Joaquin Cordero was 8 years old the first time he made money selling something — small wooden spinning tops to other kids in Guatemala City. Since then he's founded eleven companies, survived 2 broken necks, a bee attack 30 meters up a rock face, and a bone infection that hit the exact week he stepped into the EO Global Chair seat at a 22,000-member global organization.

In this episode, Joaquin unpacks what carried him through all of it — and the one piece of advice he keeps giving younger entrepreneurs.

Some notes from Joaquin's story we get into:

🪃 Started hustling at 8 — spinning tops, then music-for-parties, then a hot dog cart — long before his first "real" business

📚 Credits an early reading habit (now mostly podcasts) for the growth mindset that got him through repeated failure, including a franchise that went bankrupt right out of university

💥 A near-fatal bee attack 30 meters up a rock face, followed by a broken neck and foot — one of two close calls that reshaped how he sees mortality and risk

🦴 Broke his fibula in the Dolomites right as he began his year as EO Global Chair, then spent 45 days on IV antibiotics for a bone infection — a real-time stress test of his systems and mindset

🧘 Stoicism (Ryan Holiday, Marcus Aurelius) as an operating philosophy, and why he believes falling into victimhood is "a very hard place to fall into"

💊 Why he calls discounts "cocaine" for a business, and the simple framework he uses to choose — and fire — clients

⏰ His 1-10-10-10 "miracle morning" (tracked for 2,000+ days), intermittent fasting, and a weekly huddle built around one word, one win, and one bottleneck

👥 Building a company of "collaborators, not employees" with 10–17 year tenures, a hard stop at 5pm, and a belief that culture beats strategy

👥 How relationships — not tactics — got him elected to lead 22,000 entrepreneurs across 68+ countries

🙏 The advice he keeps giving younger entrepreneurs: don't be afraid, because your brain isn't you — it's just trying to keep you alive

... and so much more!😃

If you've ever wondered how to keep building after your business fails, your body breaks, or your title disappears — this conversation is for you.

Bio

Joaquín Cordero is CEO and founder of Lumen, a communications and advertising company operating across Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, serving global brands including Volkswagen, Danone, and Mitsubishi. Over 25 years, he's founded or co-founded 11 ventures — from a VHS rental shop and a rock-climbing gym to Kinimovil, a mobile content and billing company that operated across 12 countries and partnered with more than 20 telecom providers.

A 14-year member of the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO), Joaquin climbed every rung of its leadership ladder to become Global Chair for 2025/26, leading a network of 22,000+ entrepreneurs across 68+ countries. He hosts the Lumen Podcast, is a devoted rock climber and adventure motorcyclist, and lives in Guatemala with his wife and daughter.

Links Mentioned

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joaquin-r-cordero-a1268b3b/
• Instagram (@time.line.traveler): https://www.instagram.com/time.line.traveler
• Lumen: https://www.grupolumen.com/
• Lumen Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3xFOU99D3FJPQMTABZVxfN
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCH-1UVFenIp5bCtQNmMl9mw

📚Books mentioned: The Obstacle Is the Way & Ego Is the Enemy (Ryan Holiday), Meditations (Marcus Aurelius), How to Win Friends and Influence People (Dale Carnegie), The Laws of Human Nature, Mastery & The Art of Seduction (Robert Greene), Die With Zero (Bill Perkins)

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina  

Certified Health, Sleep, Performance & Executive Coach 360 with 18 years of experience helping people change to feel, be and do their best.

You can feel fully capable and still not follow through and that is not a moral failure, it is a signal.

When we catch ourselves saying “I should” or “I could,” we’re hearing hesitant language out loud, and it usually means our brain is not convinced the goal is worth the cost.

In this episode I unpack how that shows up with healthy habits like intermittent fasting, nutrition, exercise, sleep, and productivity, and why forcing more willpower backfires.

We start with the first lever: getting very clear on your why and the best exercise I do with my clients for that.

Then we hit the second lever: planning for when it sucks (not the way you think). I give concrete self-management options I give to my clients and use myself when I'm getting ready for a fitness competition, and explain why “I’ll try harder” is not a plan.

