Manisha Sharma has spent much of her life moving between countries, cultures, industries, and roles—and somewhere along the way, she became unusually comfortable with not knowing exactly what comes next.

Over more than 20 years as an operator and executive, Manisha built teams, led transformation, and helped grow billion-dollar businesses. But after years of achievement, recognition, and measurable impact, she made a deliberate choice to step away and create space for something different—even though she didn’t yet know what that would be. That pause became a sabbatical, a period of unexpected boredom, and eventually a new relationship with time, ambition, and enough. Today, Manisha works as an executive coach and facilitator, grounded in a conviction that clarity precedes impact.

In this conversation, Manisha and Mark explore what living across cultures taught her about trust, why boredom can be a surprisingly powerful source of growth, how a lifetime of change shaped her comfort with ambiguity, and why curiosity may be our best alternative to judgment.

In this episode:

• Why slowing down and making space can sometimes matter more than moving faster
• What Manisha discovered when she intentionally stepped away from a successful career
• Boredom as a path toward self-awareness, creativity, and growth
• What living across countries and cultures taught her about trust
• Finding clarity inside ambiguity and change
• Why curiosity and judgment cannot easily coexist

Connect with Manisha Sharma:

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

Website: https://www.inscape.solutions/index.html

Because This Matters features conversations with impactful people about the values that shape how they show up in the world.

Danielle Burkett’s story is not a straight line—and she doesn’t pretend that recovery is one either.

Her life has included substance use, incarceration, trauma, family rupture and repair, and a life-altering stroke. Through all of it, she has continued to return to a few central values: spirituality, courage, family, and what she calls “recovery from life.”

Today, Danielle is a recovery coach and the founder and executive director of Unlikely Journeys, a nonprofit rooted in recovery, reentry, prevention, and second chances. Her experience helped shape what she calls the “we factor”: walking alongside people with honesty, compassion, and a willingness to see their strengths even in the middle of their mess.

In this conversation, Danielle and Mark explore what it means to keep moving forward without requiring the journey to look perfect, how relationships can challenge the beliefs we hold about ourselves, and how surviving a stroke fundamentally changed Danielle’s relationship with her own life.

A note for listeners: This episode includes candid discussion of addiction, trauma, loss, and suicidal ideation.

In this episode:

• Spirituality, courage, family, and “recovery from life”
• Why recovery is nonlinear and sometimes messy
• Repairing relationships and learning to accept connection
• How surviving a stroke changed Danielle’s relationship with life
• Second chances, compassion, and the “we factor” behind Unlikely Journeys

Learn more about Danielle and Unlikely Journeys:

Website: unlikelyjourneys.org
TikTok: @unlikelyjourneys2
Instagram: @unlikelyjourneys
Facebook: Unlikely Journeys, Inc.

Because This Matters features conversations with impactful people about the values that shape how they show up in the world.

Will Hensley has built a life across some very different worlds.

He worked as a cowboy on a cattle ranch in Texas, became a tour manager in the music industry, and eventually left Nashville with his family to help build a luxury guest ranch in Western Montana.

Across those chapters, the same themes keep showing up: integrity, responsibility, intuition, family, service, and the willingness to act on what matters even when the outcome is uncertain.

In this conversation, Will and Mark explore what it means to “ride for the brand,” how to trust your gut without becoming reckless, why time may be the only thing we truly have, and how the people who believe in us can change the course of our lives.

In this episode:

• Reorienting life around family and fatherhood
• Leaving one dream job to pursue another
• Clarity, uncertainty, and “right action”
• Why Will sees time as our most valuable resource
• How A New Earth helped reshape his thinking
• Cowboy culture, work ethic, and “riding for the brand”
• Navigating a conflict between commitment and opportunity
• Why nature can help people reconnect with themselves
• The importance of helping others and giving people opportunities

Learn more about The Meadows on Rock Creek:

Website: https://themeadowsonrockcreek.com

Email: info (at) themeadowsonrockcreek.com

Because This Matters features thoughtful conversations with impactful people about the experiences and values that shape how they show up in the world.

Learn more about Mark at https://www.markpoiesz.com/

Kara Hawkins has built a life around change.

Born in Bethlehem and raised across different countries, Kara studied Arabic and international affairs, worked as a foreign policy analyst in the UAE, taught yoga, spent time on a remote Greek island and in India, and eventually returned to Australia, where she now works in coaching, strategy, and change management.

