Design Your Exceptional Life

Brooke Graham and Shaun Duvall started their company in the end of 2018, and they knew each other for a while, but it was not the appropriate time for them to start a business, until a few years later. 

Graham's story starts in the early 2000s when he was introduced to a gentleman that was working in a recruiting firm. At the time, the owner of their business did not want to add another recruiter, but it felt right, so they took the chance, the gentleman ended up being the top performer. The company was then sold, and the recruiter moved on, and then met Shaun, and that became a hinge between the two. 

How are you different?

• What it boils down to are the people that are brought to the group - the heart of why they are doing it. 
• Their industry is predominantly a very metric driven type industry, transactional, with a lot of moving parts. 
• They wanted to make their company different, they did not want it to be about just profitability, but look at what they can offer to provide care and assistance. 
• Graham and Duvall enjoy coaching, and preparing. 

How has Covid affected your company? How have you adapted to that? 

• It had a great impact on Graham and Duvall's company. 
• They paused and took the time to reinvest in their employees, and get some projects that they normally did not have time for. 
• Graham and Duvall took the time to build their relationship with their employees, and support them during the pandemic. 

Shaun, have you both managed to balance the leadership together without being in each other's way and making a healthy balance between you two? 

• Duvall says that Graham came in and filled his weak spots, and vice versa. 
• The two have taken a fun approach in their business, with different themes on a weekly basis, and tried to focus on giving. 
• Each one puts together their strengths, and have managed to push themselves 25% harder. 
• Humility plays a role in balance. 

Where are you currently focused on developing yourself? 

• Duvall says it is difficult for him defining it down to one thing. Everybody has their own upbringing and exposure. For Duvall keeping his spiritual life in check, as well as his health. The balancing of everything is what Duvall believes to be most important. 
• Graham says that he is a very passionate individual, and will place most of his attention on one area, while other areas struggle. He has started to see the importance of balance. Graham has been getting better in the area of health, as well as trying to maintain his spiritual life. 

Shaun, did you manage to stick to a discipline? 

• Duvall says that one thing he has always had instilled in him was the discipline piece. 
• His morning quiet time will not happen if he does not do it in the morning. 
• Duvall and his family have a gratitude book, and find consistency within exercising to be an important factor in their health and balance. 

Brooke, speak to me about if someone beats themselves up and just throws their hands up and can't figure out what the use is. 

• Graham believes that God is a God of Grace, and there are times you fall short, but he considers it to be very important to surround yourself with good people in order to have them encourage him to build himself up in areas he falls short. 
• God created everyone unique, and gave us each a unique gift, there is not just one better than the other, it is balance oriented. 

Shaun, tell me a bit about coaching and how important it is to you. 

• Duvall says they will never stop learning, and coach themselves continuously. 
• If they want people to work with them, they have to ensure they provide an environment for financial growth and all those different pieces. 
• Duvall says they want to ensure that they continue building, and keep thinking creatively. 

So, Brooke, where do you see yourself - both personally and professionally - in 6 years from now? 

• Graham believes they will be adding staff and another sales component. 
• It may be difficult to see where his business goes during the Covid. 
• Graham sees their company growing on a customer base, and wants to see how they can push their company more. 
• Graham and Duvall agreed that it was time they focused on investing time in their people and reaching out and connecting. 
• Graham does not think he has it all figured out, but says that within the week they will have their projections done through the end of the year.
• Graham is putting God in control of their hearts and will allow Him to lead their direction. 

So, Shaun, what does your next 6 years look like?

• Duvall says that they want a staff team above 20, and would like to bring in a sales team. 
• Duvall says tehya re looking to expand their clientele. 
• There are so many approaches to go with, and Duvall's approach is concentrating more on the people, and to serve. 
• This has allowed the doors to be opened to more opportunities. 

Success in the pizza business isn't just a matter of a proprietary sauce and tasty toppings. Innovation is crucial, even in a mature market. In today's episode, we have Giacomo Fallucca. Giacomo is the CEO and second generation CEO of  Palermo's pizza.

How did your background inspired you to be where you are today? (05:15)

- His father was a very passionate individual, how did it affect him in life

- I remember in high school,I was sort of like a freak, cause I didn't really know much about high school traditions. I didn't know what homecoming was. I didn't know much about prom. And I think my friends looked at me as sort of like a freakazoid. He doesn't know anything, you know, but I knew my, I knew my way around a bunch of adults and adults situations. They want to drink beer in the backseat of my car.