If you want practical behavior change tools, motivation that lasts, and a cleaner path to your goals, listen through the end.

If this helps, subscribe, share it with someone who keeps “should-ing” on themselves, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show.

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina  

Certified Health, Sleep, Performance & Executive Coach 360 with 18 years of experience helping people change to feel, be and do their best.

If your calendar changes every week, your habits can still stay rock solid and it starts with one surprisingly simple move: stop attaching consistency to a schedule and start attaching it to a consistent daily trigger that happens no matter what.

We talk through why more than 80% of daily decisions happen on autopilot, and how that autopilot can either build your health or quietly drain it when life feels scattered.

We answer a common question from people who retire, travel often, work hybrid hours, raise kids, or run their own business: how do you build routines when you have no routine?

Our go-to strategy is “anchor moments” the few things that happen no matter where you are, like waking up, brushing your teeth, showering, coffee, lunch, or dinner. We show how to tie your most important habit, especially consistent exercise, to one of those moments so it becomes as automatic as hygiene. 

You’ll also get the practical layer that makes this work anywhere. 

"Your best intentions die of lack of preparation"

If this helped, subscribe, share the podcast with a friend, and leave a review so more people can build calm, strong routines in a chaotic world.

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Support The Show and Motivate Angela 🙂

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina  

Certified Health, Sleep, Performance & Executive Coach 360 with 18 years of experience helping people change to feel, be and do their best.

Dr. Michael Breus has spent 26 years studying why we can't sleep — and has helped everyone from Fortune 500 CEOs to Olympic athletes fix it.

In this episode of Change Wired, "The Sleep Doctor" breaks down the one habit that matters more than eight hours, why every human on Earth wakes up between 1 and 3am, and what to do about it to sleep well tonight.

Even Michael isn't immune — he only discovered his own sleep apnea 6 months ago, and he's using the exact tools he tells his patients to use.

In this episode:

• The single sleep habit Michael says matters more than anything else — and it's not 8 hours
• The biology of why you wake up between 1–3am every night (and what to do when you do)
• His "don't go pee, don't check the clock" protocol for falling back asleep fast
• The military breathing technique that quiets a racing mind
• Why CEOs who sleep 5 hours make worse decisions — and the "worry journal" trick Michael uses with them
• The cost of a sleepless workforce — it's not just tiredness, it's presenteeism
• His "3-15s" morning routine and "3-2-1" nutrition rule for better sleep tonight
• How to beat jet lag using light, caffeine, melatonin and napping — in a specific order
• What's next in sleep medicine: a pill for sleep apnea, GLP-1s, and redefining diagnosis for women

... and so much more!😀

Grab a notebook — this one's full of things you'll want to try tonight!

About Dr. Michael Breus

Dr. Michael J. Breus, PhD, is a double board-certified Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Sleep Specialist. He is one of only 168 psychologists in the world to have taken and passed the Sleep Medicine boards without going to medical school. He is also the founder of sleepdoctor.com.

Dr. Breus is the author of 4 books. His newest, "Energize! Go From Dragging Ass to Kicking It in 30 Days" (2021), adds the concepts of movement and intermittent fasting to his famous Sleep Chronotypes, and was named one of the top books of 2021 by The Today Show. His third book, The Power of When (2017), is a groundbreaking biohacking book proving there is a perfect time to do everything, based on your biological chronotype — whether you're an early bird or a night owl — drawing on more than 200 research studies.
Dr. Breus is an expert resource for most major publications, doing more than 400 interviews a year, including Oprah, Dr. Oz, The Doctors, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. He has been in private practice for 23 years and was named Top Sleep Doctor of Los Angeles by Reader's Digest.

Learn more about and connect with Dr Michael Breus' work:
https://sleepdoctor.com/changewired

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina  

Certified Health, Sleep, Performance & Executive Coach 360 with 18 years of experience helping people change to feel, be and do their best.

Your body keeps score, but it also keeps receipts.

