Born without a choice

What happens when the dream you’ve believed in for years starts feeling impossible?

In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I’m joined by Greig Watts, a songwriter, producer, publisher, mentor, and entrepreneur who has built an international career in the music industry despite facing rejection, setbacks, and moments when he considered walking away from music altogether.

Greig discovered his passion for songwriting in the 1980s and eventually helped build DWB Music, an international songwriting, production, and publishing business with major success in markets including Japan and South Korea, as well as extensive involvement in Eurovision.

But his story isn’t simply about success. It’s about persistence, finding opportunities others overlook, building the right team, and learning how to keep moving forward when rejection makes you question whether your dream is worth pursuing.

Today, Greig mentors songwriters and creatives, runs songwriting camps, and shares the lessons he has learned throughout his journey. His book, Keeping the Dream Alive, offers guidance for creatives navigating rejection, uncertainty, and the challenges of building a career in the music industry.

In this conversation, we explore what it really takes to keep a dream alive—and why sometimes the path to success requires finding another route rather than giving up.

📬 Guest Details

Greig Watts
Songwriter, Producer, Publisher, Mentor & Entrepreneur

Company: DWB Music
Website: dwbmusicgroup.com

What happens when you’re born into a political system you never chose—and eventually begin questioning whether that system is actually working?

In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I’m joined by Evan Jaqua, an international business development specialist, entrepreneur, and founder of the Solutions Party. With a career spanning computer engineering, international consulting, information technology, and aviation, Evan has built a life shaped by experiences across different countries and cultures.

Fluent in English, Japanese, Spanish, and Chinese, Evan’s global perspective has influenced the way he views freedom, prosperity, politics, and the future of the United States. His experiences have led him to question political tribalism, the incentives within modern politics, and whether the systems we inherit are capable of creating the future people want.

In this conversation, we explore what people around the world have in common, why political identities can become so divisive, what Evan believes is broken about the current political system, and why he created the Solutions Party as an attempt to focus on solutions rather than political division.

We also look toward the next generation—and ask an important question: if we were born into a system we didn’t choose, do we still have the power to help change it?

📬 Guest Details

Evan Jaqua
International Business Development Specialist, Entrepreneur & Founder of the Solutions Party

Organization: Solutions Party
Website: solutionsparty.org

What happens when financial stress becomes more than just a money problem—and starts affecting the way you see yourself, your future, and your purpose?

In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I’m joined by Dwight Heck, a financial coach, speaker, bestselling author, and host of the Give A Heck Podcast. As a single father of five, Dwight experienced years of financial pressure and what he describes as living in “quiet desperation”—working hard while still struggling to understand how money really worked.

A serious health crisis in 2001 became a major turning point, forcing Dwight to reevaluate the direction of his life. After nearly a decade in IT consulting, he entered the finance and insurance industry and began transforming his own relationship with money, purpose, and personal responsibility.

For more than two decades, Dwight has helped families and entrepreneurs improve their financial literacy, break free from the paycheck-to-paycheck cycle, and build lives centered around clarity, confidence, purpose, and legacy.

This conversation goes beyond finances. We talk about the money stories we inherit, mindset, financial stress, turning personal struggles into purpose, and what it means to take control of the life you’ve been given—even when you didn’t choose the circumstances you started with.

📬 Guest Details

Dwight Heck
Financial Coach, Speaker, Bestselling Author & Podcast Host

Podcast: Give A Heck Podcast
Website: giveaheck.com

What does a lifetime of competition teach us about discipline, failure, resilience, and the determination to keep going?

In this episode of Born Without a Choice, Michael Kelly joins the conversation to explore the mindset behind decades of wrestling and grappling at the highest levels. A world champion grappler, longtime wrestler, coach, and Team USA competitor, Michael has competed internationally across countries including Russia, Turkey, Japan, Kazakhstan, Greece, Poland, and Serbia—and has continued competing well into his 50s.

But this conversation goes beyond medals and championships. Michael shares what wrestling has taught him about discipline, handling failure, performing under pressure, staying motivated, and continuing to challenge yourself as life changes. We also explore his experience coaching athletes who went on to compete in the UFC, WWE, world wrestling championships, and military special operations.

From the wrestling mat to everyday life, this episode asks a powerful question: when the circumstances change and the years pass, what keeps us willing to get back up and keep fighting for what matters?

📬 Guest Details

Michael Kelly
World Champion Grappler, Wrestler, Coach & Competitor

Experience: Decades of wrestling and grappling competition
Representation: Team USA
International Competition: Russia, Turkey, Japan, Kazakhstan, Greece, Poland, Serbia & other countries
Coaching: Athletes who went on to compete at the UFC, WWE, world wrestling championships & military special operations

What happens when a generation grows up alongside social media, only to find itself entering an entirely new world shaped by artificial intelligence?

In this episode of Born Without a Choice, Justin Cale II joins the conversation to explore creativity, technology, politics, and the changing way we connect with one another. As a leatherworker, creative entrepreneur, activist, and political campaign professional, Justin brings a perspective shaped by both hands-on creativity and firsthand experience with independent political communication.

We talk about what happens to human creativity when AI enters the creative industries, whether technology can help artists without replacing them, and what it means for young people growing up in a world where AI can increasingly become a source of information, conversation, and connection.

From social media to artificial intelligence, independent voices to political messaging, this conversation asks a bigger question: as technology continues to reshape the world we were born into, how do we make sure we don’t lose the human parts of ourselves along the way?