What can we do in helping others get what you want? (09:36)

- Social skills, sense of pace, urgency, detail, ingenuity, logic. And so when we look at those main six traits of an individual, there's not a right or wrong, it's called the culture index or the predictive index.

- His classmates always had money in their pocket while he always borrowing the money for lunch. 

- Part of my engagement is looking at how I communicate emailing employees personally, checking up on them, talking to them, you know what, with Microsoft teams and the virtual, I just feel like we're more, there's definitely more communication with them.

How the more you don't know, that's just how you grow? (17:23)

- In the front of the pizza business, you're working with multi-billion dollar companies and it's a lot more complicated even to collect money from a retailer

- So I go to school in the morning and work in the afternoon. And so I was taking courses in marketing and sales and it just blew my mind. I'm like, Oh my gosh, the world of frozen pizza just became open to me. And I was really excited and supercharge, my father saw that. And that's why he says I'll help you as much as I can.

- No company grows transcended down. I can pull up a document that talks about my company goals.

In today's episode, we have Jon Schram. Jon is married to Jill for the last 26 years and a father to Gracie and Cooper, Lucy and Lucy, three kids. He grew up in the woods of upper Michigan received an industrial engineering degree from the University of Michigan. His first real job was with Prince Waterhouse Pricewaterhouse out of Chicago. And later on, he started a company, which is where he's making his impact.

How did your background inspired you to be where you are today? (05:15)

- Arbor's not a very big town, but the school is giant. And then I moved in. So Chicago, and I don't know that I'd actually like New York, but I liked the size of Chicago and the opportunities that were there. And I was actually on the road for the first four years. So with Pricewaterhouse, I was a consultant and got into the Canada computer thing.

- Mostly, it was just a project to project. I was in Boston. I was in Nashville. I was actually back in Detroit for a project. Bryce Waterhouse is really the way I met my wife. I was sent on a two week engagement to Nashville and my version of the story. She picked me up at a bar. The more details to that, uh, we did actually meet in a bar and actually the anniversary of our meeting was yesterday, May 20th, 1993, met her there.

- She moved to Chicago. And then I got sent on a project to Boston and we did the long distance relationship. Wound up moving to Kansas city to raise a family, which is actually where my wife grew up. So that, that is now home. Home is now Kansas city and it's a good mix. It's it's not out in the middle of the woods and it's also not downtown Chicago.

What can we do in helping others get what you want? (09:36)

- Like they would've moved and transferred to another base and it didn't really hit me until I was much older. That, I mean, I can make friends really quickly, but actually hitting deep and sharing kind of the, who I am is hard for me, really hard. Because I did that as a kid and I'm like, well, wait a minute.

- All these people are gone. So there was just a ton of loss that I didn't realize was there until I kind of unpack that later in life. But that, that's a huge part of what shaped me with my childhood. 

- I'm not great at picking partners. The third time was the charm though. My second company, we, we picked a logo color that was purple and we had purple pens that write in purple ink. That's really my only good marketing idea I've ever had. So when we started purple guys, it was not called purple guys.

- It was actually called Versant. Uh, but the only thing I knew is I want the logo to be purple so I can keep having my purple pens with purple ink. So this was in 2001. We started the business. I was actually a customer of this business, the business right before this was an it staffing firm. We went and zero to 90 employees and zero to $10 million, right.

How the more you don't know, that's just how you grow? (17:23)

- A couple of companies that have been successful and you make it sound so nonchalant from going to a million.

-  Secret sauce is spouse and there's no way I can do what I do without my wife. My wife has a sales person through and through. So are we. Team up. It is a, it's a good combination.

- We grew and we focused on the core skills that we knew were in the highest need in Kansas city. The thing that set us apart when we had the staffing firm was.

- He had almost 90 employees and they were all full-time staff and we kept them all busy all the time because we hired the skillsets that we knew were in the highest demand in the market.

In today's episode, we have Julius J. Anderson who began his career in the financial services industry 38 years ago as a recruiter for an agency of Home Life of New York. His two years of field experience at Home Life led to a Field Training Coordinator position at the home office in New York City. Through his travels across the country, he shared and learned agency operational techniques that prepared him for a lifetime of management in the financial services industry.

