly alcoholic. The accepted term now is substance use disorder (SUD). She explains she still has moments that can activate (the term more accepted ...
May 21, 2025•48 min•Ep. 541
Harris Cooper, formerly GS-15, discusses his approach to organizational culture, drawing from his 39-year government career. He emphasizes the importance of the Golden Rule and the Serenity Prayer in his management style, along with two simple rules: do your job and keep the boss out of trouble. Harris also shares his experience leading a diverse workforce across multiple naval and marine air stations, where he was responsible for aircraft repair capabilities. He discusses the challenges of mana...
May 20, 2025•35 min•Ep. 542
Mike Chapman is a Certified Recovery Life Coach and Brainspotting Provider with Polar Life Consulting and Husband Material. This is an outgrowth of his early life of having survived child sexual abuse and human trafficking, and he is listed with the Speakers Bureau within Survivor Network NC (North Carolina) as a Lived Experience Expert. He also hosts an award-winning podcast where he interviews male childhood sexual abuse and trafficking survivors and their caretakers. You can learn more about ...
May 14, 2025•37 min•Ep. 535
Jyoti Dhanota is also known by her preferred professional pseudonym "Geet." She is a prolific self-published author with an extensive literary portfolio comprising 11 captivating books. Specializing in the genre of fictional romance, Geet fearlessly tackles taboo subjects prevalent in South Asian communities, thereby contributing to a more inclusive and diverse literary landscape. Her dedication extends beyond storytelling, as she actively seeks to address the underrepresentation of Punjabi cult...
May 07, 2025•39 min•Ep. 525
John A. Brink was born in 1940 in Nazi-occupied Holland during WWII. From the time he could walk, his days often consisted of foraging for food with his brother and sister during harsh warlike conditions, surrounded by death and hardship, especially during the hungry winter of 1944/45. John’s mother was left to raise her three kids alone when their father was drafted into the Dutch Army. They wouldn’t know if he was dead or alive until the liberation of their village by Canadian soldiers on Apri...
Apr 30, 2025•48 min•Ep. 522
Kirtti Sharma shares her journey of overcoming an abusive marriage, highlighting the emotional and physical struggles she endured, including societal pressures that stifled her individuality. As a child, she would pray daily to escape her father's violent behavior. After recognizing the toxic dynamics of her relationship, she, with her mother’s help, escaped the clutches of her abusive husband. It took years to break free from the cycle of abuse. With her mother’s courage and determination, she ...
Apr 23, 2025•29 min•Ep. 520
Sarah describes having reached her “quarter-life” crisis. She began to see how strategic anyone can be with your career path. It was a revelation that she could design her path to meet an ideal employer’s needs and job requirements. Fast forward a few years, and she was filling the role she had previously scouted and loved! Soon enough, she made six figures and kept looking for growth opportunities within her organization despite having two young children. However, several years later, she felt ...
Jan 30, 2025•36 min•Ep. 518
Matthew “Dr. Matt” Zakreski, PsyD, is a high-energy, creative clinical psychologist and professional speaker who utilizes an eclectic approach to meet the specific needs of his neurodivergent clients. He is proud to serve the Gifted community as a consultant, a professor, an author, and a researcher. He has spoken over 400 times worldwide about supporting neurodivergent people. Dr. Zakreski graduated from Widener University’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology (IGCP) in 2016. He co-found...
Jan 28, 2025•49 min•Ep. 517
Bambi needed thirty-two years to accept her given name. She can now say it with pride. She is a mother of six adult children and thirteen and counting grandchildren. Bambi has never stopped since her 7th-grade teacher told her she had a gift to write. She has published two books, with a third projected for 2025. Her passion is for people, sitting around a table and listening to their stories, and hoping hers gives others hope that storms don't last and we will always get to the other side. She w...
Jan 23, 2025•40 min•Ep. 516
Andrew Matthews is an Australian author and international speaker born in Victor Harbor, South Australia. His books, including BEING HAPPY!, FOLLOW YOUR HEART , and BOUNCING BACK! , sold over eight million copies in 48 languages. Andrew has presented to over 1,000 corporations on five continents on the topics of attitude, enjoying work, and resilience. He also speaks in universities and prisons. He is known for his numerous self-help books. He became a full-time writer in 1988, and since then, h...
Jan 21, 2025•44 min•Ep. 514
Logan Hufford was born and raised in Alaska. He married Carrie, who herself is a 4th-generation Alaskan. Together, they are raising four amazing but crazy little monkeys. Their life is simple - they love their family time, their dogs, and exploring the beautiful Alaskan wilderness. And yet, none of this would have been possible today if he had continued with his past. For years, Logan did just about everything in his power to destroy his marriage and his life. He was a raging sex addict who enga...
Jan 16, 2025•42 min•Ep. 513
Dr. Christopher Scott Wyatt is an autistic self-advocate and father of two neurodiverse daughters. He earned a doctorate researching online education and writing instruction for students with autism spectrum disorders. His experiences living with physical and neurological differences shape his parenting. Dr. Scott consults with schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations on issues of autism, neurodiversity, and active inclusion. Parenting Neurodiverse children — those with ADHD, autism, se...