If you are tired, stiff, or dealing with nagging pain, the problem is often not “age” or a lack of willpower, it is missing body maintenance habits that compound for years.

After attending the Long Game Summit hosted by Dr. Kelly Starrett and his wife, we bring you a clear, science-backed system for longevity that fits real life, even if you have zero interest in being a professional athlete.

We unpack the biggest gaps most people face today, from there, we lay out the “eights” framework of 8 habits you can follow for life.

The episode also connects the dots between food quality and tissue quality, why energy balance still matters even with “healthy” calories, and how play and social connection are not optional extras but key drivers of consistency and mental health.

You will also get a simple day plan for mornings, work hours, and evenings so these habits run like a system instead of another set of intentions.

If you want more energy, better sleep, and a stronger, more mobile body for life, hit play, then subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a reset, and leave a review so more people can find the show.

https://www.instagram.com/angelabrainbodycoach/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-shurina/

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina  

Certified Health, Sleep, Performance & Executive Coach 360 with 18 years of experience helping people change to feel, be and do their best.

Waiting for “the perfect time” is a sneaky way to stay exactly where you are.

Then I share one of the most underestimated tools in coaching and behavior change: Minimum Viable Habits.

I tell you why this works so well psychologically: consistency builds self-trust, strengthens self-efficacy, and makes it easier to show up again tomorrow.

We also get practical with examples from real life and clients, including the kind of gradual consistency that can lead to major results like significant 30kg permanent weight loss over time.

If this helps, subscribe, share it with a friend who keeps waiting for the perfect moment, and leave a quick review so more people can find the show.

What minimum viable habit are you choosing this month?

https://www.instagram.com/angelabrainbodycoach/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-shurina/

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina  

Certified Health, Sleep, Performance & Executive Coach 360 with 18 years of experience helping people change to feel, be and do their best.

Great sleep isn’t magic, and it definitely isn’t “just luck”

When I get a truly solid night, I feel it everywhere: better mood, better workouts, better focus, and a calmer baseline even after a brutal week.

Today I’m giving you the exact framework I use as a certified sleep coach to help people move from 4 to 5 hours of broken rest to 7 to 8 hours of consistent, high-quality sleep 95% of nights.

If you’re tired of getting lucky with sleep, press play and try this for a week. Subscribe, share this with a friend who’s wired and awake at 3 a.m., and leave a review so more people can find the sleep they need to handle the hardest week.

If you need the full protocol in writing: https://yourbestcoaching.substack.com/p/sleep-is-like-weight-loss-only-possible

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina  

Certified Health, Sleep, Performance & Executive Coach 360 with 18 years of experience helping people change to feel, be and do their best.

You can be incredibly driven and still be held back by the one thing you keep postponing: recovery.

After DMing 50 founders, business owners, and leaders to ask what limits their performance, I got a surprisingly consistent answer: rest, recovery, and sleep.

Not strategy. Not hustle. The basics we all “know,” but rarely protect on the calendar.

Drawing from the book *Peak Performance* by Steve Magnus, I share the work-rest rhythm that shows up again and again in research and elite training.

We also dig into the Roger Bannister story and why breakthrough moments often arrive during the incubation phase, not while you’re grinding.

Then I get personal about what it feels like to wake up flat, lose creativity, and think you might want to quit, and why that’s often a sign to rest, not to walk away.

You’ll leave with practical recovery tools to reset high performance.

If you’re chasing your next level goal, this is your reminder to build a rest strategy that matches it.

Subscribe, share this with a high performer who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find a healthier path to peak performance.

Find the full protocol on my Substack Blog: "I asked 50 founders what’s killing their performance. They all said the same thing."

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina  

Certified Health, Sleep, Performance & Executive Coach 360 with 18 years of experience helping people change to feel, be and do their best.

Willpower isn’t your real problem. Your environment is.

I’m Angela Shurina, and I’m diving into habit formation, aka your brain's automations, through the lens of high performance, neuroscience, and a simple principle I use daily: zonality, or assigning clear locations to specific behaviors so your brain stops debating and starts executing.