Along the way, she has kept returning to some of the same questions: What creates belonging? How do we know when it’s time to change direction? What happens when clarity points us toward uncertainty? And how do we build lives around what actually matters to us?

In this conversation, Kara and Mark explore freedom and belonging, ambition and identity, personal growth and systemic change—and why curiosity may be one of the most important values we can cultivate.

In this episode:

• How growing up across cultures shaped Kara’s sense of identity and belonging
• The mental health challenges that began an inner journey in her teens
• Leaving a high-status career and redefining ambition and success
• Why clarity and certainty are not the same thing
• Taking calculated risks while remaining open to the unexpected
• The relationship between personal wellbeing and the systems we live within
• Curiosity as a path toward compassion, connection, and less judgment

Connect with Kara:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kara-hawkins-75091b84/

Website: https://www.karahawkins.com.au/

Instagram (Art): @kara_eh

Podcast: Life, Leadership and Change with Kara Hawkins

Because This Matters features thoughtful conversations with leaders, artists, entrepreneurs, and more about the values that shape how they live, lead, and contribute.

Because This Matters set out to explore how values take shape—and become action—through the experiences that define our lives.

Nine conversations later, recurring themes began to emerge.

Across conversations with musicians, educators, military operators, nonprofit founders, advocates, and business leaders, three values surfaced again and again: compassion, humility, and relationships.

In this first solo episode, host Mark Poiesz reflects on the common threads woven throughout the podcast’s first nine guests, pairing his own observations with excerpts from those conversations.

This episode explores what these remarkable individuals collectively reveal about growth, leadership, service, and what it means to become more fully human.

Featured guests:
• Nasim Lari
• Joe Arias
• Rich Redmond
• Nancy Hajek
• Steve Rucker
• Melissa
• Alison Krebs
• Dr. Heather Baker
• Chad Bernstein

This episode explores:

• Why compassion begins with understanding
• Humility as openness to growth and change
• The role relationships play in shaping who we become
• Why becoming more fully human may be the work of a lifetime

Chapters

00:00 Introduction

01:41 Theme: Compassion

07:53 Theme: Humility

15:35 Theme: Relationships

21:07 Synthesis

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape—and become action—through the challenges and experiences that define our lives.

If this episode resonates, please follow, rate, review the show, and share it with someone who might enjoy the conversation.

markpoiesz.com

A professional musician, educator, mentor, and co-founder of Guitars Over Guns, Chad has dedicated his career to helping young people discover possibilities beyond the circumstances they were born into. What began as a conversation between musicians and youth in a juvenile detention center grew into a nationally recognized organization serving thousands of students through music, mentorship, and community.

Underneath the growth of the organization is a more personal story.

In this conversation, Chad reflects on the bullying and self-doubt he experienced as a young person, the role music played in helping him find belonging, and the lessons that shaped his approach to leadership, mentorship, fatherhood, and service.

Together, Mark and Chad explore what happens when people feel truly seen, the responsibility that comes with leadership, the power of curiosity over judgment, and how growth often begins when someone believes in us before we believe in ourselves.

This episode explores:

• How music became a refuge during Chad’s early struggles with belonging
• The juvenile detention center experience that inspired Guitars Over Guns
• Why mentorship is about helping people discover what’s possible for themselves
• What young people have taught Chad about leadership, trust, and human potential
• The relationship between creativity, service, and personal identity
• Why growth in an organization is limited by a leader’s willingness to grow
• Gratitude, spirituality, and finding meaning in a complicated world

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To learn more about Guitars Over Guns or support their work, visit Guitars Over Guns⁠ online. The organization provides music education, mentorship, and creative youth development programs for young people in underserved communities across multiple U.S. cities.  

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape and become action through the challenges and experiences that define our lives.

If this conversation meant something to you, please follow, rate, and review the show—and share it with someone else.

Dr. Heather Baker knows how quickly life can change.

After surviving sudden cardiac arrest, Heather found herself asking questions far deeper than emergency preparedness or public policy. What do we owe one another? How do we lead when we know life is fragile? And what matters enough to dedicate our lives to protecting?

Today, Heather is an elementary school principal, researcher, educator, and nationally recognized advocate for cardiac emergency preparedness in schools. Her work has helped train thousands of people in CPR and AED use, shaped legislation, and expanded awareness around sudden cardiac arrest and prevention.

