Dream BIG Daily

Michael Deem is an experienced senior professional who has operated in senior management, Board, and advisor capacities with companies ranging from start-up, to rapid growth, to large multi-national companies. His intellectual bandwidth has benefited companies from a wide cross section of industries that include Life Sciences, Artificial Intelligence, Genomics, Data Science, Biotechnology, Energy, and Cancer Research.

Michael recently finished his term as Department Chair of Bioengineering at Rice University. In this capacity, he oversaw a department with 20 tenure track faculty, 5 non-tenure track faculty and instructors, 20 support and research staff, 200 undergraduate and 125 graduate students, and an annual research and operating budget of approximately $27 million. The faculty represent a broad range of disciplines in bioengineering: basic physics of biology and cancer, synthetic and systems biology, multimodal imaging, machine learning, tissue engineering, and biomaterials. The department is consistently ranked in the top 10 programs in Biomedical Engineering.

Michael is an active member of The National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), and is available for select Board appointments. Certified by SAFe in Lean Portfolio Management, Agile, and Scrum.

James is the Chief Executive Officer at FJ Holdings and Khuri Enterprises.

James Khuri is an American businessman, social media influencer, and wildly successful entrepreneur who have been developing successful, innovative businesses and business models for more than 20 years. His groundbreaking work in restructuring e-commerce platforms has propelled him into the spotlight in recent years as he works tirelessly to build a better e-commerce business model that has a more consumer-friendly global impact.

James Khuri is the CEO of nine firms that center on a variety of industries from retail shops to real estate to e-commerce platforms to manufacturing goods and distribution. His strong drive to not only achieve personal success but also make the world a better place, sets him apart from so many garden variety businessmen who are more focused on building their empires than helping build a world that is more inclusive and nurturing for all.

And that is what sets James Khuri apart.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Sports and Pokemon Card Market

Trading Cards

“The world is more similar than we know.” (James)

Pokemon Was Created in Japan

Ecommerce

Distribution / Logistics to a Product-Based Business

Scaling a Business

Collectibles

Efficiency as a Founder

Marc is a high energy, high caliber Sales Leader and Sales Training Professional with over 22 years of broad commercial experience and a strong history of success in the pharmaceutical industry. I am experienced in the traditional pharmaceutical, buy and bill, and specialty pharmacy business models.

He has been recognized as an exemplary leader at the National and Regional level who is skilled in achieving sales and business objectives through strategic planning, attention to people, and a focus on execution. He is also a highly skilled facilitator and experienced in both on-boarding and building out continuous training platforms and the ability to diagnose training needs and build and implement training curriculum that incorporates adult learning principles for live, on-demand, and virtual formats. 

He has been able to gain diverse product and subject matter expertise in multiple disease states, and have a proven ability to drive organizational effectiveness and revenue growth through strong communication skills, developing cross-functional partnerships, effective presentation skills, accountability, problem-solving skills, and a positive mindset. 

With a high level of adaptability and agility through many organizational changes, his capacity to drive results with limited resources and see projects through to their end in a flexible and innovative manner is unlike any other.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Marc's Background

Sales

Sales Pipeline

Managing Well

Leadership

Life Lessons

Adversity

Faith

Kevin has immense professional experience in the marketing and management field spanning nearly 30 years. He started his career immediately after college by joining a governmental relations firm and then went on to establish ‘Beer Drinkers of America’–an advocacy organization sponsored by Anheuser Busch and Miller Brewing. Thereafter, Kevin served as an Executive Vice President of Marketing for the Birmingham Fire (NFL’s World League of American Football) and served as Vice President of Marketing for First National Bank of Albuquerque.

After accomplishing great achievements by 30 years of age, Kevin decided to establish and start his own business. By July 1994, he established his first successful company - Promotion Dynamics - a Sports Marketing, Sales and Event Management company. Seven years later by August 2002, Kevin started another business and established Coaching Charities.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

HBCU Legacy Bowl

Sports

Non-Profits

Setting Up Successful Events

Life Lessons

Leadership

Creativity + Innovation

Rene Pardo is an inventor, creator and entrepreneur. A visionary driven by innovating world firsts to impact and help people, his entire life he has been supporting advanced R&D and building tech companies around exceptional, bright people.

He is most recognized for co-inventing and developing the world's first electronic spreadsheet (1969), as well as Forward Referencing, the cornerstone functionality of modern spreadsheets and reactive programming.

The spreadsheet was licensed to and used by the budgeting department of AT&T and every telephone company in North America throughout the early 1970’s, including Bell Canada, as well as by General Motors in Warren, Michigan.

A pioneer in Human-Computer interactions and interfaces, he is also recognized for his advancements and major contributions to education and multimedia.   

Norman McLaren (National Film Board in Montreal, Quebec) and Ken Knowlton (Bell Labs in Murray Hill, New Jersey) became Pardo's role models. Inspired by the environment of the NFB and Bell Labs which offered complete creative freedom to outstanding individuals, Rene continues to strive to replicate in business settings the same environments fostering creativity and innovation.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

The Internet

Startups

Entrepreneurship

Systems in Business

Destiny

Rhythm of Life

Lessons from Others (Rene's mother, Norman McLaren, and more)

How to Stay Young Forever

The Difficulty of Patent Lawsuits

Rene's Journey in Business

Lanpar

Brainwave Technologies

Design

Technology

Web3

NFTs

Creativity + Innovation

Eric Weinberger is a media executive who specializes in live production, long-form storytelling, launching new businesses, leadership of large teams and content monetization and innovation. During his 20 years in media Eric has been a key member of teams that started Fox Sports, built and developed NFL Network and created the digital and linear assets for Bill Simmons Media Group and HBO.

Eric has his own Podcast Network, the first of which is now up and running and consists of a podcast for each NFL team. The hosts are related to or from each NFL team.

