Cool Change

The story of Mike Strawn, who - after suffering from multiple myeloma for at least 17 years - chose to die by self-administered suicide. This episode captures Mike and his family's thoughts and wishes in his final weeks, days, and hours.

My hope is that by listening to Mike's story, we are prompted to fear less and find joy more often.

Whether we think about it this way or not, all of us have a brand. When people encounter us, there are certain thoughts, feelings and images that come to mind which are, in effect, a sort of brand experience. With some intention, we can design our own brand to be a true reflection of ourselves in ways that communicate us more effectively to the world around us.

Allison Netzer is a branding expert and co-author of the new book "Think Like a Brand, Not a Bank," and she has some eye-opening ideas about how we can think about branding differently... either for ourselves or for our organizations.

Founder, Podcaster, and Pilot Mike Quinlan helps business owners make an "elite exit" from their businesses, and has some useful ideas and wisdom for the rest of us. 

M. Andrew McConnell is the CEO of Rented, Inc. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he graduated Harvard College, Harvard Law School, and the University of Cambridge with honors. As a member of the USA Open Water Swimming National Team, he earned an international bronze medal.

Before striking out on his own, Andrew worked as a banker, an attorney, and a consultant. He sits on the board of Sheltering Arms, is a founding Board Member of Atlanta Technology Leaders, and is a TechStars Mentor for social impact startups. Andrew lives in Georgia with his wife and daughter.

In this episode, Chuck talks with Andrew about why it's so important for us to pay attention to our thoughts so that we can live to our greatest potential.

More info about his book is available at mandrewmcconnell.com.

Keith Smith walked a well-worn path to success: make business the priority, and fit in everything else after. Not that unusual, really. And neither was the result: divorce, stress, and disruption.

What make’s Keith’s story unusual is what he did afterward: he used this moment in time as an awakening, as he calls it. He reversed the order of his priorities: business, abundance, relationships, health, and self.

Keith’s awakening, and his ongoing journey, may provide a few ideas we can use to shift our priorities before a crisis shifts them for us.

In this episode, he talks about why he turned Do-Have-Be into Be-Do-Have.

In this episode, Jim and I talk about legitimate and real paths forward, whether you are struggling with addiction yourself or know someone who is.

Want to connect with Jim directly? Email him at [email protected]. And yes, he's heard all the "AOL is still around?" jokes. 

Author, serial entrepreneur, and executive life coach Nick Kennedy talks with me about building a principled business, leading a purposeful life, and creating positive change as an entrepreneur.

His lessons are for all of us, whether we intend to start our own business or not. In fact, Nick’s definition of “entrepreneur” likely includes you, no matter your field of work.

Nick spent hundreds of hours visiting his father in prison before eventually starting several companies, including an airline that was sold in 2017. He was named a 2017 EY Entrepreneur of the Year, awarded Dallas Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 and serves as a Capital Factory mentor and is on the boards of several companies. He’s been featured in NY Times, The Wall Street Journal, D Magazine, Texas Monthly, Dallas News, and the Dallas Business Journal.

She also discusses the science of play — and how important it is for adults to incorporate it as a way to keep learning and stay engaged.

We also discuss how to rewrite the stories in our brains to reflect how we want our lives to go.

In this episode, Jeff Otis and I riff about intentional life design, touching on—among other things—goal setting, playing to your strengths, personal accountability, and developing a roadmap for success.

Jeff is the founder of Project OTY (developing an Outstanding and Talented You), and is the author of two books, Transform with Confidence and Build Your Roadmap, Create Your World. You can also check out his TEDx talk, How to Create YOUR World, here.

Jeff believes that the future of our world depends on our ability to empower ourselves and the coming generations to be the leader in their lives, and that it’s up to all of us (regardless of age, background, or gender) to create a global culture of personal accountability.