🎙️ 33 CONVERSATIONS PODCAST

Can a story change a habit? In this live STORY Habits demonstration, Connie Kwan guides Michael Abney through a practical experiment in attention, values, and behavior change.

Inside the conversation:

• Why motivation and confidence both matter

• The three-times-a-day practice: notice, name it, and turn around

• How personal values create a stronger anchor than willpower

• Michael’s chosen value: authenticity

• The experiment they agreed to revisit after three weeks

Complete the STORY Habits series:

1. Original conversation — Your Habit Isn’t the Problem—The Story Underneath It Is:

https://youtu.be/6LY6K8KHaBw

2. Live STORY Habits demonstration — this episode.

3. Three weeks later — Michael Abney: Noticing It Changed Everything:

https://conniekwan.substack.com/p/ep-9-michael-abney-noticing-it-changed

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What if the habit you’re trying to change isn’t the real problem?

In this Season 9 conversation, Michael Abney sits down with Connie Kwan, creator of STORYHabits, to explore why behavior-only systems often fail—and why lasting change begins with the story and identity beneath the habit.

Connie shares how confidence, motivation, identity, and the stories we repeat shape whether change actually lasts. Together, they examine the difference between doing the habit and becoming the person who can sustain it.

In this conversation:

• Why behavior is only part of the habit-change picture

• The identity underneath lasting change

• Why “should” rarely creates commitment

• How confidence and motivation affect success

• What it means to change the story before changing the habit

Part 2 features a live STORYHabits demonstration with Michael.

Explore more conversations: https://33conversations.com

Follow: @33conversations

Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

#Habits #Identity #PersonalGrowth #Podcast #33Conversations

What happens when the knowledge keeping your business alive is also keeping it dependent on you?

Adi Klevit helps founders turn the instincts, standards, relationships, and decisions living in their heads into processes their teams can actually carry. In this conversation, Michael and Adi explore why founder knowledge becomes a bottleneck, how systems create freedom rather than confinement, and how to use AI as a tool without allowing it to choose the direction.

“When I’m driving—not when AI is driving.” — Adi Klevit

In this episode:

• Why “only I can do it” signals trapped knowledge

• How to extract a founder’s instincts without flattening them

• Why documented systems create freedom, continuity, and business value

• Where human judgment belongs in AI-assisted work

• The practical first question every founder should ask

CHAPTERS

00:00 Stop Carrying the Business in Your Head

02:10 Why Founder Knowledge Gets Trapped

05:09 The Hidden Cost of “Only I Can Do It”

09:10 Turning Vision Into a Business That Can Continue

11:51 Using AI Without Letting AI Drive

16:14 What Founders Must Let Go Of

17:33 How Adi Built Her Process Consulting Work

20:47 Human Creativity in an AI World

22:17 From Vision to Playbooks and Action

24:46 Where to Start This Week

25:52 The Leadership Threshold

CONNECT WITH ADI KLEVIT

Business Success Consulting Group: https://www.bizsuccesscg.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adiklevit

Systems Simplified podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/systems-simplified/id1561408008

EXPLORE 33 CONVERSATIONS

https://33conversations.com

What part of your business still lives only in your head?

What if your business is simply reflecting the OS of the person leading it?

Georges Hanna believes that many founders try to fix the visible problem first: sales, marketing, strategy, money, or team performance.

But sometimes the real issue sits underneath all of it.

In this conversation, Georges shares how his own business failures pushed him to examine what he calls the internal operating system of a leader: the beliefs, habits, emotional patterns, standards, and practices that shape how we make decisions and take action.

We talk about why information alone rarely creates change, why repetition and practice matter, how founders become bottlenecks in their own companies, and why a business often cannot grow beyond the internal capacity of the person leading it.

Georges also shares his framework around the four levels of profit and why profit is about more than money.

This conversation explores:

• The founder as the business OS
• Why sales and marketing problems may be symptoms
• The four levels of profit
• Information vs. practice
• How habits shape business outcomes
• Why founders become the ceiling
• Leadership before systems
• Achievement vs. becoming
• Collaboration instead of competition
• Building a business that can grow beyond you
• Why your business can become a mirror

One idea sits at the center of the conversation:

Your business can only grow as far as you are willing to grow.

Guest bio
Georges Hanna is the founder of Smart Income Lifestyle, a business coach, leadership architect, and mentor who helps founders and leaders strengthen the internal systems that shape how they lead, build, and grow.

Host bio line
Hosted by Michael Abney, 33 Conversations explores the honest conversations founders and leaders are having while building what comes next.

Pressure doesn’t create your leadership habits—it reveals them.

In the Season 9 premiere of 33 Conversations, Michael Abney sits down with executive coach and U.S. Navy veteran Alexandra Mahanna to explore what happens when pressure rises, priorities compete, and clarity becomes difficult.

Alexandra explains why capability alone does not earn trust, how self-awareness strengthens decision-making, and why leaders must practice clear communication before the stakes are high. They also discuss imposter syndrome, questioning the status quo responsibly, delegating with intention, and the shift from capable service provider to confident CEO.

In this conversation:

• Why pressure amplifies your existing leadership habits

• How competing priorities and unclear communication erode trust

• A simple daily reflection practice for greater self-awareness

• How to question existing systems responsibly

• The shift from service provider to CEO

• Why steady, values-aligned leadership matters more than performance

What does pressure reveal about the way you lead?

Connect with Alexandra Mahanna:

https://www.alexandramahannaleadership.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandramahanna

Explore 33 Conversations:

https://33conversations.com/

Self-doubt doesn’t have to stop you—it can become a signal that greater clarity is needed.