📬 Guest Details

Justin Cale II
Leatherworker, Activist, Creative Entrepreneur & Political Campaign Professional

Founder: House of Cale
Creative Work: Leather armor, accessories & House of Cale Chronicles
Political Experience: Former Logistics Manager for the Jenn Mack campaign
Location: Near Houston, Texas
Instagram: @justin_cale_ii

What happens when stress affects more than just your mind?

In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I’m joined by Dr. Steve McGough, a neuroscience researcher, educator, inventor, author, and cofounder of Women and Couples Wellness.

Steve has spent more than sixteen years working with women and couples around nervous-system regulation, wellbeing, relationships, and health. His background includes neuroscience research at Wake Forest School of Medicine, a doctorate in clinical sexology, and multiple U.S. and international patents.

We talk about stress, resilience, the mind-body connection, relationships, communication, and what happens when our bodies remain in a state of stress for too long.

Steve also shares lessons from his own journey—from entrepreneurship and difficult experiences to becoming an inventor and wellness educator.

Because we may not choose every challenge life brings us, but understanding ourselves can help us make healthier choices about how we move forward.

📬 Contact / Guest Details

Dr. Steve McGough
Neuroscience Researcher, Educator, Inventor & Author

Cofounder: Women and Couples Wellness

Website: himassager.com

About Steve: himassager.com/steve

Specialties:
Neuroscience, nervous-system regulation, wellness, relationships, resilience, and mind-body health.

Inventions:
Inventor of the hi® massage system and holder of six U.S. and international patents.

What if the way you think about money isn’t entirely your own?

In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I’m joined by Amanda Cassar, a financial adviser based on Australia’s Gold Coast with a Master of Financial Planning and specialist expertise in aged care, self-managed superannuation, estate planning, and succession.

We talk about the financial lessons and patterns we inherit from our families, the relationship between money and personal freedom, and why understanding your finances can give you greater control over your future.

Amanda also shares her work around financial abuse, women and money, and the challenges and opportunities that come with building a family business across generations.

We explore how the circumstances we’re born into can influence our relationship with money—and how we can question those patterns and make different choices for the future.

Because we may inherit financial beliefs and circumstances we didn’t choose, but we can choose what we do with them.

📬 Contact / Guest Details

Amanda Cassar
Financial Adviser, Author & Podcast Host

Location: Gold Coast, Australia

Website: amandacassar.com.au

Podcast: Financial Secrets Revealed

Specialist Areas:
Financial planning, aged care, self-managed superannuation, estate planning, succession, women and money, and financial abuse.

Financial Abuse Specialist:
Amanda is the course writer of the Financial Abuse Specialist accreditation, distributed globally by Standards International UK.

What happens when the life you planned for isn’t the life you end up living?

In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I’m joined by Todd A. Krause, a CPA, MBA, TEDx speaker, author, and founder of Silversun Consulting.

Todd spent two decades in institutional finance before taking an unexpected turn into entrepreneurship, purchasing a struggling cleaning company in 2020 and growing it from $1.6 million to more than $4 million in revenue in just two years.

We talk about burnout, toxic workplace cultures, leadership, entrepreneurship, and the lessons Todd learned from building a business by putting people and dignity at the center.

We also explore what it means to build success without allowing work to consume your identity—and why sometimes the path we never planned for can teach us more about ourselves than the path we originally chose.

Because we may not choose every circumstance life puts in front of us, but we can choose what we do with the opportunities that come from them.

📬 Contact / Guest Details

Todd A. Krause
CPA, MBA, TEDx Speaker, Author & Founder of Silversun Consulting

Company: Silversun Consulting

Complimentary Business Growth Diagnostic:
Todd offers a 30-minute Business Growth Diagnostic for business owners and executives looking to uncover profit leaks, strengthen leadership, and build businesses that can grow without depending on the owner for every decision.

Booking: calendly.com/d/d2c9-s3g-m93

What do we inherit from the generations that came before us?

In this episode of Born Without a Choice, I’m joined by Martin Bodek, author of Zaidy’s War, a remarkable story based on his grandfather’s experiences during and after World War II.

We talk about survival, family history, identity, migration, memory, and the importance of preserving stories that might otherwise disappear. Martin shares what inspired him to document his grandfather’s extraordinary journey and what he has learned from carrying that story forward.

We also explore what happens when the lives we inherit shape the way we understand ourselves—and how remembering the past can help future generations understand where they come from.

Because we may be born into a history we didn’t choose, but we can choose how we remember it, learn from it, and carry it forward.

📬 Contact / Guest Details

Martin BodekAuthor, technologist & writer

Website: Martin Bodek Books⁠Book: Zaidy’s War — Zaidy’s War⁠

His official site describes Zaidy’s War as the memoir of his grandfather’s extraordinary WWII experience and notes that the book launched Martin’s ongoing international speaking and podcast tour.

Email: [email protected]

What happens when life takes you somewhere you never expected to go?

Dr. Monique Lewison is an integrative veterinarian, author, and lifelong adventurer whose journey has taken her across continents, cultures, and challenging seasons of life. In her memoir Grab Life by the Horns, she reflects on growing up between worlds, building a career in a male-dominated field, living in northern Israel, navigating difficult circumstances, and learning to say yes to the unexpected.

In this episode of Born Without a Choice, we talk about embracing uncertainty, understanding people beyond our assumptions, learning from different cultures, and finding the courage to keep moving forward when life doesn’t go according to plan.

Because we may not choose where life begins—but we can choose what we do with the path in front of us.

📬 Contact / Links

• ​Website: drmoniquelewison.com⁠
• ​Book: Grab Life by the Horns
• ​Memoir page: Grab Life by the Horns — Dr. Monique Lewison⁠