What are the correlation between business building and family life? (05:15)

- Importance in building relationships because relationships can distinguish what you do. Relating to people, whether they're your employees or whether they're your customer, whether they're your vendors. So. It relationships and networking and reaching out to other people.

- Making contacts is really a key point in business. D you have a system or how do you keep track? Do you have a philosophy or you call them or email them 

- If you want to stay active and involved in a business in a career, in a profession, even in an industry after you kind of retire and step away from it, you have to continue to involve yourself in what goes on in that business, that industry as long as you come to the table, willing to listen to what's going on in their lives and what their needs are, they're open to have you involved in, in their lives, in that fashion. 

- Succession planning for business owners is a difficult area because most of the time, small businesses are contingent upon the founder and passing it to the second generation is challenging. They desperately wanted to pass the business, you aren't born an entrepreneur and you aren't born to financial planner. You're not born into it. You have to actually embrace it. 

- It's a matter of be able to communicate between generations in order for them to create a successful. A pattern that will actually lead them into the same kinds of results for the offspring of the father or mother had when they started the business.

What can parents do to enable kids to reach their full potential? (09:36)

- What we're doing is we're bringing people together with a mission and a purpose. And we're guiding that mission and that purpose through the lives of those individuals. 

- If you're going to be a successful business owner, you got to embrace the value of those people. And you've got to make them feel exceedingly good. Richard Branson has a thing that says treat your people and train your people makes them realize the value of what you're offering them in the relationship. It's more than just a job they buy into your career and they make you more successful.

- Know that the people I were going to work with who was going to represent my company, what products would I deliver to the public? And could I have confidence? As long as you are delivering something to them that was in their best interests, not necessarily in my best interest. And the thing I found was the more I could deliver to the customer.

- They can buy into what you're doing and, and, and cloak it in integrity. That's the most important thing. That goes a long way. Take lot of advice from her and got professionals around you to cover your weaknesses. And you went with your strengths with your business partner.If you make something better, Steve jobs, he broke down. How much of the Apple phones Steve jobs was paid and for a $400 phone, when it came out, he was making four or five bucks in his valuation, but what was he giving to the world?

How he see the business progressing and advice for business owners? (17:23)

- It's not a zero sum thing. Create creating a product like you did with your insurance business. And rebuilding packages that other agents could sell and becoming a wholesaler. And that whole thing you provided a service and people bought it and everyone benefited, raised all the boats.

- You have to be out there in the marketplace all the time in order for things to happen. For the water to boil. And it was really good advice because you know, one of the hardest parts about being self-employed is a lot of times you, you don't have anybody to go to you pretty well got to figure it out.

- You really have to involve yourself in wide circles because the wider, the circles that you involve yourself in, oftentimes. The more knowledge you'll secure and you'll get that, just that one little crystal of an idea that you can turn around and apply in your business in your practice.

In today's episode, we have Doug Damon of Damon Industries. Doug is truly a man of vision with an inspiring formula for success for those who dare to think outside the box. Doug has a genuine enthusiasm that is contagious and inspiring. It is further enhanced by a deeply rooted desire to make a profoundly positive impact in the lives of individuals and organizations. He is able to motivate people to exceed their wildest expectations.

What are the advice for young entrepreneurs? (05:15)

- Realize that by setting some goals and then the strategic as longer term. Is it not just ready? fire aim. Well, then that doesn't always work so well. If you have an entrepreneurial spirit, but not a whole lot of knowledge of when you're starting out of how business works. Learn how banks view you learn about money and banking. Learn about accounting. So you can read a balance sheet, join outside activities and get a lot of good coaching.

- When it comes to money do the uncomfortable things. Sometimes you have to step back and learn about the other parts. And third is mentoring and coaching. Get a mentor and get a coach. To help you with things you don't know how to do and support you. 

- Consider every possible thing in any decision or anything that you're working on in your life. Six areas again are just for our listeners is a spiritual, the health relationship, intellectual professional and financial.

What can we all do to grow in personal development? (09:36)

- Have an interest on a subconscious level in psychology. Which gets you interview your mental, emotional, intellectual part of improving oneself. Mistakes that I've made in business in my personal life always have been really good teachers in the area of human development. We are all each other's teachers and we're all each other's students. 

- We talked a lot about valuation over the years and my children. That was one of the aspects that went into the transition of the business. Succession planning and among those questions that family businesses need to ask.