In this episode of 33 Conversations, Michael Abney sits down with Abdul Fattah Ismail to explore how doubt, daily routines, reflection, and intentional action can help us make clearer decisions and move forward with purpose.

In this conversation:

• Why doubt can be useful instead of shameful

• How morning routines shape focus and momentum

• Turning uncertainty into clarity and action

• Building the self-awareness to make better decisions

• Moving forward with intention and purpose

Discover more conversations and resources at https://33Conversations.com

Paul Lagerstedt, founder of ALKAA, shares how a personal question about his own physical reactions to alcohol became a multiyear journey of testing, laboratory validation, product development, and category creation.

This conversation explores founder courage, imposter syndrome, product proof, mindful drinking, and the harder challenge of helping people trust something they have never seen before.

Paul Lagerstedt did not begin with a plan to create a company.

He began with a physical pattern he could not explain.

Instead of accepting the usual advice, he approached the problem like a mechanic and began investigating what was happening inside the drink itself. That curiosity eventually led to ALKAA, a patented product built around the concept of treating the drink rather than the body.

Paul and Michael discuss experimentation, founder fear, self-trust, product validation, category creation, and why earning trust can be more difficult than developing the product.

This episode discusses alcohol and drinking wellness. It does not encourage excessive alcohol use and is not medical advice. Individual responses to alcohol vary, and listeners should consult a qualified healthcare professional regarding personal health concerns, medications, allergies, or alcohol use.

What do you do when your body feels wrong, but no one can clearly explain why?

Persistent fatigue. Brain fog. Pressure in the jaw. Old injuries that never fully resolve. Symptoms that appear unrelated, yet continue asking for attention.

In this special bonus episode of 33 Conversations, Michael Abney speaks with Stephen Heuer, B.S. Nutripath and founder of Synergistic Nutrition, about the personal health experiences that led him to question conventional assumptions about aging, energy, dental health, minerals, and the body’s electrical systems.

Stephen shares the framework he describes as “healing is voltage,” along with his experience of jawbone infections, dental procedures, chronic physical pressure, mineral balance, alkalinity, nervous-system stress, and other potential hidden stressors.

Michael also opens up about his own experience with failed root canals, jawbone loss, dizziness, fatigue, brain fog, and the frustration of trying to understand symptoms that did not come with clear answers.

This is a conversation about curiosity, self-advocacy, and learning to ask deeper questions when something in the body does not feel right.

In this episode:

• Stephen’s personal experience with dental infections and chronic symptoms

• Why he views the body as both biochemical and electrical

• Michael’s experience with failed root canals and unexplained health changes

• Questions to consider when seeking dental or medical support

• Stephen’s perspective on minerals, energy, alkalinity, and structural health

• The importance of listening to physical signals

• Why aging does not have to mean accepting every symptom as inevitable

• The role of curiosity and discernment in personal health decisions

About Stephen Heuer

Stephen Heuer is a B.S. Nutripath and the founder of Synergistic Nutrition. His work explores nutrition, mineral balance, structural health, and alternative approaches to personal wellness.

Connect with Stephen:

LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-heuer-122535202/

Website:

[ADD STEPHEN’S WEBSITE]

Medical disclaimer:

This episode presents personal experiences and the guest’s individual perspectives. It is provided for general informational and conversational purposes only and is not medical or dental advice. Some ideas discussed are non-mainstream, may not reflect established scientific consensus, and have not been independently verified by 33 Conversations.

Do not use this episode to diagnose or treat a condition. Consult an appropriately licensed medical or dental professional before making decisions regarding symptoms, diagnoses, medications, supplements, tests, dental procedures, or treatment.

33 Conversations is hosted by Michael Abney and explores the inner experiences, difficult questions, and human transformations shaping founders, leaders, experts, and people building meaningful lives.

Michael sits down with Gino Barbaro, money coach and co-founder of Barbaro 360, for a powerful conversation about money, legacy, family, and the emotional stories that shape our financial lives. Together, they explore how childhood money memories influence adult decisions, why families avoid honest money conversations, and how to begin rebuilding trust with money one conscious choice at a time.

In this conversation, Michael and Gino explore:

• Why money is often about fear, safety, love, and identity
• How childhood experiences shape adult money patterns
• Why financial success without emotional awareness can feel empty
• The role of family culture in building legacy
• How couples can stop fighting about money and start understanding each other
• The difference between money as status and money as stewardship
• Why mindfulness matters in rebuilding your relationship with money
• How financial education can begin with one simple book

“Money is not the destination. It is the tool.”

Gino Barbaro is a multifamily investor, certified money coach, financial educator, and co-founder of Barbaro 360. After building and selling his real estate education company, Gino shifted his work toward helping families understand their relationship with money, build financial intelligence, and create legacy through stewardship, purpose, and conscious family conversations.

What happens when life removes the physical evidence of who you thought you were?

In this episode of 33 Conversations, Michael Abney sits down with Monica Leigh Rodriquez to explore what it means to lose everything and still find a deeper sense of self. After the Eaton fire destroyed Monica’s home, she was forced into a painful but clarifying process of grief, rebuilding, and identity transformation.

Together, they talk about loss, self-worth, creative work, sociology, rebuilding a business, and the surprising clarity that can emerge after trauma.

This episode is for anyone moving through grief, transition, reinvention, or the slow work of rebuilding a life that feels more aligned than the one that came before.

If you’ve ever asked yourself who you are without the things that used to define you, this conversation is worth your time.