What is up to all my Difference Makers out there?

This week it’s just you and me in the studio.

A meeting got rescheduled, the room was quiet, and I had two stories sitting heavy on my heart so I hit record. What came out is part networking smackdown, part mindset reset, and part faith-filled gut check for anyone stuck in their own head right now. 

We start with a moment from a recent networking group.
A nervous guest blows past her one-minute intro… and keeps going… and going… and going.

Someone finally steps in and “plays the bad guy” by cutting her off – and as uncomfortable as it felt, he said what everyone was thinking. That moment became the spark for this episode:
👉 What does it really mean to be kind?
👉 And how often does “being nice” actually hurt people more than it helps?

From there, I connect it to a real conversation from this morning’s Difference Maker Bootcamp – with someone talented, gifted, and stuck deep in a rut they’ve been rehearsing for over a year.

Same pattern. Different room. We say we want change.

But we keep collecting reasons instead of opportunities.

In this episode, we dig into:

• The truth about networking intros
  Why your 60-second “member minute” is not about closing a sale – it’s about building know, like, and trust and sparking compelling conversations outside the room.
• The Compelling Conversation Framework
  How having a clear, practiced framework for your intro kills anxiety, keeps you on track, and actually makes people want to ask you more.
• Kind vs. “nice”
  Why telling someone “you did great” when they clearly didn’t isn’t kindness – it’s sabotage. Real kindness is honest, uncomfortable feedback that sets them up to win.
• Living in the pit vs. climbing out
  The bootcamp participant who keeps reciting every reason life is hard… and how that focus keeps her stuck, even though the opportunities are right in front of her.
• Faith, the Bible & success principles
  How my recent deep dive into scripture and Myron Golden’s work cracked open what I’ve always believed about grit, purpose, and walking through fear.
• Seeing opportunity in chaos
  The COVID story: when almost all my small business clients paused coaching, and instead of folding, I realized… “Wait, this is my time. This is what I was built for.”
• The Eat Faces mindset
  Why we have to stop obsessing over what we can’t control – and start asking one simple question: “Where is my opportunity in this?”

This is a short, punchy solo episode – but if you’ve been:

• Rambling through networking intros
• Over-explaining your situation to anyone who’ll listen
• Sitting in the pit replaying everything that’s wrong
• Telling yourself “there’s no opportunity for me”

…then this one is your wake-up call.

It’s time to stop hiding behind “nice” and start embracing the kind of honesty that actually moves you forward.
It’s time to get out of the hole.
It’s time to eat some faces.
It’s time to have faith that things are going to work out and then move like they will.

Hit play, Difference Maker. Then go find the opportunity that’s been sitting right in front of you.

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Featuring Sparkle Lindsay| Worldwide Trainer, Coach, Author, Speaker & Founder of Sparkle LLC

What happens when you sit down in person with someone who’s been walking this journey with you for years… and you finally get to throw the virtual world aside and dig into the real stuff?

This is Part 2 of our in-studio conversation with Sparkle Lindsay, recorded during her visit to Loud Mouth Studios on September 11th. If you haven’t listened to Part 1 (released September 24th), you’ll want to catch that one too, but this episode stands strong on its own.

And let me tell you…we went deep.

Sparkle and I dive into the uncomfortable truth that every entrepreneur, creator, and Difference Maker eventually has to face:

You cannot become who you’re meant to be without shedding who you used to be. This entire episode is a masterclass in shedding.  Shedding fear, shedding comfort, shedding the need for permission, shedding the old identity that kept you small, and stepping into the version of yourself you know has been waiting. In this episode, we unpack:

• The fear of success and why it often scares us more than failure
• The moment you know it’s time to let go — of roles, routines, relationships, even places that once felt like home
• What happens when divine timing forces your hand, even when you don't feel ready
• Why entrepreneurs miss their biggest opportunities because they're too focused on chaos instead of vision
• How Sparkle built a national training empire from a single student, scholarships, and pure grit
• The universal “shed cycle” every visionary hits right before they level up
• The truth about serving others when you’re the leader… and why helpers burn out when no one helps them
• The danger of dragging people with you who aren’t healing, growing, or aligned
• How addiction recovery and entrepreneurship mirror each other more than anyone realizes
• Why your purpose only reveals itself AFTER you’re willing to evolve

“Hell is meeting the person you could have been.”