How he see the business progressing and advice for business owners? (17:23)

- Experience in manufacturing beverages for food service industry, a lot of business where the casinos overnight. 90% of that business went away. So how do you survive that? What do you do? 

- Getting into some surface cleaners that will help our industry, the restaurant industry, hotel industry, reopen their businesses, the casino everything's going along fairly smoothly. Stayed connected with your people. Building that culture, staying connected with your employees and making sure they're okay.

- Looking at all the government programs to help support the employees protection and so on, get support that way. Then he pivoted started really looking at going on the offense pivoted so he could support his end users, innovated some new products to deal with the current situation.

- Did a lot of studying on what my passions are and I, so many people don't really know what they're passionate and there are ways to seek that out. Have action steps underneath that plan, keep it flexible because you never know when something like COVID-19 you gotta be flexible.

In today's episode, we have Kim Langen. She has the mission to provide opportunities for youth — in Canada and around the globe — that expand their knowledge and foster their ability to approach difficult problems now, so they will be emboldened to tackle even more significant challenges later. Kim envisions a world where other individuals, companies, and institutions believe as strongly as she does in nurturing today's problem solvers and choose to work alongside me in creating tomorrow's leaders.

What gave her the inspiration to start this school for kids? (05:15)

- In she beginning she was teaching high school, math and science at that time. Her husband had just got out of the military and she thought this would be pretty cool. She noticed the kid's thought pattern was so different than anything else. I

- This lead her to this program in the basement of home, developed it with 35 students at the beginning of the year, ended up being 80 students coming in throughout the week and ended up developing it like they started with grades seven, eight, nine

- Understand that doubters are going to push back at you and you gotta be able to not be afraid to continue to push through the limits. Create a goal that's far beyond your lifetime and your reach because sometimes you set a goal solo and you hit it.

- How kids are in generation, how they're going to come up and make an impact themselves.That strong vision, the collaboration, the teamwork between our mom or dad and her, and just this ability to push the limits. 

What can parents do to enable kids to reach their full potential? (09:36)

- There are people all over the world. Who've come through our program who are in leadership positions and making good decisions because they've learned how to reason, their way through things.

- Grit is needed. Discipline is needed, and that's when you have something tough, you feel so much better when you actually succeed.

- What it is like to pick out the nuggets out of things and share it. You may have a listening audience may already heard this loud and clear but it's not an whatever you want. It's not going to be a straight line getting to it. It's going to be challenged. 

- There's no limit to the possibilities. Kim is going to launch to go all over the world. They're in Pakistan right now in Uganda there's interest all over the world with what they're doing.

How she see the business progressing and advice for founders? (17:23)

- The leaders of the future, we do have maths need to have spirit of technology so it is crucial to build a community of people who are bringing together highly performing students, not just students, high performing people that are changing the world, as opposed to just looking at all the problems

- It's like Martin Luther King has been quoted to say is, you don't have to see the whole staircase. You just keep taking the next step. 

- Another big shift is really understanding what it means to be illiterate, to not be able to read and write and how much it affects the person we think. There are so many lies being told to people who don't know how to read and write. They do not have the freedom to even look up information, to determine even if, if they're watching a video of this person is really telling the truth.

- In North America, we really focused in on that creative thoughts. We have people who want to go out and do different things and we're problem solving all the time. There's problem solving happening in every part of the world is just a different type. 

In this episode, we are speaking to Tim Hobbs about science, spirituality, and making a difference in the world that will matter not only to us but for generations to come. 

Tim is the founder and CEO of Data Connect Corporation, a company that specializes in data management and automation. He is a passionate individual with a love for people, thus striving to make a change in the world. 

Tell us more about your geeky side; where you started, what your passions are, and how you got to where you are now? (03:23)

• Tim says he is a scientist by education, but he has always cared about the big questions and has been a truth seeker for as long as he can remember. 
• He studied a lot of different faiths, but in practice, he studied physics and nuclear physics because he loves space and the cosmos. He asks questions like how we fit into the universe and what our purpose is. 
• His work and education revolve around questions like why are we here? where are we going? How do we learn more? 
• Even in data connection, he strives to have people automate systems so that they have more time in their daily lives for the important things.  