With the knowledge Eric has in the media realm, this is just the beginning of Eric Weinberger Productions - which has been alive and running for 4+ years now.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

The State of Professional Athletes Post-Career

Eric's Journey from PA to Executive Producer

Day to Day Operations for Live Production

Television Categories to Live Television Networks

Tony Romo as an Analyst Example

What Aspiring Media Talent and Persons Could Learn from Eric

Podcasting

James is the Chief Executive Officer at FJ Holdings and Khuri Enterprises

James Khuri is an American businessman, social media influencer, and wildly successful entrepreneur who have been developing successful, innovative businesses and business models for more than 20 years. His groundbreaking work in restructuring e-commerce platforms has propelled him into the spotlight in recent years as he works tirelessly to build a better e-commerce business model that has a more consumer-friendly global impact.

James Khuri is the CEO of nine firms that center on a variety of industries from retail shops to real estate to e-commerce platforms to manufacturing goods and distribution. His strong drive to not only achieve personal success but also make the world a better place, sets him apart from so many garden variety businessmen who are more focused on building their empires than helping build a world that is more inclusive and nurturing for all.

And that is what sets James Khuri apart.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Sports and Pokemon Card Market

Trading Cards

“The world is more similar than we know.” (James)

Pokemon Was Created in Japan

Ecommerce

Distribution / Logistics to a Product-Based Business

Scaling a Business

Collectibles

Efficiency as a Founder

15+ years as a real estate entrepreneur, business angel, and venture capitalist. Traveling the world seeking business opportunities and cultural growth, in this process founded several successful companies.

Currently Chairman of Real Capital Caribe and American Wise Investment and also the President of Real Capital Ventures. Simultaneously, these investment groups have several companies, from real estate and construction management to finance services. Antonio’s ideas and guidance always represent a differential value to the market.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Venture Capital

Being a LP in a VC fund

How to Invest Well Investing in Startups

Attending the Same University as Warren Buffett

Web2

Web3

Cryptocurrency

NFTs

DAOs

[Quote] “When the tide goes out, you see who is swimming naked.” (Warren Buffett)

Investment Principles

What's Ahead for Antonio

Poonam Rahman is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of two international 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations designed to provide free resources to historically marginalized communities.

Observing the lack of access to mental health and S.T.E.A.M. resources within my local community, she felt propelled to create organizations to lower the barrier to such vital resources needed to succeed.

She has also written a book called "Shattering Bias In S.T.E.A.M." which focuses on bridging gender gaps within the field of S.T.E.M. and creating a more inclusive work environment for all women.

Her areas of expertise and interest include combating gender inequality, promoting mental health accessibility, and providing resources and opportunities for students in underprivileged communities.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Poonam's Journey

Poonam's Background

Shattering Bias In S.T.E.A.M.

Education

Non-profit

Writing a Book

And much more....

Robert H. Forrester’s career spanned 50 years of service to the global philanthropic sector. From 1980-2008, Bob was the Founder and CEO of Payne Forrester, LLC, an international consulting firm providing planning, management, fundraising, and governance advisory services to non-profit organizations (i.e. clients included - American University of Beirut during the hostilities of the civil war in Lebanon, The United Nations Foundation and Global Polio Eradication Initiative, and at the request of Mr. Nelson Mandela, Bob played a crucial role in developing and managing the South African Free Elections Fund leading up to the first free elections in South Africa’s)

In September 2008, he succeeded Paul Newman as Chief Executive Officer of the food company, Newman’s Own, Inc., and its parent, Newman’s Own Foundation.

Bob’s tenure as CEO of the parent corporation lasted for 10.5 years. During that time, Newman’s Own donated over $286 million in profits supporting charitable purposes, exceeding by over 10% the total donated in the previous 26 years.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

[Quote] “Luck itself is not a plan, but if you don’t have a plan the chances of you even being able to see luck when it comes your way are diminished and certainly your ability to manage luck appropriately [are as well].” (Bob Forrester)

Paul Newman

Creative Chaos

Luck

Bob’s Entrepreneurial Background

Bob’s Journey

[Quote] “I hope everyone will have a friend like Paul Newman in their life.” (Bob Forrester)

Paul and Bob’s Relationship

Philanthropy (Greek rooted word) = “love for humankind”

Bob’s Background

Doing Good

Letting Go

Jason Mars is an inventor, scientist, professor, entrepreneur, and author.

He currently works as a professor of computer science at the University of Michigan where he directs, one of the best places in the world to be trained in topics spanning artificial intelligence, large scale computing, and programming languages.

In 2017, Jason was named Bank Innovations #2 Most Innovative CEO in Banking and in 2019 he was named into Crain’s Detroit Business’ 40 under 40.

Jason is one of the most adept people in the field of engineering and AI that I have ever met. He is breaking bots and breaking bounds in conversational AI and machine learning.

He has even started building his own programming language with a group of people called Jack (which currently has 3 different products built from it now).

David Walker Green Beret is the Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of GrowthLine Capital. GrowthLine Capital is a long-biased, high return-seeking equity long/short hedge fund that invests in companies benefiting from the innovation-driven disruptive change that can become multiples of their current size.

David is a Financial Services Executive and Former US Army Special Forces Commander (“Green Beret”) with exceptional ability to lead under pressure. David Walker Green Beret has over 17 years of experience in all aspects of running a hedge fund.

Equally successful managing start-up, turnaround, or rapid growth organizations, David’s expertise spans the front, middle and back-office operations and network of industry contacts includes institutional and high net worth investors, prime brokers, broker/dealers, technology firms, accountants, administrators, auditors, attorneys, banks, exchanges, ECNs, and government agencies (SEC, FINRA, CFTC, FSA, etc).