In this conversation, Heather reflects on survival, motherhood, leadership, vulnerability, and the perspective that comes from knowing everything can change in an instant. She shares how surviving cardiac arrest transformed her relationship with stress, why asking for help became one of the most important lessons of her life, and how raising a child with a congenital heart condition deepened her understanding of courage, responsibility, and gratitude.

Together, Mark and Heather explore what it means to prepare for uncertainty without living in fear, and how life’s most difficult moments can become a catalyst for service.

This episode explores:

• Surviving sudden cardiac arrest and its lasting impact

• Leadership through vulnerability rather than perfection

• Learning to ask for help and accept support

• Parenting a child with a congenital heart condition

• Advocacy, resilience, and creating meaningful change

• Gratitude as a practice during challenge and uncertainty

• How awareness of mortality can clarify what matters most

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Follow Heather on social media @heathersheartsquad

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape—and become action—through the challenges and experiences that define our lives.

If this conversation meant something to you, please follow, rate, and review the show—and share it with someone else.

Alison Krebs has lived many lives within one lifetime.

She began her career in the high-pressure world of corporate leadership, helping build a Fortune 500 company. After entering recovery in 1999, her path took unexpected turns—through monastic formation, years running a dog grooming business, and eventually to the stage as the lead vocalist of Rok Ali and the Addiction, an internationally touring hard rock band.

Underneath every chapter is a deeper thread: humility, community, surrender, and the ongoing process of becoming more fully human.

In this conversation, Alison reflects on how her understanding of achievement changed over time, why vulnerability became essential to growth, and how recovery reshaped the way she sees identity, spirituality, accountability, and purpose.

The conversation explores the tension between striving and surrender, the role of community in healing and alignment, and what it means to let go of certainty in order to become more fully human.

This episode explores:

• How humility transformed Alison’s relationship with achievement
• The role of recovery in reshaping identity and purpose
• Why vulnerability and accountability are essential for growth
• Community as a foundation for healing and alignment
• Spirituality, “unknowing,” and learning to let go of control
• The relationship between performance, purpose, and transcendence

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Connect with Alison / Rock Ali and the Addiction:
https://rokali.com/

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how values take shape—and become action—through the challenges and experiences that define our lives.

If this conversation meant something to you, please follow, rate, and review the show—and share it with someone else.

Melissa is a school psychologist, mother, and one of the most thoughtful people Mark knows.

In this conversation, they explore the values that shape how we relate to others—and ourselves. Drawing from both her personal life and nearly two decades working with children and families, Melissa reflects on kindness, compassion, emotional intelligence, and the importance of community.

She shares the early experiences that shaped her perspective, how parenting deepened her understanding of these values, and why giving grace matters more than ever.

Throughout the episode, a deeper thread emerges: that much of what people need most is not judgment or perfection, but patience, understanding, and the willingness to meet people where they are.

This episode explores:

• Why kindness must be modeled, not just taught
• Emotional intelligence and helping children navigate big feelings
• The role of compassion in parenting, friendship, and community
• The difference between transactional relationships and genuine care
• Learning to accept people as they are—not as we wish they would be
• Why giving grace to ourselves matters too

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how personal values take shape and become action through conversations with leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs.

If this conversation meant something to you, please follow, rate, and review the show—and share it with someone else who may find it meaningful.

What does it mean to live beyond the roles and titles we use to define ourselves?

In this conversation, Mark sits down with one of his mentors, Steve Rucker—musician, educator, and longtime director of contemporary drum set studies at the University of Miami—to explore a life shaped not by rigid identity, but by openness, curiosity, and continual evolution.

Steve reflects on the moments and influences that reshaped how he sees the world—from discovering the work of Joseph Campbell to experiencing the difference between belief and direct knowing. He shares how these perspectives have informed not only his career as a performer and educator, but also the way he approaches growth, creativity, and human connection.

Throughout the conversation, a deeper thread emerges: the idea that who we are is not confined to what we do. That flexibility, presence, and openness may matter more than any title we carry.

This episode explores:

• The difference between belief and lived experience

• Identity beyond roles, labels, and professions

• How openness and flexibility shape a meaningful life

• Teaching, mentorship, and meeting people where they are

• Creating a life that evolves over time rather than staying fixed

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Because This Matters is a podcast exploring how personal values take shape and become action through conversations with leaders, artists, and entrepreneurs.

If this conversation resonated, follow the show and share it with someone who might find it meaningful.