Tell us a bit about your upbringing; how was it, and did it have an impact on your current path and this empathy to change the world? (04:32)

• Tim says he was working in a lab one night when he realized that he has the capacity to build gadgets that could be useful to people; he is a smart guy. 
• But to him, his ability to build gadgets wasn't enough. He wanted to create something that could make a real difference. He was looking for something that would make a long term sustainable shift in people's minds and what their doing for their family, kids, and the community. 
• He was fortunate to have been a part of a lot of advancement through the years; one of his employees wrote a book on CD ROM before it was invented, he was part of the internet before the web existed, and he worked with Novell 1.0 on networking computers.
• His career took him into almost every major organization type; hospitals, airports, universities, food industry, construction, and so forth. He was part of automatization from the start. In today's world, you only get to be a small part of something big, but he had the opportunity to be a big part of the beginning when people were still figuring technology out. 
• Today, there's so much knowledge available that it's impossible for one person to learn, so people collaborate to share knowledge.

You're so passionate about the human journey, where did you find that connection? (07:36)

• For him, his heart was in understanding how things work. Once you do that, you get into artificial intelligence. 
• He says some of the most passionate scientists in the world are a blast; all of these smart people have a fun side that takes them places they couldn't go before. He says Einstein, for instance, loved the theatre and wanted to be an actor. 
• He says these scientists are focused on why we exist and what's going on in the universe. They don't pay attention to making money or making the next quantum computer. 
• They look at using what we have to explore deeper and richer. He uses Carl Sagan as an example and says that he wanted to use what we have to explore and explain why we exist, what the possibilities are, where we're going, and venture of the universe to get there. 

 What impact has Tom Hill had on you since you met? (10:07)

• He describes Tom Hill as an incredible human being, with a passion for bringing people together and making a difference. 
• Tim says Tom does summits to unite people. Not for monetary reasons or advertisement, but to allow people with the same passion for making a difference to get to know each other. 
• Tom is always encouraging people to write a book so they can describe themselves and their place in the world. 
• He says the beautiful thing about Tom is not only the fact that he makes such a big difference himself, but that he puts other people that make a difference together. 

Looking at the six areas of life; spiritual, health, relationships, intellectual, professional, and financial, which area are you working on right now? (11:17)

• Tim says there's the personal area that he's been working on with Emergent Wellness. He has been focused on integrating spirituality with life and purpose. 
• He has a 1000 year plan, where he is trying to create a world for future generations, where good and positive actions will become the new normal for the future of humanity. 
• His real love lies with doing something to benefit future generations. The work they're doing is concentrating on an industry that is in need of a big change. People need to realize who they are and what they can do with their health and overall wellbeing. 
• Everyone has a vision of who they could be if given the safety to play with that concept. How do you help people become the best version of themselves by looking at their ambitions and abilities? Furthermore, what are we providing in terms of coaches and providers to make that possible? 

In today's episode of Design Your Exceptional Life, we have Terry Lammers as our guest. We look into Terry's journey from starting out with nothing and being able to make such a massive impact today. 

Terry is a certified valuation analyst and was the owner of Tri-County Petroleum for 20 years. After selling the company, he went on to become the vice president of a commercial bank.  

Terry, introduce yourself and tell us about your journey (01:53)

• Terry grew up in a small town in Illinois. His family owned a wholesale fuel and lubricants business, along with a grocery store and a gas station. The fuel business was their main business though. 
• He worked away from the company but came back in 1991 when the company was in rough shape. They had the opportunity to buy another small oil company, at this time Terry started Tri-County Petroleum, and he bought the oil company from his parents. 
• They merged the oil company with his dad's company, and that was the beginning of a 20-year journey. Throughout the 20 years, they bought 11 more companies and grew the business from $750 000 a year in sales to 42 Million by the time it was sold in 2010.
• He was at home for three months and then did some commercial banking for three and a half years. In 2014 he wanted to become an entrepreneur again and started Innovative Business Advisors along with Steve Denny. 
• IBA helps people buy and sell companies, they do business valuation as well as coaching and consulting. They've also involved in the financial aspects of the business; bankability, and the financial things that can affect your business. 