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

David’s Journey

Leadership in the Military

Leadership in the Business

Developing People and Culture - in Business

Principles by Ray Dalio [book]

The United States Military Academy (West Point)

Starting From the Bottom Up - Over and Over and Over Again

The Growthline Capital Founding Story

The Growth Curve

“Innovation spurs the economy.” (David)

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason [book]

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius [book]

Training Employees

“The first wealth is health.” (David)

Miles Taylor is a public policy leader, recent CNN Contributor, and the former U.S Lead for Advanced Technology and Security Strategy at Google.

Miles is also the former Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He oversaw the government's third-largest department's day-to-day operations, including nearly 250,000 employees and a $60 billion annual budget.

He has also co-founded the Washington Leadership Academy, a four-year high school in Washington, D.C.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Washington, D.C.

Miles’s Time at Google

Technology Policy

Public Policy

Technology

Quantum Computing

AI

AR/VR

AI Principles

EV Batteries

National Security

“Nature, to be commanded, it must be obeyed.” (Francis Bacon)

Civics, Public Policy

Remington Model 5 Typewriter

“What we’ve seen happen with technology computing power will be eclipsed in just a few

years in the quantum computing domain.” (Miles)

The Future of Technology Development

Josh Cutler was a teacher for many, many years in New York City. During that time, he learned how to foster a great classroom environment and the details to the educational system.

From there he went on to develop his knowledge in the educational realm and training space. He is now a Learning and Development/Training Strategy Consultant.

Also, Josh is an Executive Coach at Teach the Trainer.  This conversation has a deep pull on my life because proper education is super important to me. Josh Cutler is one of the most intellectually clear thinkers on this topic of education.

If you watch and/or listen to this episode, I truly think you’ll get great value out of it.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Josh's Journey

Education

Education Reform

Teaching

Yuri Kruman

Company Training

“Education is the only industry where labor gets blamed for failures of management.” (Josh)

Ashley Olafsen is an author, TEDx speaker, and Forbes entrepreneur.

As a 3x business owner and social entrepreneur and Startup Coach at IFundWomen, Ashley has great knowledge about the business world.

She started her first company in 2013, called MOVE, and from there has inspired many young women to forge a life they would be fulfilled with.  

She has some of the best business acumen I know of…. So enjoy this deep dive with Ashley.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Ashley's Journey

Business

Business From a Young Age

Entrepreneurship

Learning from Relationships

Writing Books

MOVE

Startup

Resources

IFundWomen

Ashley's Goals

Cameron Dower is an entrepreneur, content strategist, and a genius ideator and maker of branding and content.

At 20 years old, Cameron has created 5 businesses thus far (the first of which at 9). He brings great value to his social media platforms and has grown his personal brand extremely well.

With all his knowledge, he founded and created a social media content agency (SMCA) in 2020.

Alongside that, he now also works as a project manager at FanBytes.

Cameron Dower and I met on Twitter last year. So, I’m super happy this conversation came to be.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Business

Entrepreneurship

Starting Off Young

Social Media

Content Strategy

Content Creation

Best Brands

Cameron's Goals

Lifestyle Design

Emily Padan is the creator of Bloom Class, Co-Owner of Hinter Company and Hinter House, and host of Finding You Wave Podcast.

Emily was a teacher for many, many years and has even created her own educational tutoring company called Bloom Class. Along the way, she decided to co-create Hinter Company with her husband Mauricio.

Hinter Company builds cabins and rents them out to people for unique experiences.

Check out their information below if you’re interested in what Emily is doing, has done, or want to say thanks in any way.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Emily's Journey

Teaching

Entrepreneurship

Learning from Relationships

Healing

Bloom Class

Hinter Company

Sustainability

Emily’s Email: emily@bloomclass.co

Taylor is the Co-Founder and CEO of Toucan, which is a free Chrome extension that helps you learn a language without even trying.

In the past, she has worked for Fair, Headspace, and Science.

Taylor comes from a sports background, taught herself to code, and has always been on an ambitious road of business and personal development since young. Toucan currently supports seven languages — Spanish, Korean, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Japanese. English is coming soon (and is probably live by the time this episode is too).

They have 60,000 organic, monthly active users.  Toucan also recently raised $4.5 million dollars from their next round of funding.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Taylor's Background

Entrepreneurship

Learning How to Code

Business

Startups

The Toucan Team

Raising Money

Daily Routines

Neil Heritage is a motivational speaker and disabled Army veteran.

He has definitely inspired me. From the first day I heard of his story to now interviewing him, I am astounded by Neil’s courage and perseverance.  

Neil served in the British Army for 11 years on the bomb disposal team in Bosnia, Northern Ireland, and Iraq.

He lost his legs in Iraq in 2004 where he was clearing a route for IEDs and a suicide bomber got through the cordon and detonated.

After the initial recovery from his injuries and adaptation to his new lifestyle, Neil tried all types of challenges: from triathlons to rowing across the Atlantic ocean to becoming the 1st below-the-knee double amputee to scale Matterhorn.

Neil has a foundation called Climb 2 Recovery. C2R supports wounded soldiers in their rehabilitation using climbing and adventurous challenges as a springboard to recovery.

No better episode to release on this day.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Neil's Journey Serving in the British Army

Story of Becoming "Disabled"

Rowing Across the Atlantic Ocean

Scaling Matterhorn

Mindset

Climb 2 Recovery - Neil's Foundation

Naomi is a 16 year old entrepreneur and education reform advocate.

Since the earliest of days, Naomi has started multiple businesses - especially Spice it Up and now Bright Futures. She has had the ambition to envision her business and the diligence to execute on them.

Most notably, she is a national intern for Girl Scouts of the USA and received the Gold Award Girl Scout in 2020.

Naomi has much wisdom and a still disposition to her. Enjoy this episode as we talk deep about her journey so far.

Attaching Things/Links Mentioned:

Naomi's Journey

Entrepreneurship

Business

Curiosity

Education

Education Reform

Favorite Books

Daily Routines

Abby Sugar is the Founder and CEO of Play Out Apparel. She launched Play Out's first styles in 2014, as the first and only gender-equal underwear brand to show at Lingerie Fashion Week, and graduated from The Founder Institute Silicon Valley Winter 2020 cohort.