We talk about why habits are the brain’s automations and how automating more of your routine frees up limited brain power for the work that actually matters: leading, creating, training, building, and handling surprises without falling apart.

I also unpack decision fatigue. When your mental energy gets spent on constant micro-choices, the big challenges hit harder and you end up surviving instead of performing.

The core tool is context-dependent automation, the way your brain links a setting to a behavior and flips into “do the thing” mode with less conscious effort.

That’s why the gym makes workouts more likely, why offices can instantly trigger focus, and why a dedicated meditation corner can calm you down before you take a single breath.

You’ll leave with practical, step-by-step examples that make consistency feel automatic.

If you want better habits without more grinding, listen through, pick one habit you’ve been struggling to make stick, and design its dedicated place today.

Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review so more people can build habits that actually last.

Connect with Angela on LinkedIn: Angela Shurina https://www.linkedin.com/in/angela-shurina/

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina  

Certified Health, Sleep, Performance & Executive Coach 360 with 18 years of experience helping people change to feel, be and do their best.

In 1985, a 13-year-old boy watched his father sell the family house, move them into a caravan, and start training to cycle around the world — at a time when South Africa was closed off from most of the planet. The trip never happened. But something about that audacity never left him.

That boy is Rashid Toefy.

By the time he sat down with Angela for this episode of Change Wired, he'd already lived what feels like several lifetimes: gap years in London and Washington, DC (where he watched Nelson Mandela walk free and his own country begin to transform), a career built almost by accident in the youth travel industry, a "six-month" move to Amsterdam with his new wife that turned into three years traveling to a different country every month across 30+ countries, seven years as CEO of the Cape Town International Convention Centre starting at just 37, a bruising stretch as an entrepreneur opening the African division of a Geneva-based global company, a pivot into government where his job today is creating jobs across an entire regional economy — and, at 50 years old, a PhD completed in three years on how leaders make decisions inside a crisis.

Rashid and Angela cover all of it — the exhilarating parts and the hard ones.

Rashid opens up about growing up under apartheid, having to split from friends onto separate train carriages because of the color of their skin, and meeting Nelson Mandela as a student leader. He talks about 9/11 hitting while he had a hundred South African students on exchange visas stranded in the US. And he's disarmingly honest that he sees a therapist and works through personal challenges "day by day" — because, as he puts it, trauma either shrinks you or grows you, and which one happens is partly a choice you make.

What you'll learn in this episode:

• Why Rashid believes you can't plan a career from day one — you can only make sense of opportunities as they come, and trust your gut once the fundamentals are in place
• What "sense-making" means, and how it differs from both blind risk-taking and overthinking every decision
• The one question his first-ever coach, Karina Anderson, taught him to ask after any setback — and how it reframes adversity into fuel
• How 3 philosophies from 3 different cultures — Japan's Kaizen (continuous improvement), China's guanxi (relationships before business), and South Africa's own Ubuntu ("I am because we are") — combine in his approach to leadership
• Why Rashid believes refusing to settle for mediocrity isn't about ego — it's about what we owe to the world we're passing on

... and so much more!

Wow, in such a short episode it feels like we've covered a whole era!

Connect with Rashid:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashid-toefy-phd-5b09689/ — he's genuinely open to people reaching out about his leadership philosophy, his journey, or his PhD thesis on crisis leadership.

About Rashid Toefy:

Rashid Toefy is the Deputy Director-General in the Department of Economic Development and Tourism, with the mandate of creating jobs in the Western Cape economy. Rashid has served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) and has worked extensively in the travel and tourism industry, both in South Africa and abroad. He spent three years based in Amsterdam, developing business and marketing strategies for businesses in over 30 countries, working extensively in Central Europe and Latin America. He has a degree in Economics and Environmental Science, as well as an MBA, and has recently completed his PhD, focusing on "How leaders make strategic decisions in crisis conditions." Rashid hates settling for mediocrity and wants to do profound things that impact positively on all those around him.

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Brought to you by Angela Shurina  

Certified Health, Sleep, Performance & Executive Coach 360 with 18 years of experience helping people change to feel, be and do their best.