You walked into your parents struggling business; how did you save them, where did you get the insight? (06:12)

• Terry says it was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears. He started out with no salary. Before he went back to his parents he was working in the credit card division of a mercantile bank, but the suit and tie were not his passion. 
• His parents were struggling and he knew he had to come back. They knew about the acquisition before he came back, and he knew buying the oil company would be a turning point. 
• His parents were hard workers, while his father was good at running the company, Terry was better with the finances. With his father's love for manual labor and his financial insight, they merged together magnificently. 
• In the beginning, they had to do everything themselves, but by the time the company was sold in 2010, they were covering 14 counties in Illinois with three operations managers and a full-time office manager. 

What are the three key things to keep in mind when starting a new business? (11:19)

• Terry explains that the basis of his book is you don't know what you don't know. And knowing what he knows now, he would never start a business from scratch again. He advises entrepreneurs to buy an existing business and build it up. 
• The second is you need to know how to work with cash flow, and you need to know your bankability. There's a difference between net income and cash flow, and not understanding how your cash flow works will drown even a profitable business. 
• You need to have an exit plan from day one. You need to determine what your goal is. In his case, he knew he wanted to grow the business through acquisitions so that he could sell it. 
• So to recap, buying a company with existing cash flow is much easier, understand your cash flow and have an exit strategy from the get-go. 

When you met Dr. Hill, which area of his six areas of life were you at that was most beneficial for you? (16:19)

• Terry says his philosophies are very much like those of Tom Hill. 
• One of the things he values is the Hills Angels group, which is a great network where you can reach out and share stories.
• What he loves about Tom Hill is that he has a humble canning ability to approach anyone, and his love for people; the fact that he'll go up to a random person and give them a $100 bill. 
• Terry tries to follow that example. Not because of the recognition, but because he wants to make a difference in someone's life. 

What impact are you trying to make, what's your legacy? (20:28)

• Terry says he and his wife have discussed this specific topic, and he wants to be known as someone who did a lot of good in the world, someone who made an impact and had a lot of fun. 
• He doesn't want the traditional funeral when he passes on, but he wants his wife to rent a hall and have a party. 
• He enjoys helping people. He has been very fortunate to be able to influence a lot of things such as the community foundation, hospital board, and the fire department. 
• He has been blessed with a great family, a thriving career and the ability to change someone's life for the better. 

In today's episode, Chris Coleman shares his life story. He provides us with some insight into the factors that contributed to his success, and how faith is the glue that holds his life together. 

Chris is a franchise consultant and owner of FranNet. His goal is to help individuals evaluate their career choices and determine whether self-employment is a viable option. 

What's your history, where did you start and where are you now? (01:55)

• Chris says he grew up in an entrepreneurial household, where hard work and determination was key. 
• Hard work became part of his lifestyle at a very young age, but career-wise, the risk-taking only sunk in much later.
• He went through college and got a criminal justice degree; he was ready to enroll in the police academy. However, his brother approached him about an automotive startup company that was looking for people to start at the bottom and work their way up. 
• His plan was to do it for a year and see how it plays out. He learned a process called paintless dent repair and went on to fixing cars himself. 
• He did that for the first 13 years of his career, and only then decided to do something else. 

What was it about that time that pulled you in a different direction? (06:14)

• Chris explains that the change was very necessary; he was in a very physically demanding job and he reached a point where he had three surgeries done on his right arm. 
• He tried working with his left arm, but it wasn't working and it resulted in poor productivity. At the time, they had small children and he assured his wife that he would take care of finances if she wanted to stay home and raise the kids. 
• His father had a franchise consulting business, and even though he knew nothing about business, he gave it a shot. He knew he had to make a plan to take care of his family. 
• He grabbed the opportunity with both hands; he fixed cars in the mornings and put on his suit in the afternoons. 
• Although he knew nothing about business, he worked his way up as a consultant and ended up being the chairperson of the advisory council for the company.

What would you say to someone dealing with challenges and uncertainty post-COVID-19? (09:37)

• Chris explains that everyone has a different mindset and a different set of skills. 
• To ease the adaption process, you have to have a positive attitude. 
• There is a lot of disruption and uncertainty going on in the world at the moment. Don't take advantage of the situation but recognize that there are also opportunities in the crisis. 
• You have to be willing to put yourself out there, to take advantage of the arising opportunities; don't get caught up in the negativity. 