As an outgoing, unapologetically queer startup founder, she strives to be a leading voice in and for the LGBTQ+ community. Abby’s entrepreneurial spirit and unique personal style give her an outsider’s advantage in the world of fashion. After her original cofounder left Play Out and she took some time to re-envision the brand, her dear friend E Leifer joined as CDO in 2017.

Enjoy this episode and hit up Abby if you got value out of this discussion.

And remember, you can always: f*#king figure it out.

Go get it!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Abby's Journey

Play Out Apparel

Entrepreneurship

Figuring it Out

Product Market Fit

Fashion

Team Culture

Communication

[Book] The Phantom Tool Booth

A family man, entrepreneur, engineer, and now politician.

Peter Zieve was born in Milwaukee Wisconsin. He grew up under an engineer, as well. So, Peter Zieve eventually decided to attend MIT, where his brother went as well, and graduated from in 1976 with a BS in Electrical Engineering.

He later entered graduate school at MIT and founded EFB Inc.

He stayed with EFB Inc until 1983 when he entered graduate school at the University of Washington to eventually earn a PhD in Mechanical Engineering.

As part of his PhD program, he developed the Low Voltage Electromagnetic Riveter and started Electroimpact, Inc. upon graduation in July 1986.  

It’s been in operation for 35 years. Peter’s son Michael also attended MIT and is serving as a Vice-President of Electroimpact.

You can say it runs in the family.  Enjoy this deep dive and special format on the life of Peter and the story of Electroimpact Inc.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Peter's Journey

MIT

EFB Inc.

Electroimpact Inc.

Engineering

Ownership

Innovation

Business

Entrepreneurship

Danny Miranda is a writer and learner - both of which he has been a life-long learner of.

Since he was young, Danny has been writing. Whether it was being a Media Relations Intern for the New York Mets, Public Relations Intern for the NYIT, or an Owner/Editor of Knicks Vision (his own media publication that he started at just age 15), writing was the thread to bind it all.

Through and through, Danny has been through the wilderness of his own internal and being in a better spot each and every day, he wants to share his journey with others and empower/uplift others through positivity and interviewing others.

He does the latter through his podcast: The Danny Miranda Podcast.

Be sure to check it out below and as with this episode…. happy watching. Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Danny’s Journey

Podcasting

“What do you mean, I’m not doing anything. I’m just being me.” (Danny)

Tom Brady <> “Obsession”

Love

[Book] Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins

[Book] Love Yourself Like Your Life Depends on It by Kamal Ravikant

Thinking

“Clear writing is clear thinking.” (Danny)

“Writing is meditation.” (Danny)

[Book] Becoming Supernatural by Dr. Joe Dispenza

Gratitude

Cabin in the Woods Excursion (that started it all)

Openness

[Quote] “What do you mean, I’m not doing anything. I’m just being me.” (Danny)

[Quote] “Clear writing is clear thinking.” (Danny)

[Quote] “Writing is meditation.” (Danny)

Ari Lewis was born in New York City and raised in Long Island. After moving to Ohio and completing undergrad, his childhood best friend and him started Grasshopper Capital, a hedge fund focused on investing in digital assets.

They sold the firm in 2018 to Token Capital Management, an Australian asset management firm.

Thereafter, Ari co-founded GreenBlock strategic communications and innovation consultancy firm. His consulting work has led him to working with one-person startups all the way to state governments and Fortune 500 organizations.

Most recently, and after many years, Ari is a prominent voice on Twitter and has also started Payload, a newsletter about everything space.

Ari has also helped found BrandStreet.co - a community for brand builders.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Writing

Ari’s Journey

Newsletters

Twitter

Community Building

Owning One’s Audience

BrandStreet.co

Content

How to Post Consistently

During this conversation, Dr. Shaun L. McKay showed his depth of knowledge and range of expertise in everything education. Not only will every student resonate with this, but every faculty person, teacher, administrator, politician should too. There is great gold in what is said during this conversation.

Dr. McKay is an accomplished leader in post-secondary education, who, from 2010 to May 2019, served as President of Suffolk County Community College, the largest community college in the State of New York, with an annual enrollment of over 30,000 credit-earning and 8,000 continuing education students.

Before that he served as Executive Dean, CEO of Suffolk’s Grant Campus, serving the western communities of the county.

Prior to joining Suffolk, Dr. McKay served as Director of Planning for the Community College of Baltimore County and spent eight years in various positions at Morgan State University. He has also taught both undergraduate and graduate courses at several institutions.

With a slew of degrees, Dr. Shaun McKay is knowledgeable in the following: Ed. D. in Higher Education Administration with a specialization in Community College Leadership from Morgan State University in Baltimore, M.A. in Management and Communication from the College of Notre Dame in Baltimore and B.S. in Business Management from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Lastly, Dr. McKay created an integrated planning model when at Suffolk County Community College. His work helped engage students and also teachers to perform at their best.

Keep in mind that around the 58 minute mark there is one cut. That was only due to a technical issue. Other than that, enjoy this conversation with Dr. Shaun McKay!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Dr. Shaun McKay’s Background

Dr. Shaun McKay’s Journey

Faith

The Importance of Detachment

Google Education

Skilled-Based Training

Education at Large

Suffolk Community College Work

Leadership

Leadership - “Don’t do the same, do different.” (Dr. Shaun McKay)

“The day you stop learning is the day you cease to exist [metaphorically].” (Dr. Shaun McKay)

“Leadership is really followership. I’m following you as you innovate and improve.” (Dr. Shaun McKay)

“The baseline is education.” (Dr. Shaun McKay)

Brandon C. Ballard is a servant leader. He has built himself through his fair share of the trials and obstacles in life though. There have been tough moments of experiencing homelessness, having relationship issues, and sometimes having no financial backing or opportunity in sight.