That’s the heartbeat of this entire conversation.

This episode is raw. It’s real. It’s emotional. It’s a roadmap for anyone standing on the edge of the next chapter — scared, excited, overwhelmed, and about to break through.

If you’re in a season of transition…
If you feel the shed coming…
If you’re building something bigger than yourself…This one is going to hit your soul. Pull up a chair.
The time is now.
Let’s get into Part 2.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Featuring Steve Livingway, Director at Reaching Higher for Youth

What if we stopped trying to fix kids and started helping them return to who they were before fear took over?

In this powerful episode, Steve Livingway joins Jason Tracey to share the mission behind Reaching Higher.  A leadership program that doesn’t hand out answers, but helps students rediscover the truth they were born with: that they matter, that they belong, and that they have the power to lead.

After two decades as a principal, Steve walked away from the office to step back into classrooms, gyms, and courtrooms.  Meeting kids where they are and reminding them of who they were before the world told them to sit down and be quiet.Because confidence isn’t built. It’s remembered.

Stories are data with soul:

• Why Reaching Higher doesn’t teach leadership it activates it
• The difference between potential, emerging, & proven leaders.  Plus why every kid fits
• How limiting beliefs and fear sabotage purpose before it starts
• Rewiring the mindset: planting powerful thoughts instead of toxic lies
• The ripple effect of impact: how this work transforms entire families and school cultures
• Why vulnerability and authenticity from adults change everything
• How a retired principal fell in love with teaching again
• The adult version of Reaching Higher and why it’s never too late

This isn’t soft. This is soul work. It’s grit-building, truth-speaking, and power-reclaiming.

Because every kid still has the confidence of their four-year-old self buried inside Reaching Higher just helps them find it again.

Steve Livingway
Director, Reaching Higher 4 Youth
Reaching Higher Inc.
Reaching Higher Inc.
PO Box 1179
Brighton, MI 48116
web: https://reachinghigherinc.org/
cell: 517.294.9930

Jason Tracey
www.roar.consulting 

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Featuring Michelle Allen, Community Outreach Manager & Cannabis Consultant at Planted Provisioning

After surviving a traumatic car accident the day before her wedding, Michelle Allen learned firsthand how pain can either destroy or transform us. Her journey from hospital patient to healing advocate is nothing short of miraculous, and her story is reshaping how we view cannabis, community impact, and what it means to live with purpose.

In this powerful and eye-opening episode, Michelle joins Jason Tracey in the Loud Mouth Studio to share her deeply personal story: surviving a collision that made the evening news, getting married the very next day, camping on the ground in unbearable pain to see Dave Matthews, and ultimately choosing cannabis over a lifetime of narcotics. Her relentless pursuit of healing led her from healthcare into cannabis education, where she now helps thousands of patients discover safe, informed ways to reclaim their lives.

As the face of Planted Provisioning in the community, Michelle is shattering stereotypes and fighting stigma with science, compassion, and soul. Whether she's helping seniors sleep, educating healthcare professionals, or guiding patients off opioids, Michelle is on a mission: to make cannabis approachable, accessible, and healing for all.

Stories are data with soul:

• The car crash that almost killed her became the catalyst that gave her purpose
• Why Michelle refused opioids and instead pioneered her own cannabis-based recovery
• Her powerful transformation from healthcare worker to patient to cannabis educator
• How Planted Provisioning is trailblazing with free consultations, community engagement, and nonprofit support
• Understanding the ECS (Endocannabinoid System) and how cannabis is about much more than getting high
• Helping her devoutly Catholic 97-year-old grandmother use cannabis and regain quality of life
• Destigmatizing the industry and educating doctors, caregivers, and skeptics one conversation at a time

This episode isn’t just about cannabis. It’s about courage, advocacy, and the power of choosing a different path when everyone else says no. If you’ve ever felt judged for your healing journey, or you’re just curious about what it looks like to turn pain into purpose, this one’s for you.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Featuring Andrew Black, Visionary Founder of Inside Out Concierge Services

What do you get when you blend relentless vision, deep emotional intelligence, and a commitment to doing things differently?

