Circle Up & Get REAL Podcast

Back in the early 2000s Jim Collins was gaining traction for his consulting work around his new (at the time) book called Good to Great.

He realized that there were some distinct characteristics that allowed companies and organizations to produce results greater than their competition over a period of time. One of those concepts was "First Who Then What."

Let's talk about the WHOs today.

Pick a topic, any topic ... and I'll be there is some part of it that calls for both division and connection.

Take the Super Bowl. If you're a Chiefs fan, you're not an Eagles fan (actually insert team here). If you already love the Chiefs, you're probably pretty selective in your hearing or noticing in your town or online. You either love your team or hate the other one(s) (or both).

Let's talk about workplaces. Or service providers. Or flavors of soda. I know. It doesn't seem like the end of the world if we disagree about the best brand of ketchup.

But don't we all have our favorites? Now take American politics. I can't think of a time in my lifetime when this topic has been so polarizing. And it feels like the gap is getting wider. When you notice what you notice about any of the above scenarios, do you notice the "sides" or do you notice the gap?

In a world where it's implied that if you're not for a side you're against it, the middle hasn't gotten a lot of love. I feel like it's time to notice the middle ... the gap between one side and the other.

But what do I do now?

I mention my new book "Just Give a Sh*t" and also this podcast, Circle Up & Get REAL.

Today's guest is Mark French, a nomadic photographer, adventurer, and content creator who is on an epic road trip through the lower 48 states.

Mark spends a week to 10 days in each state in order to meet the people, capture the essence of the trip in photographs, and experience the culture.

Mark has not seen any of the division that seems to be pervasive in our American political scene, and was even in Pennsylvania - a swing state - during the election, and never once saw any kind of divisiveness, which led him to believe what the media is showing is not what is happening in most of the country.

Mark believes that "Life will live you in the absence of you living life!" (c)

For more information about Mark's trip, to follow him, or to purchase his photo calendar, find him on Facebook at MA French Photography or at www.mafrenchphoto.com.

Today's guest is Kim Zuroff, Director of Growth at The One Thing, and executive leadership coach at MAPS coaching, and one of Jodee's real estate agents when she was Team Leader at Keller Williams Realty in North Dakota.

Kim started her career in real estate as a 20-year-old college student, and has worked her entire 14-year career in this industry, moving from a buyer's agent to a real estate investor and owner of six companies.

Kim splits her time between her homes in Maryland and Texas, and today shares what she's learned over the years as a triathlete, a member of the Air National Guard, and a successful business person ... and also what she's missed because of her intense focus.

Learn more about Kim by connecting with her at [email protected] or at her Instagram page @kimzuroff.

Today's guest is Kara Moll, whose passions include Training, Strategizing, and Inspiring others to live the lives they were made to live.

Kara is a founding partner at Keller Williams ONE in Chicago, an approved faculty trainer at Keller Williams University, and a head coach at MPAS Coaching.

She brings more than two decades of experience in real estate and coaching, using Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and Energy Leadership Coaching, she works to elevate the skills and business acumen of her clients.

Her most recent certification is the Exactly What To Say program, where she helps leaders use their words more effectively so they can self-discover and solve the issues they face in their roles both inside and outside real estate.

For more information about Kara, visit her website at www.karamoll.com or find her on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/karamoll/ or Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/thekaramoll/.

There are so many topics that have both positive and less-than-positive connotations, depending upon your point of view.

I think expectations can be like that. What if nothing is "good" or "bad" on its own ... it's our thinking and our perspective that makes either appear a certain way?

While I thought this episode was going to be more about expectations, it turned out to be more about two topics you're never supposed to bring up in public: Religion and Politics.

My ponders this week are circling around a couple of really deep conversations I've had about the concepts of politics and religion. I'd love to work through some of them here.

I hope you'll ponder these topics deeply instead of doing what I've done in the past: deny them or avoid them because they're difficult.

These are the types of wonderings and ponderings that will help all of us develop our critical thinking skills. Avoiding them does nothing to help us build those muscles.

In this episode I refer to Neale Donald Walsch's first book, Conversations With God, along with an essay written by one of the friends I met with this week.

Yesterday in our Enlightened Leadership Lab we continued our series on my new book Just Give a Sh*t and Chris Angell coined a new phrase: Give-A-Sh*t Factor.

This is something for each of us to figure out by determining our non-negotiables and then recognizing how often someone tries to steal our values from us (or how often we allow that to happen), usually without meaning to, or being conscious of.

What are the elements that affect your G-A-S factor? What conditions and elements matter most to you and which don't seem to affect you?

This is a great Wonder/Ponder exercise.

Here is a link to purchase your own book (reach out to me directly for the cards): https://amzn.to/49wDVRX

It's coming on Christmas, a holiday where we've gotten used to hearing kids tell Santa what they want the jolly guy to bring them.

How often do we adults get clear about what we truly want? And then, are we just interested or are we committed to experiencing or acquiring or having that?

In today's episode we address the distinction between wanting and committing.

I also mention PurpleDialogue.com which is still in the works as of this recording.

I've had lots of opportunities to learn stuff over my lifetime, and also to take that learning to action. Or not. I always have the choice, and with that choice, comes consequences. I can be upset with the consequences. That's also a choice. And then, I have more choices. That's the beauty of learning.

But the bottom line is, learning = change. If I haven't changed, have I really learned?

One observation I make today is how often it seems people make decisions and choices based on the exceptions instead of the possibilities. If we have an attitude of "poor me," you won't see that you have choices.

In today's episode I refer to QBQ: The Question Behind the Question by John Miller, and also The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership by Dethmer, Chapman & Klemp.

My new book Just Give a Sh*t will be available on November 25 for purchase and download through Amazon and local bookstores in Fargo.

Today's guest is certified executive coach, TEDx speaker, award-winning author, and the co-founder of the RAYMA Team, Mandy Anderson.

Today Mandy and I talk about things you're not supposed to talk about in public, namely religion and politics, as well as the feminine perspective she brings to all her coaching clients, both male and female.

Find out more about Mandy and her Unstoppable Retreat, scheduled for December 5, at RaymaTeam.com.