Brandon was also a former 8-year U.S. Army Reservist - serving since 2012.

In 2015, Brandon went through a valuable journey in a casino as he worked his way from security guard to a position in Human Resources to then VIP Marketing.

By intentional development, Brandon is an adept creative. His former business, BrandonCaptures, “is all about persistence and personality”. He has been able to partner with brands such as Radio One, Entercom, iHeartMedia, PECO, and Temple University.

He also founded The Creative’s Pace, which is meant to “support entrepreneurs in a holistic way by providing content and resources that will transform the mind and average perspective towards creative business.”

Brandon is a great connector and communicator.

Even more so, he is a community builder who is launching PEAK Scholars Academy. PEAK offers personal and professional development courses for aspiring and established entrepreneurs while hosting empowering presentations in schools for youth.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Brandon’s Journey

Writing

Storytelling

Obstacles in life

Effective Communication

The Importance of Reflection

Faith

PEAK Scholars Academy

Pop Reviewers App - a social networking app around movies

[Movie] Finding Nemo

[Show] I May Destroy You

Community

Jordan Gross is reimagining personal development. His full focus is to trail-blaze personal development through creative storytelling. Imagitivitation….. imagination, creativity, implementation.

Through writing, speaking, going back to school to learn the field and skills of therapy, and building communities of dreamers/makers, Jordan wants to uplift others with storytelling being the main foundation. 2021 is Jordan’s year of experimentation.

That’s why he is doing said things above. Another example being, his new book “What Happen in Tomorrow World”, which is a modern day fable about navigating uncertainty.

As he says, “The stories I write now are all for my grandma.” This new book just so happens to include the spirit of his grandma, as well. Being a 3-time author (Getting COMFY, Journey to Cloud Nine, What Happens in Tomorrow World), TEDx speaker, and even doing 90 podcast interviews in 90 days in one month within 2020, he is someone you want to take notes on.

Tune into this discussion to hear the journey and insights from Jordan himself, but most certainly make sure you watch what he is doing. He is definitely doing it right and making it true to him along the way.

Enjoy!

Attaching Things/Links Mentioned:

Jim Feldkamp is the Lead Consultant - Intelligence & Counterterrorism at Complete Threat Preparedness.

As a Commander, James (Jim) L. Feldkamp, USN Ret., Jim was a US Naval Flight Officer, Counter-Measures Officer (ECMO), and Navigator for the EA-6B – the U.S. Navy’s carrier-based electronic attack aircraft. He flew off the USS Midway in Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1991.

Affiliating with the U.S. Naval Reserves became a Special Agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) at Norfolk, Virginia.

Jim was a founding member of the Joint Counter Terrorism Task Force and, as a collateral duty, was one of three pilots in the Norfolk office that conducted aerial physical surveillance of suspects in criminal and terrorist cases. In 2004 he resigned from the FBI to become the Republican nominee for Oregon’s District 4 Congressional seat during both the 2004 and 2006 election cycles.

In 2007 he was recalled to active Navy reserve duty to help establish the precursor office of NMIO and was responsible for the coordination of all domestic and international information-sharing of non-classified information among U.S. federal government agencies, foreign governments, and the international maritime shipping industry to increase maritime security and maritime domain awareness.

Jim is currently a Subject Matter Expert at Georgetown University, developing a course on “Terrorism and Unconventional Threats.” Previously, he was an adjunct professor at George Mason University, and George Washington University, teaching undergraduate courses in domestic and international terrorism. He has authored/edited a university textbook through Cognella Academic Publishing on the "Theory and Politics of Terrorism."

In this discussion, we dive into Jim’s full story, talk about finding peace in discomfort, and more.

Also, something amazing to know, Jim and his family have a milk delivery business called Umpqua Dairy. It was created by Ormond Feldkamp and Herb Sullivan in 1931 with just $500. Their ice cream was rated best in North America in 2020.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Jim’s Journey

US Naval Flying

Flying Training at age 18

The Importance of Travel

Finding Comfort Within Discomfort

USS Midway; Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm in 1991

Perspective

Jared Kleinert is a 3-time author (2 Billion Under 20, 3 Billion Under 30, and How to Build a World-Class Network in Record Time), award-winning author, entrepreneur, and world-class networker. He’s the guy who knows the guy….. who knows the guy.

At age 15, he started his first business (NowIGetIt.com). At 18, he became one of the youngest signed authors of a business book in MacMillan’s 175+ year history.

Later, he became one of the first 10 employees for an enterprise SaaS company called 15Five, where he worked under “The Most Connected Man You Don’t Know In Silicon Valley” (according to Forbes).

That same year, he began his own marketing consulting firm after landing #1 NYT bestselling author Keith Ferrazzi (former CMO of Deloitte and author of Never Eat Alone) as his first-ever client.

The marketing consulting firm referred to is Kleinert Ventures, which is an entrepreneurial marketing consultancy that partners with #1 NYT bestselling authors, Fortune 500 executives, major keynote speakers, Emmy award-winning journalists, seven-figure business owners, VC-backed startup founders, and others who lead their industries and positively impact millions of people through their work.

USA Today called Jared the "Most Connected Millennial".

Jared’s been featured in Forbes, Fast Company, TechCrunch, Huffington Post, and TEDxYouth Miami.

On July 26, 2016, Nneka Brown sold 8,000 notebooks in 24 hours with her award winning stationery manufacturing company

Nneka is a service disabled U.S. Army Veteran who sustained several traumatic brain injuries from jumping out of airplanes. 45 days after leaving her 9 year career in the US Army due to injuries, her new path in life was established for good.

She’s been navigating through the obstacles of being a first-time founder and a disabled business owner since that day and has many stories to go along with it.

