Action 2 Impact Podcast with Gwen Jones

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Most of us can tell a great story at dinner or read a children’s book with feeling, then we walk into work and suddenly talk like a robot. That gap is costing us trust, clarity, and momentum. I’m joined by Gavin, author of Story Business, to get brutally practical about what storytelling actually is and why it changes the decisions people make.

Gavin’s definition is disarmingly simple: a story is a piece of information wrapped in emotion. From there, we dig into why corporate speak (“utilize,” “empowerment,” endless acronyms) strips the humanity out of leadership communication, and how that creates distance instead of buy-in. We also talk about “aligned agency” and why pure command-and-control fails just as badly as total chaos, plus what the military can teach the rest of us about giving people context they can act on.

We go beyond theory with examples: how you’d pitch a trip to Paris like a real person, why “reason leads to judgment and emotion leads to action,” and how a Rotary Great Duck Race turns a simple raffle into a community story that raises serious money. Gavin also lays out different genres of business storytelling, including value storytelling, product storytelling, brand storytelling, and leadership storytelling, and why emotion matters even more as AI becomes part of everyday work.

If you’re leading a business, growing a nonprofit, building a community group, or simply trying to get people to care, this conversation will help you tell a clearer story that moves people. Subscribe, share this with a friend who hates corporate jargon, and leave a review so more listeners can find the show.

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Wishing gets dismissed as childish until you realize how much brain science is hiding inside it. I sit down with author Ranelle Landrum (The Art And Science Of Wishing) to talk about what she calls “cosmic wishing,” a way to keep the joy of wishes while using real frameworks from neuroscience, psychology, anthropology, and social behavior. If you’ve ever rolled your eyes at a wish, a vision board, or “thoughts and prayers,” this conversation offers a smarter, more grounded alternative.

We dig into the practical differences between a wish, a prayer, and a goal, and why that difference matters when something isn’t fully in your control. Ranelle explains how wording can change what your mind searches for, including how repeating a wish can help trigger solution-finding through attention and pattern recognition (hello, reticular activating system). We also talk about the “three Ps” of making better wishes peaceful, positive, and purposeful and why “wishing against” something can keep you stuck focused on the problem instead of the path forward.

From collective wishing and shared rituals to savoring, gratitude, and the helper’s high, we connect the emotional side of hope to the mechanics of behavior change. We also name the traps: toxic positivity, self-blame, and the idea that you “didn’t want it badly enough.” You’ll hear a healthier way to respond when a wish doesn’t land: yes, no, wait, or something better, plus what you can learn next.

Subscribe for more conversations that turn ideas into action, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review with the best wish you’re working on right now.

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Have you ever wondered what it's like to go on a Polio drop trip? I mean how do you get there, where do you eat, sleep, wash up? Is it safe? Does it cost alot of money? Face it was always hear the amazing stories, but never the details. Well this week I have both. Join me won't you?

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Division sells, but it doesn’t have to run our lives. We sit down with Adam Mazell from Us United to talk about National Unity Day and the bigger question behind it: how do regular people rebuild trust when politics, media, and social media keep pulling us into smaller bubbles and harsher labels?

Adam shares the origin story that starts in 2020 and turns into a cross-country road trip in a purple and white pickup truck, thousands of conversations, and a surprising lesson: most people define unity with the same core words like respect, compassion, patience, teamwork, and listening. We get specific about what Unity Day actually looks like on the ground, from the Holiday Giving Spectacular model to solving real “life-blocking” needs for families like fixing a roof, replacing tires, or installing a water heater. It’s civic engagement that feels human, local, and doable.

We also dig into tools you can use immediately: “break the algorithm” by posting one kind, community-building thing each week, and the Pass The Purple campaign that makes unity shareable. Then we explore Unity Seats at sporting events and Friday night lights at high school football games as a way to bring strangers together around shared joy, not shared ideology.

Want to get involved or partner with a club, team, or community group? Reach out at [email protected], follow Us United on social, and then subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people find the work.

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We catch up with Evan Burrell for a third conversation, from his lowest point of depression and nearly quitting Rotary to finishing a tough year as district governor. We talk honestly about criticism, leadership pressure, member experience, and why he still believes in showing up for the bigger mission. 

• Evan’s path from burnout and clinical depression to re-engaging with Rotary 
• How connection and belonging bring leaders back from the edge 
• Becoming district governor and discovering what the role really demands 
• Handling bullying, harassment, financial issues, and club conflict with process and care 
• The gap between a public persona and the serious work of leadership 
• Why Rotary critics exist and how to respond without losing your center 
• Membership retention as an experience problem, not just a recruitment problem 
• Tradition as a foundation not a handbrake 
• What Evan wants next: speaking, hands-on projects, and being a “changemaker” 

As usual, tell friends about it, be them other Rotarians, other friends. Got anybody I should interview? You know the drill, RotarianPod at gmail.com. 