You get Andrew Black.

In this episode, I finally sit down with the man who’s been a silent force behind so many amazing Coffee & Grit guests.  A connector, a truth-teller, a seed-planter, and a Difference Maker who’s rewriting the rules of business, relationships, and life.

Andrew’s story isn’t just about building a company. It’s about building a life — one rooted in service, self-awareness, and showing up the same way at home as you do in the world. We go deep into his journey from childhood entrepreneur to founding Inside Out, a full-spectrum concierge business that serves clients with integrity, heart, and a mission to leave people better than he found them.

We unpack:

• Why most people are programmed to settle — and how to rewrite the script
• The hidden power of consistency, service, and follow-through
• The cost of ignoring your calling
• What it really means to plant seeds and trust the timing
• How to spot Difference Makers by the way they show up
• The truth about growth, grief, and choosing love in leadership
• And why your business will never outgrow the person leading it

This one isn’t just strategy. It’s spirit.

It’s a reminder that your business is a reflection of who you are.
That success is deeper than profit.
And that your life like Andrew’s is meant to be built from the inside out.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

As Difference Makers, we all hit that wall.

That moment when the system we’ve been living in no longer makes sense, and no one around us is saying it out loud.

Melissa Merem hit that wall. And instead of turning back, she started building something different.

In this episode, Melissa shares what it looks like to deconstruct the lies, tune into your calling, and walk forward in obedience — even when it’s messy, even when it’s uncomfortable, and even when the world doesn’t clap.

What started as a lighthearted father-daughter podcast became a launchpad for a woman reclaiming her voice and stepping into her purpose. Today, she’s creating space for women to lead, question, nurture, build, and rise.  Unapologetically and fully aligned with who God made them to be.

In this conversation, we get into:

• Why conformity is the enemy of calling
• The spiritual warfare behind silence and self-doubt
• Rewriting the story of womanhood, leadership, and intuition
• Parenting, homeschooling, and healing through truth
• Why the best Difference Makers don’t look or sound like everyone else
• The moment Melissa stopped filtering her message — and everything changed

If you’ve ever felt like you were too much, too different, or too rebellious to fit in…
If you’ve been nudged to speak, build, or lead but held back out of fear… This episode is your confirmation. The world doesn’t need another echo.

It needs your fire.
And Melissa is proof that once you light the match, there’s no going back.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Nine years ago, Jennifer walked away from everything — two kids in tow, no job, no insurance, and nothing but two garbage bags.

She wasn’t supposed to make it.

But not only did she survive, she’s now leading the charge to make sure others don’t have to walk that same road. As Development Manager for Livingston County Habitat for Humanity, Jennifer doesn’t just raise money. She builds stories. She builds connection. She builds purpose. And in this episode, she brings all of that to the mic with grit, laughter, and truth that hits like a hammer. This conversation covers:

• The real face of homelessness and displacement in your own backyard
• How humor became her survival instinct — and her leadership superpower
• The healing power of service, storytelling, and shared purpose
• Why community service transforms not just homes, but people
• The brutal trap of all-or-nothing thinking and how to break it
• Why your “worst salespeople” may actually be your best
• How to stop chasing and start closing through real conversations
• The kindergarten-level secret to building lifelong champions for your brand

Whether you’re building a business, a nonprofit, a movement, or just trying to build a better life, this episode is your permission to stop playing small.

Because the only thing standing between you and your next breakthrough is the boat you're too afraid to step out of.

This isn’t about homes. It’s about hope. It’s about people. And it’s about the ripple effect of one woman showing up with heart, humor, and holy grit.

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Robert Pierce doesn’t just clean houses.
He cleans hearts, lights up rooms, and sets fires in the souls of the people around him.