Where are you now with the different projects you're working on? (12:12)

• Chris says there's been another major shift in his life in the past 13 to 14 months. These shifts seem to happen every 11 years. 
• Through a business connection, Chris met up with Tom Hill who gave him a book to read and advised him for probably the fourth time that he needed to go on a solitude journey. 
• He went all-in; fasting, no people, no electronics. Chris was at a point in his life where he was experiencing a lot of friction. He took some time alone, read his Bible and prayed a lot. 
• During his reflection, he noticed the beauty of nature, and how every force/element just takes it's course effortlessly. At this point, he realized that he was not where he was supposed to be. Within 6 weeks he sold his business. 
• Even though he doesn't know where he will be a year from now, he is more financially secure and at peace than he has ever been before. 

When it comes to Tom's six areas of life, what are you working on right now? (19:30)

• Chris says one of the six areas is relationships, and for the past 7 years he has been working on his faith and his relationship with God. He spends a lot of time praying, which has been the glue holding it all together. 
• The second thing is health, which he jokingly adds has not been at the top of his list of priorities. 
• Back to relationships, he has been focusing a lot on professional relationships, because he has been growing a business, then sold the business, and is now waiting to see what happens next. 
• He says he likes to have safety and stability, but he is in a season in his life where he doesn't have a lot of it. However, opportunities are abundant. 

In today's episode, I have Mary Meyer as my guest. We talk about the turning points in her life, and what paved the way to her becoming the inspirational woman she is today.

Mary is a loving mother of four, and the author of I Meant It for Good, A Memoir of Dreaming, Visualizing and Becoming My Authentic Self.

What was the turning point in your life, what made you want to restart? (02:36)

• Mary says one of the key factors that played a role in her transformation, is the divorce she went through in her mid 40's. She was determined to let it be a turning point and realized she had never gone to college.
• She was studying part-time and working full time. It was a struggle, but she knew she was working towards something.
• After graduating from college, she started her own business. Around this time, she met Dr. Tom Hill, who helped her restore balance in her life and work on her spiritual wellness.
• She was diagnosed with cancer a few years later. But after working through her emotions, she decided this was just another journey she had to get through.

I also want to talk to you about the ability to get proper help. Did your support system play a part in your ability to move forward? 07:17

• She explains that for her, going back to college and getting educated was a big part of her recovery.
• She grew up in an era where self-help books didn't exist, and seeing a therapist was reserved for those with "real problems".
• Seeing a therapist helped her find herself, and helped her realize that it's okay to question things.
• In order to move forward, you have to plan ahead and visualize your future; you will never be able to take baby steps if you don't know where you're going.
• It's essential to have a passion, something that drives you. Everyone's vision will be different, but it's what will pull you forward on days where you want to give up.

Where were you in life when you were diagnosed with cancer? 09:52

• Mary says three years ago, she fell ill with bronchitis twice in one year, but much worse than usual. She went to numerous doctors, but no one could give her a diagnosis. She says after two months she became very ill, but doctors started believing it was all in her head.
• She then consulted a new doctor, who ordered blood work. The doctor contacted her the very next day and told her over the phone that she has cancer, and she needed to get to the emergency room right away.
• Mary says she went through all the emotions - anger, denial, fear.
• She made an appointment with a doctor who did alternative treatments. She listened to the voice in her head and decided she wasn't going to stay angry. Anger would mean surrendering, and she was not ready to give up.
• Mary believes in the power of prayer. But she knew prayer wasn't enough; she had to pray and believe that she would be healed.

How does someone like you, who is used to taking action, just surrender to faith? 12:30

• Mary says she chose to believe she was going to be healed.
• She knew there was also a chance she would not survive, and she had to be okay with that.
• She surrendered to the situation and gave it to God. but she knew she couldn't just give it to God and expect him to do everything.
• She would sometimes just sit and visualize being healed; mostly because she was too sick to do anything else. But she was okay with that, and she knew it was where she needed to be.

Let's dive into your book; what will readers get from reading it? 16:59

• Mary says the book was about her journey through illness and how she fell through the cracks of the medical community; documenting what she was going through.
• The writing was therapeutic for her, so she started writing about her childhood and raising her own children, and about the time she met Tom Hill.
• The book has exercises at the end of each chapter, most from which she got from Dr. Hill.
• These exercises are meant to help you in setting your goals; learning to know yourself and becoming your authentic self.
• The business world has lead people to believe that they need to be something or someone else in order to succeed, but in the end, you need to be who you are; when we are free enough to understand and implement that, that's when the magic happens.