Enjoy this deep dive with Nneka Brown!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Nneka’s Journey

Nneka’s Time in the Army

Leadership

Lessons from the Army

July 26, 2016

Entrepreneurship

Partnership with Usher’s Non-Profit

Education Reform

Hennesys Disla is an experienced founder and the Creator of ArmHug with a demonstrated history of working in the hospital & health care industry.

She is skilled in healthcare, medical technology, and teaching.

Hennesys has a unique story in that she went to art school and was going to pursue a career at Disney Animation Studios. However, she was later engulfed into the world of science.

After being taken on a lab tour by a science friend from Stanford University, she couldn't believe how much she was missing out in the science world.

One thing Hennesys says is that she knew she would find her/mission if she enjoyed doing a job while working for free.

So, after volunteering at Mount Sinai Hospital in NY in 2015 and then staying for 2 years, it clicked for her.

To date, Hennesys has 2 patents under her belt and is solving a need that she, and others, came across while working at Mount Sinai Hospital - the ability to easily take care of patients and have the proper medical equipment to readily do so.

This is a journey unlike any other. Enjoy this one!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Hennesys’s Journey

Pursuing Art Early On

Pixar

Last year, Karina Popovich was honored as Teen Vogue's 21 Under 21 for organizing an international group of makers to produce 82,000 units of PPE.

After going back home to Brooklyn “mid-semester with her 3 [3D] printers”, she did research on understanding how to “print medical grade PPE and additional materials.” That grew into Makers for COVID-19 and a group of 170+ members and one of the largest Maker collaborations for COVID-19.

In that being said, Karina is the Founder of Makers for COVID-19. The Head of Education and Policy at Women in 3D Printing, and an AAAS If/Then Ambassador.

She is now at Cornell University in the Dyson School of Economics and Finance.

From a young age, Karina had a knack for making things (i.e. building bridges out of popsicle sticks when young) and solving problems. With a spine of great virtue, Karina continues a similar pursuit, just on a larger playing field.

As she progresses in her endeavors, she keeps the mission of increasing the presence and opportunity for females in STEM at the forefront.

Improving as she goes and impacting along the way.

Some of Karina’s experiences include: Working at Microsoft in doing research at NYU for microreactors and machine learning, working at Amazon as a Software Development Engineer Intern, being the President and Founder of Connect with Tech - where she taught kids in Tanzania how to program, and being the Founder of Wear Alpha - which is a 3D-printed clothing line with a mission to reimagine a culture in STEM that is empowering of girls and women.

Her awards include: COVID-19 Action Fund Award, KPMG Future Leader 2019,  Technovation Regional Pitch Competition Winner,  NCWIT National Honorable Mention & Regional Affiliate Winner,  Amazon Future Engineer 2019, National Built By Girls Pitch Challenge Finalist, Verizon App Challenge State Finalist, and more.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Karina’s Upbringing

Karina’s Full Story

[Everyone] Being a Maker/Builder

Women in STEM

Imposter Syndrome

Thought Leadership

Makers for COVID-19 (and Producing 82k units of PPE)

Prioritizing Health (and Prioritizing Weekends For Oneself)

Happiness and Self-Management

Connect with Tech

Internal Growth

Appreciating the Wins

“My parents struggled so much to get to where we are now, there’s no reason why I shouldn’t try to do everything, which can be detrimental to my mental health, so work life balance is important. But it’s definitely a driving force for me constantly doing stuff.” (Karina)

Genevieve Kim is a storyteller at heart, photographer, and creative consultant to many. She founded and built a creative media production studio called Triangleflash Studio, launched the global photography movement called the EYESEEYOU Project in 2017, and her work has appeared in The NY Times, Harper’s Bazaar, UN Habitats Reports, Business Insider, AdWeek, MOZAIC, and more.

Some of her clients as a creator include the UN Habitats, TEDx, Inscape, The Assemblage, Invisible Technologies, and When We Band Together.

She is actually in the midst of writing a book called “My Big Fu*^ You’s: Memoirs of a Creative Entrepreneur”.

Her openness to sharing her story is why she is such an altruistic, giving, of-service person.

To explain Genevieve in short, it was at age five that she started taking piano lessons and studied to be a classically trained opera singer. Through progression and evolution, she opened a yoga wellness center at one point. Yet, later on discovered her knack for business, as much as she did for creative.

Later, Genevieve got an MBA at Duke University with a concentration in finance and worked as a digital marketing strategist at Deloitte.

But as she says, “after suicidal depression, I realized what was the underlying cause of all my anguish: it was regret. When I gave up on being an opera singer there was a part of me that had given up on myself.” (source: see website below)

Deciding to face her regret once and reignite her creative voice again, she has been on a trailblazing journey since. Some call her a CMO (Chief Magic Officer), an entrepreneur, a creative, a photojournalist. Something that is evident though, is that she is a brand and purpose sherpa - helping build the brand, strategies, revenue streams, and more for individuals and businesses.

Also, check out the value she gives away with her project and podcast that she hosts and founded called The Permission to Promote Fest and The Permission to Promote Podcast.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Genevieve’s Journey

Branding

Depression

“The Starving Artist” Myth

Social Media

Storytelling

Photography

Burning Man

Genevieve’s “Maestro” story at Burning Man

Curiosity

Genevieve’s Creative Consulting Process

Presence Plumb is the host of the podcast ”It starts with Action”. It came out just last year after she found her voice and also her vision.

At age 9, Presence moved to a foreign country. She didn’t know the language, received extremely low grades in her first year, and was bullied immensely because of it.

But eventually she worked her way to the best student of the year and also received the good student of the year award, which only 10 students receive in Hong Kong.

The bullying didn’t stop there though, as she was then bullied for her looks. This caused Presence to plunge into 6 years of anorexia and at the age of 14 was hospitalized since she was “basically a few days from death”. This shifted her perspective and got her thinking what she wanted her life to be like.