In this powerful return to Coffee & Grit, Robert joins me years after our first conversation back when I was rocking a single mic and a GoPro at Grit and Lavender. Back then, he was just launching his cleaning business.

Now? He’s letting his life be the sermon. Every room he walks into business, brotherhood, or community becomes a place where His purpose shows up.

This episode is not just about business. It is about purpose. It is about faith. It is about waking up and realizing that your life is not your own. It is a calling. We dive into:

• The moment of salvation that rewired his purpose
• Using business as a mission field to lead by example
• Launching a Caerusnet group rooted in faith and bold leadership
• Mentoring 5th graders through faith and identity
• The power of men rising up through F3, church, and authentic brotherhood
• What happens when you stop trying to be perfect and start walking in obedience

This conversation is not polished. It is raw, it is real, and it is full of fire.

If you are an entrepreneur who feels like you are made for something more
If you have been hearing the voice but hiding the light
This episode is your confirmation

You do not need another blueprint
You need faith
You need fire

And you need to start Because as Robert says
"You cannot stay on the ground. Get up. The mission is waiting."

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Stop Settling for “Fine.” Because You Deserve to Feel Amazing...

Meet Beth Smith – Designer, Disruptor, and Founder of Beth Smith Couture

Back in January I walked into Single Barrel Social for a Howell Chamber Happy Hour and that is when spotted Beth Smith across the room.  I didn’t know who she was.  I didn’t know what she did.
But I knew she was a Difference Maker.

Nine months later, we finally made it happen and it was worth the wait. Beth is on a mission to help women feel as incredible as they are supposed to feel in the clothes they wear. Not just for weddings. Not just for galas. For every day. For walking into the boardroom, the classroom, or your damn kitchen and owning it. In this episode, we get raw about:

• Why she waited until 60 to finally chase her dream (and why she is not waiting another second)
• The real reason you hate everything in your closet and what it is actually saying about your self-worth
• How pricing, imposter syndrome, and saying "yes" shaped her business
• Why women settle for “fine” when they should be feeling fabulous
• And what happens when you build a brand that reflects exactly who you are

We talk skirts, mindset, self-image, AI, imposter syndrome, and what it feels like when the clothes you wear actually fit your soul.

Beth doesn’t just make dresses.  She redesigns your relationship with yourself. And if you are an entrepreneur sitting on a dream or a woman staring at a closet full of “meh” this episode is your sign:

Stop playing small. Start showing up. You are not here to blend in.

You are here to glow!

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.

Being a engineer Glenn Nixon never imagined a career in sales.

He walked into a room full of closers fresh out of training, scared out of his mind, with no real plan and zero belief in his abilities. But he had something most people miss the drive to figure it out, the humility to keep learning, and the heart to actually care about people. 

That was 23 years ago.

Now he is the guy business owners turn to when their sales process is a mess, their confidence is shot, and nothing is clicking. He is the calm voice in the chaos. The one who sees what they don’t. The one who helps them get unstuck.

This was Glenn’s first time on a podcast. But it did not feel like a first.

From the jump, it felt like two kindred spirits sitting down to talk about the game behind the game. We talked about how aligned we are in the way we lead, sell, and build relationships all through the lens of service. We both believe in winning people, not pushing them. And in a world full of tactics, that kind of alignment is rare.

In this conversation, we dig deep into:

• The difference between a sales rep and a trusted advisor
• How to coach business owners through fear, confusion, and indecision
• What actually moves the needle in leadership, sales, and consulting
• And how to stop managing metrics and start mentoring people

This episode is for the sales leader who is burned out chasing a number

The coach who knows their people are capable of more

The business owner who feels like they are carrying it all alone

And the Difference Maker who knows there is more to give but does not know what the next move looks like.

If you are tired of surface level sales talk and ready to hear what it really takes to build trust, solve problems, and grow people, this is the one Because behind all the strategy, systems, and scripts, it is still about people

And that is something Glenn Nixon never forgot

Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/coffee-grit--5708348/support.