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A building sways, the air turns sharp with jet fuel, and a guide dog wakes up ready to work. Mike Kingson, New York Times best-selling author of Thunder Dog, takes us back to the 78th floor of World Trade Center Tower One on September 11th and walks us through what kept him moving when thousands of people were trying to survive at the same time. What stands out isn’t a movie-style miracle. It’s preparation, clear thinking, and the quiet confidence of Roselle doing her job while everything outside the stairwell turns unreal.

From that 9-11 survival story, we pivot into something just as necessary: blindness etiquette and the everyday misconceptions that make life harder for blind and low vision people. I ask the uncomfortable questions sighted folks think but rarely say out loud, and Mike answers with patience and edge. We talk about why “visually impaired” can land wrong, why speaking louder to a blind person is a tell, and why the real barrier is often attitude, not ability. He also shares a reframing that sticks: if you’re light-dependent, you’re not “normal,” you’re accommodated.

Then we get practical about guide dog etiquette and service dog rules. If a dog is in harness, it’s working, so ask the handler first and accept the answer. Mike breaks down the Americans with Disabilities Act definition of a trained service dog, explains how fake service dog vests damage access for everyone, and even tackles the question people love to argue about: can blind people drive with the right information and technology?

Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reality check, and leave a review so more listeners find the show. What’s one assumption you’ve caught yourself making about blindness or service dogs?

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We talk with Elaine about trading symptom chasing for lifelong well-being built on daily choices that protect independence as we age. We dig into why “normal for your age” is a dangerous story and how simple nutrition, hydration, and authentic movement can change what aging looks like. 
• shifting the focus from studying disease to studying health and well-being 
• defining well-being as independence without a shoebox of medications 
• why blood biomarkers can create a false sense of safety 
• the coffee and tachycardia story as a root-cause lesson 
• where medications help and where they can mask the real problem 
• separating vaccines from optional lifestyle-related drug use 
• nitric oxide, endothelial function, and food-based support 
• what Elaine sees in home care that predicts mobility or decline 
• rejecting the narrative that aging must mean muscle loss 
• hospital food and the standard American diet problem 
• Elaine’s seven pillars: mindset, nutrition, movement, hydration, community, guide, consistency 
• why we should not rely on AI for health decisions 
• training movement in three planes for real life function 
Do you know somebody that I should know that should come on the show? Rotarianpod at gmail.com 
If you'd like to sponsor the show andor be an advertiser on our show, RotarianPod at gmail.com

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AUGUST ENCORE SHOW: Today we are talking Adults with Clubfoot with  fAnne Onyango from the World Disability Rotary Action Group. Not only does Anne have clubfoot, but she has taught yourself how to make shoes not only for herself but for others . Anne is also helping adults with the stigma of clubfoot.. join us for an inspirational "can do it" story of Rotary.

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AUGUST ENCORE SHOW: I'm off to Grapevine TX to talk wine with Presisident of the Rotary Wine Enthusiasts Fellowship Conrad Heede. We're talk all things wine and fun. If you know a little or a lot about wine, this is the show for you!

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I’m back after brain surgery and I’m choosing to come back talking about longevity, beauty, and the quality of life we all deserve. James Stroll joins me to explain why living longer is becoming mainstream, why access may widen over time, and why a longer life has to mean more than just lasting longer. 

• James’s longevity origin story after losing his grandmother 
• Why he writes books to keep people in the conversation 
• How RAADFest and the internet helped longevity explode into the mainstream 
• Whether longevity is only for wealthy people and how prices can drop over time 
• NAD protocols, gene therapy, and the “early adopter” technology curve 
• The question nobody can dodge: who are you at 125 
• Moving from survival mode into creativity and building “heaven on earth” 
• What “gospel” means as “good news” and why he uses spiritual language 
• How spiritual resilience and anti-aging science can support the same goal 
• Why he wants people to have a real choice about lifespan and healthspan 

If you'd like the podcast or video cast to go somewhere, you know, Rotarianpod at gmail.com. Of course, I always tell you tell others about the show so they can join in on all the fun. And, you know, if you know somebody that I should know about, again, same address, Rotarianpod at gmail.com. 

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Join me as I talk to those "amazing people turning their Actions 2 Impact all over the world. #BE THE CHANGE