After recovery and improvement, Presence moved back to her home country to start over. In 1 month she lost all of her hair due to alopecia, which caused her to go into depression for 2 years.

With needed change, she committed herself to improvement. Just last year in 2020, she started making videos for students about school, which was the gateway to opening her up. From there, she understood how much she loved personal development and became a certified life coach young people during lockdown - due to the pandemic.

Now, being at the London School of Economics in the UK, she also runs her podcast ”It starts with Action”.

Enjoy the unbelievable story and immense lessons in this discussion from Presence Plumb.

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Presence’s Story

Presence’s Adversity

The Power of Questions

Presence’s Podcast: ”It starts with Action”

Mindset

“I really wanted to create an impact bigger than just my community and contribute on a global scale [with Lê Crumb Bakery]. That’s why I added on the mission of donating a portion to Doctors Without Borders, which impacts over 70 countries.” (Orange Coast Magazine)

That’s Christin Le. She is a still an on-going, first-generation, Vietnamese student at Johns Hopkins University studying Public Health and Neuroscience on the pre-med track.

However, this past spring, she founded Lê Crumb Bakery that donates a portion of the proceeds to Doctors Without Borders (as mentioned above).

Her unique entry into the world of entrepreneurship is not that unorthodox considering the world’s current circumstances are causing people to be more selfless more than ever.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Christin’s Aspirations

Opening Lê Crumb Bakery

Public Health

The Power of Community

Leveraging Community

Supporting Those in Need During the Pandemic Through Baking

Rejection’s Importance

Reflection

The Importance of Questioning

“Every rejection is a redirection.” (Christin Le)

Shaun Jay is an award winning magician.

He’s been seen on FOX, ABC, NBC, Masters of Illusion on the CW Network and also the TEDx Stage. Magician Shaun Jay started his career at the early age of 12 and has studied under some of the biggest names in magic over the past 17 years along with Jeff Mcbride at the Magic and Mystery School.

When not performing or speaking at events, Shaun uses his talents for 3D CAD design and prototyping as a trusted creative consultant for one of the world’s premiere and most respected magic brands, Paul Harris Presents. Shaun is part of an exclusive team that helps invent some of the most cutting edge illusions that are then sold to other magicians across the globe.

Magician Shaun Jay is frequently booked for festivals in Raleigh NC, Chapel Hill NC, Wake Forest NC, Cary NC. Morrisville NC, and Pinehurst NC, and Virginia Beach, Virginia.  With the help of his swift hands and a fast-paced show, he fascinates crowds with his unique brand of magic, so unique in fact that he has earned himself reviews in the conjurors international magazine, “The Linking Ring“, The News and Observer, Wake Weekly, and national Sunday news supplement, Parade Magazine.

From Cisco to Sprint, Sarah Lee to Southwest Airlines, and more, Magician Shaun Jay is frequently requested by Fortune 500 companies for large scale corporate events.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Shaun’s Journey

Shaun’s Upbringing

Combating External Negativity Early on in Life

Perspective

Persistence/Work Ethic

Passion

Bootstrapping

Elon Musk

Obsession <> Madness

The Importance of Silence

Serena Scanzillo is a Biomechanics Specialist, NESTA FNC, with 12 years of training experience.

She is the founder of SerenaFit, a high performance lifestyle program that focuses on habits, fitness, nutrition and mindfulness, which are all topics we cover in this episode.

Serena has the following certifications under her belt too: NASM Certified Personal Trainer, CPR/AED Certified (AHA), NESTA Fitness Nutrition Coach, AFPA Functional Sports Exercise Specialist, AFPA Trainer of Special Populations, Bariatric Exercise Specialist.

Enjoy our conversation and reach out to Serena if it helps you in any way!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Fitness/Nutrition

Serena’s Journey

Love of Sports - Especially When Growing Up

Health

Goal Setting Frameworks

Conscious Competence

Meditation Practices

Mental Wellness

Future Aspirations

Erifili Gounari is a 21 year old student, entrepreneur, and social media specialist from Greece. In May 2020, she launched The Z Link, the first Gen Z-led social media marketing studio that helps brands reach Gen Z on social media.

Currently studying for her undergraduate degree, she was recently named Forbes 30 Under 30 for Greece, and has worked with companies from all around the world and across industries to create social media strategies and content.

Before launching her business, Erifili had worked on the digital marketing teams of organizations such as the European Parliament, the Uffizi Museum, and more.

Enjoy the conversation!

Attached Things/Links Mentioned:

Erifili’s Journey Thus Far

Brand/Content Strategy

Greece (the country)

Art History

Social Media Marketing

The social media of Chipotle, Wendy’s, Lemonade (the insurance brand)

Nike

Jack Butcher; Visualize Value

Amanda is the Founder of Creative Surrender Studios, Global Director/Founding Member of Stageless Arts, and a TED Circles Host at TED.

She lives the life of a creative and has cultivated the practices to be able to do so. In this discussion, we delve into Amanda’s journey, the history of her ventures, dancing, creativity, and the way in which writing has helped her grow.

Hayden Humphrey is a life coach who helps uplift people and aid them in taking control of their life. Once a people-pleaser and unpassionate about his corporate roles in life, he dove deep into his internal to shake up the “foundation of his house” and make a “script” that he was passionate about living.

As Hayden mentions, we were all given a set of scripts  to live by as children. You learned about the world and about your place in it - without even questioning if it was right for you.

So, in helping himself, Hayden is now a coach that causes others to stop meandering with obscurity through life and start questioning, in order to truly start living.

Enjoy our depth-filled conversation!

Attached Things/Links That Were Mentioned:

Hayden’s Upbringing

Video Games

Swimming/Sports

Confronting Truth

Therapy

Spiritual Medicines

Ontology Coaching

Interpersonal Work

Coaching

Andrew Feinstein is an author and entrepreneur. At 24 years old, he wrote and published Find Your Mind: Meditation for the Bold and Ambitious to help the next generation access the tools of meditation/mindfulness.