Dec 31, 2024•37 min•Ep. 475
Dr. Christopher Scott Wyatt is an autistic self-advocate and father of two neurodiverse daughters. He earned a doctorate researching online education and writing instruction for students with autism spectrum disorders. His experiences living with physical and neurological differences shape his parenting. Dr. Scott consults with schools, businesses, and non-profit organizations on issues of autism, neurodiversity, and active inclusion. Parenting Neurodiverse children — those with ADHD, autism, se...
Dec 26, 2024•37 min•Ep. 469
Dr. Frank L. Douglas grew up in British Guiana. Despite being exiled from his home country and experiencing discrimination, his critical thinking and problem-solving skills have earned him international acclaim. His love of education earned him a Fulbright Scholarship. He worked at Ciba Giegy and Aventis and was involved in the pharmaceutical industry, where he spearheaded the research and development of drugs that treat tuberculosis, arthritis, diabetes, seizures, cancer, and pulmonary embolism...
Dec 24, 2024•34 min•Ep. 344
Philip Blackett is an author, consultant, and entrepreneur with a rich background spanning prestigious roles at FedEx, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Chick-fil-A. He earned a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a bachelor’s degree in political science and economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His career has been marked by sharing insights on esteemed platforms like Business Insider, Entrepreneu...
Dec 19, 2024•39 min•Ep. 457
Marissa Levin chronicles her 30+ years of entrepreneurial experience and how she transitioned through this period. In 2012, she launched Successful Culture, a leadership consulting organization that helped CEOs master the 3 most critical aspects of business growth: leadership development, strategy formulation and execution, and corporate culture creation & improvement. She developed a global C-level coaching and consulting practice based on her successful experience building a multimillion-d...
Nov 19, 2024•39 min•Ep. 503
Nothing made sense in Micah Marshall’s life until he discovered he was on the spectrum when he was 22 years old. You might relate to that if you have been diagnosed late as well. Several tests were done when he was three due to some behavioral symptoms without explanation. Micah’s mission is to help everyone know they are deeply valued and discover their potential through personal growth and success! For Micah, autism isn't a different way of seeing the world: it's a marring of the human brain a...
Nov 14, 2024•45 min•Ep. 502
Alan Lazaros is a business coach, consultant, trainer, and speaker specializing in helping businesses maximize their growth, impact, and profitability online. He believes in a heart-driven approach to inspiring, motivating, and educating others on what is required to reach the next level. When he was two years old, his father passed away in a car accident. At age 26, after getting into a nearly fatal car accident himself, he questioned everything he was doing in life. It was a moment of comprehe...
Nov 12, 2024•28 min•Ep. 501
Matthew “Dr. Matt” Zakreski, PsyD, is a high-energy, creative clinical psychologist and professional speaker who utilizes an eclectic approach to meet the specific needs of his neurodivergent clients. He is proud to serve the Gifted community as a consultant, a professor, an author, and a researcher. He has spoken over 400 times worldwide about supporting neurodivergent people. Dr. Zakreski graduated from Widener University’s Institute for Graduate Clinical Psychology (IGCP) in 2016. He co-found...
Nov 05, 2024•52 min•Ep. 500
Dr. Fidele Sebahizi grew up in a poor African village, living and surviving an ethnically motivated massacre in a United Nations refugee camp of Gatumba in Burundi, Africa. Fidele overcame life obstacles as an immigrant in the United States to achieve the American dream. He became the first immigrant to join and work for the Abilene Police Department (APD) in Texas as a police officer and the first member of his ethnic group, the Banyamulenge, in the United States to serve the American community...
Oct 31, 2024•38 min•Ep. 499
Michaela Cox was born blind and widowed early by the love of her life in her second marriage. She is now a single mother and author. She is a multi-published author and speaker. She writes on various passionate topics and often takes from her life experience and journey. She is the author of five series, including 'Take a Sip, Take a Breath and Go...' series on motherhood, "Before the Clock Strikes Midnight" series on parenting and leaving a legacy for our babies, "Scripture, Spirituality and Ou...
Oct 29, 2024•45 min•Ep. 494
Lisa Lynch’s journey to recovery began after she was in a boating accident and suffered a spinal cord and pelvis injury that left her dependent on a wheelchair. She soon learned that sand and wheels don't mix well. She also learned that she didn’t think she could enjoy the beach life any longer. Her 13-year (as of this writing) healing journey took her on many different paths. She discovered solutions to enjoy life again and get back to the water. Lisa's Beach Highways was formed in 2019 to offe...
Oct 24, 2024•48 min•Ep. 496
Paul Granger describes his emotions and learning from his life experiences of enduring a stillborn childbirth and job termination from a toxic ministry experience. He and his wife prayed fervently for God to restore or create a heartbeat for their child in the womb of his wife. They prayed for and “claimed” that God could and would make a heartbeat. That did not happen. So, did God not hear or not care about their prayer? This resulted in a time of deep introspection from which they gained insig...
Oct 17, 2024•35 min•Ep. 388
Jordan Wilson is a modern-day prodigal son. He was raised in a Christian family with wholesome values. He felt somewhat protected and isolated from the world at an earlier age. Accordingly, he thought he needed to experience the world by engaging in different life events. That included drugs and alcohol. Through his mother’s prayers and fasting and his revitalized life in Jesus Christ, he developed a tenacious attitude to reverse his addiction and live his life for Christ. That transformation be...
Oct 16, 2024•31 min•Ep. 383