Now being at Next Gen HQ, Andrew is the Director of Partnerships, helping pave the way for the rocketship growth of such a great organization and community.

In this discussion, we talk about the interpersonal pillars that make up all of our lives and the entire journey of Andrew’s life up until now.

Enjoy as we dive deep!

Attached Things/Links That Were Mentioned:

Andrew’s Journey

Religion

Spirituality

Meditation

Depression

Next Gen HQ

Joseph Lorenzo is an experienced Chief Executive Officer with a demonstrated history of working with products, as well as in the e-learning and food industry.

He is the past Co-Founder and COO at TechRoots Academy, an educational coding company, and is now the Co-Founder of Newmen, a product based company for men’s grooming and hygiene.

With a history of entrepreneurship in his family (specifically Lorenzo Food Group), Joe was a lemonade-stand-type-kid. He pulls from the worlds of both sales and marketing, which is helping in his new venture with Newmen.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links That Were Mentioned:

Joe’s Upbringing

History of Entrepreneurship in the Lorenzo Family

Newmen (Joe’s new startup)

Adriel is a first-generation entrepreneur who loves startups, sales, and this game of life. His roles consist of being a founder, co-founder, host of The Gong - a podcast about sales and startups, ultra-racer, and more.

Now the Founder & CEO at Riveter, which is HR for the unemployed, he is building something that is of major importance in today’s economy and world.

Through hindsight and reflection, Adriel has built his way to the point of Riveter. There is no story more open than this.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links That Were Mentioned:

Lead measures; Lag measures

Certainty/Uncertainty

Goal Setting

Adriel’s Upbringing and Immigration Story

San Francisco

ADV (autonomous delivery vehicle)

Self-awareness/Consciousness and best practices for it

Josh Waitzkin

Tim Urban

Sales

Books

Jason is currently the VP, User Acquisition at Mammoth Media (formerly Science Mobile). He has worked as an advisor and consultant with a wide range of companies, such as Urban Sitter, Dollar Shave Club, Google, Urban Remedy, Home Hero, and Cult Cosmetics.

He has also worked at Experian EXPGF (OTCMKTS), ValueClick (VCLK) and Looksmart (LOOK).

Jason is a highly-adept digital marketing executive and has the ability to build and manage high performance teams.

There are a lot of golden tokens of value in this episode.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links That Were Mentioned:

Team Management

Advertising/Marketing

Organizational Behavior

Relationship Building

Leadership (Servant Leadership)

High Quality Traits of High Quality People

Day-1 Mindset

Meditation

Self-awareness

EQ

Hiring

Jason’s Car Accident Story

Jason’s Journey in Digital Marketing/Startups

Dollar Shave Club

Chau Mui (first name pronounced chow - as in like eating food; last name pronounced moo-e as in the cow sound and the letter “e”) is the founder and editor in chief of ciaooo! Media Group (pronounced chow - as in like eating food), an editorial site helping New Yorkers to become informed and impactful. 

Prior to founding ciaooo!, Chau spent 7 years working in the advertising industry representing some of the industry’s most reputable television directors and production companies.

Chau was also a documentary filmmaker, travel blogger, and former college dropout. Her travels and writing (with “We Were Wanderers”) have taken her on a cross country roadtrip living out of the car across 38 states in the US, and backpacking mostly, solo, through 25 countries around the world.  

A great conversation around media, relationships, and more.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links That Were Mentioned:

Diversity is crucial in media

Koby Wheeler had it in him since he was young…..he embodied what an entrepreneur was before it was ever popular. Lemonade stands. Selling doughnuts. Garage sales. The full nine yards.

Growing up, Koby found his way by making his own way. The path of trial and error and figure-it-out-as-you-go, he honed his skills and mindset to become one in which he can operate effectively, efficiently, and provide great creative value to others - from TEDx designs in high school, to personal ideations and creations, to eventually creating two of his own agencies, KW Branding + Design and Lobster Ferret.

The former focuses on branding and design; the latter on digital marketing.

Take a deep dive with us as we get into the full journey of Koby Wheeler and learn many things on design, creative, and more.

Attached Things/Links That Were Mentioned:

Leadership

Entrepreneurship

Coffee

Design & Branding

Koby’s Creative Process

Setting Expectations

Managing Self, Thus Time

Koby’s Creative Process

Koby’s Journey

Google (use it!)

Dr. Orin Davis helps people become the best versions of themselves. Formally, Orin was the first person to get a doctorate in positive psychology. He is the Principal Investigator at the Quality of Life Laboratory and a self-actualization engineer. He also serves as Head of Behavioral Science at Vervo and is a science advisor to Happify.

Jokingly, in our conversation, Orin mentioned that he is a Chief Bullshit Officer - a.k.a he calls people out on their bullshit.

Topics are plentiful in this one. Enjoy the deep dive!

Attached Things/Links That Were Mentioned:

Orin’s journey

Neuroscience

Psychology

Organic Chemistry

Organizational Behavior

Abraham Maslow

Masaru Tamamoto

Josh Watzkin

Marianna Phillips is a New York City visual artist and creative. Long before now, she has experienced many things in this life and comes from a rich family history/upbringing in that she is a first-generation Argentinian-Colombian American.

At the moment, Marianna is a partner (COO) at the Forcing Function, a high-performance consultancy led by Chris Sparks that works with investors, founders, and CEOs to maximize their trajectory and decision making. Last year, the Forcing Function published its first workbook: Experiment Without Limits (see downloadable link below).

At Weird Little Lines, Marianna explores the intersection of art, science, and education through the playful lens of childlike imagination.

And previously, Marianna Co-Founded the Math Plus Music Series, a public art series launched at The National Museum of Mathematics in New York City that combined math education and live musical performance.

Enjoy!

Attached Things/Links That Were Mentioned: