In a world that celebrates hustle, busyness, and constant achievement, many leaders are paying a hidden price—burnout, broken relationships, and a loss of purpose.

In this episode of Embrace Your Awesome, host John Geyston sits down with Hanna D. Bauer, Founder and CEO of HEARTnomics™, to explore a different path to success. Hanna shares how leading with heart isn't soft—it's one of the most powerful strategies for building resilient teams, creating healthy cultures, and achieving sustainable high performance.

Drawing from her experience as a CEO, leadership expert, and childhood heart disease survivor, Hanna offers practical insights on overcoming burnout, leading through change, aligning values with action, and developing people without sacrificing well-being.

Whether you're a business leader, entrepreneur, coach, educator, parent, or someone striving to make a greater impact, this conversation will challenge the way you think about leadership and success.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why burnout isn't a badge of honor
• The connection between heart-centered leadership and high performance
• How resilient cultures are intentionally built
• Practical ways to lead yourself before leading others
• Why your greatest competitive advantage may be your humanity

If you're ready to lead with greater purpose, build stronger relationships, and achieve lasting success without losing yourself in the process, this episode is for you.

🎙️ Subscribe to Embrace Your Awesome for inspiring conversations with world-class leaders, coaches, authors, and high achievers who share the mindset, habits, and principles that help ordinary people accomplish extraordinary things.

Authentic Leadership: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome & Leading from Within with Kurt Bush

What if the biggest obstacle to your leadership isn't your skills—but the story you believe about yourself?

In this episode of Embrace Your Awesome, John Geyston sits down with leadership coach, Certified Internal Family Systems Practitioner, and co-author Kurt Bush to explore the hidden struggles that many high achievers face: imposter syndrome, self-doubt, perfectionism, people-pleasing, and burnout.

Together, they discuss how authentic leadership begins with self-awareness, healing, and understanding the internal beliefs that shape our decisions. If you've ever felt like you're constantly trying to prove yourself despite your accomplishments, this conversation will help you replace performance with purpose and lead with greater confidence, resilience, and authenticity.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why successful people still struggle with imposter syndrome.
• The connection between trauma, self-doubt, and leadership.
• How self-awareness transforms confidence and decision-making.
• Practical ways to stop performing and start living authentically.
• Why the most important leader you'll ever lead is yourself.

This conversation is for leaders, entrepreneurs, parents, coaches, and anyone ready to embrace who they truly are and unlock their full potential.

What if the greatest gift you could give your child isn't more advice—but a safe place to be heard?

In this solo mentoring episode of Embrace Your Awesome, performance coach and author John Geyston shares practical ways parents can create a home where children feel emotionally safe to share their fears, dreams, mistakes, and victories without fear of judgment.

Drawing from more than 44 years of coaching children and families, John explains why trust is built through everyday conversations, how parents can become more approachable, and why emotional safety at home becomes the foundation for healthy relationships throughout life.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why connection should always come before correction.

• How to create daily moments for meaningful conversations.

• The power of modeling vulnerability and emotional honesty.

• How to respond in ways that encourage openness instead of silence.

• Practical strategies for teaching children healthy communication and conflict resolution.

• Why the relationships your child builds outside the home begin with the relationship they have with you.

Whether you're a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, or mentor, this episode will inspire you to build deeper connections and create a home where your child feels seen, heard, valued, and loved.

Because your child doesn't need a perfect parent—they need a safe one.

If you're enjoying Embrace Your Awesome, please follow the podcast, leave a review, and share this episode with another parent or mentor. Together, we can help the next generation grow with confidence, resilience, and authentic connection.

What if the biggest obstacle standing between you and the life you want is the one you've created in your own mind?

In this episode of Embrace Your Awesome, John Geyston sits down with entrepreneur, pilot, keynote speaker, coach, and Grow Smart author Mike DeJong to explore what it truly takes to build a life of purpose, freedom, and impact. Mike shares lessons from leading businesses across more than 1,500 locations, overcoming adversity, developing resilient leadership, and creating success that extends far beyond financial achievement.

If you're an entrepreneur, leader, or someone ready to challenge your own limitations and unlock your next level of growth, this conversation will inspire you to think bigger, lead better, and become the person capable of creating the life you truly desire.

In this episode you'll discover:

• Why your greatest limitations are often self-imposed
• The mindset shifts that create lasting personal and professional growth
• How resilient leaders thrive through adversity
• The connection between leadership, freedom, and fulfillment
• Practical strategies to grow yourself while growing your business

This episode is a reminder that success isn't just about what you accomplish—it's about who you become along the journey.

There Are No Haters... Only Feedback | How Great Leaders Turn Criticism into Growth

Are "haters" really out to get you... or are they simply providing feedback you haven't learned how to interpret?

In this thought-provoking episode of the Embrace Your Awesome Podcast, John Geyston challenges one of the most common mindsets in leadership, business, parenting, and personal growth. Instead of viewing criticism as a personal attack, he introduces a healthier and more productive perspective: Every interaction contains data. Not every opinion deserves authority.

You'll discover the Five Types of Feedback—The Teacher, The Challenger, The Protector, The Projector, and The Noise—and learn how to identify which voices deserve your attention and which ones deserve your silence.

John also introduces The Feedback Filter™, a practical four-step framework that will help you:

• Receive feedback without becoming defensive.
• Discern truth from emotion.
• Apply the lessons that lead to growth.
• Release opinions that don't belong to you.

Whether you're a parent, entrepreneur, coach, leader, or simply someone striving to become the best version of yourself, this episode will transform how you respond to criticism and help you turn every challenge into an opportunity for growth.

Because the goal isn't to eliminate criticism...

It's to become the kind of leader who knows exactly what to do with it.

What happens when a Baptist pastor trades the pulpit for an FBI badge?

In this unforgettable episode of the Embrace Your Awesome Podcast, John Geyston sits down with Eric Robinson—a man who spent 12 years saving souls before serving 24 years as an FBI Special Agent.

From FBI SWAT operations and violent crime investigations to faith, leadership, resilience, and confronting evil, Eric shares the powerful lessons he's learned under the highest levels of pressure.

If you've ever wondered what true courage, purpose, and servant leadership look like, this conversation will challenge the way you think.

🎙️ Listen now and discover why your greatest calling may be waiting where you least expect it.

Every great relationship begins with a meaningful conversation.

In this solo episode of Embrace Your Awesome, John Geyston shares why the questions we ask our children can have a lasting impact on their confidence, resilience, emotional intelligence, and overall well-being. Drawing on more than 44 years of experience as a performance coach working with thousands of children and families, John reveals how moving beyond simple "yes or no" questions can create deeper trust, stronger communication, and lifelong connections.

You'll discover practical conversation starters that help children explore their emotions, build self-confidence, develop empathy, solve problems, dream bigger, and strengthen family relationships. Whether you're a parent, grandparent, teacher, coach, or mentor, this episode will give you simple tools you can begin using today to make every conversation more meaningful.

In this episode you'll learn:

• Why connection should always come before correction
• How better questions create deeper conversations
• The nine essential conversations every child needs
• Simple ways to build confidence, resilience, empathy, gratitude, and emotional intelligence
• How listening with intention can strengthen your relationship for years to come

One thoughtful question today could become a life-changing memory tomorrow.

If this episode inspires you, please follow the podcast, leave a review, and share it with someone who is helping shape the next generation.

What does it take to turn childhood adversity into a life of purpose, leadership, and impact?

In this episode of Embrace Your Awesome, host John Geyston sits down with Salih Jahić, whose journey began in war-torn Bosnia before immigrating to the United States in search of a better future. Growing up through the Bosnian War taught Salih lessons about resilience, perseverance, and gratitude long before he ever stepped into a boardroom or opened a business.

After earning degrees in Information Systems and Supply Chain Management from Iowa State University, Salih built a successful corporate career with Cargill. But deep inside, he knew he was called to create something bigger.

That calling led him to build a thriving martial arts academy from the ground up, expand into multiple locations, and become a respected leader helping entrepreneurs leverage leadership, systems, automation, and technology to scale their businesses while creating more freedom in their lives.

In this inspiring conversation, you'll discover:

• How surviving war shaped Salih's mindset and leadership.
• The lessons adversity teaches that success never can.
• Why entrepreneurship is ultimately a leadership journey.
• How systems and automation create freedom instead of complexity.
• The importance of family, purpose, and designing a life—not just building a business.
• Practical leadership lessons every entrepreneur can apply immediately.

Whether you're a business owner, leader, parent, or someone working to overcome life's challenges, this episode will remind you that your past doesn't define your future—it can become the foundation for your greatest purpose.

🎙️ Hosted by John Geyston
Helping leaders, entrepreneurs, parents, and high performers embrace their awesome through leadership, mindset, resilience, and personal growth.

Subscribe, rate, and share the podcast to help inspire more people to live with purpose and lead with intention.

Spotify Episode Summary

Many leaders spend years chasing success—building businesses, advancing careers, and achieving goals—only to discover they're exhausted, overwhelmed, and disconnected from who they truly are.

In this powerful episode of the Embrace Your Awesome Podcast, host John Geyston sits down with Iraq War veteran, entrepreneur, bestselling author, speaker, and leadership coach Stacy Raske to discuss what it means to stop hiding behind achievement and start leading from a place of authenticity.

Stacy shares her journey from military service and pharmaceutical chemistry to entrepreneurship and coaching, revealing the lessons she's learned about self-leadership, boundaries, burnout, confidence, and sustainable success.

Together, John and Stacy explore:
✅ Why so many high achievers feel unfulfilled despite outward success
✅ The hidden cost of hustle culture and people-pleasing
✅ How self-sabotage keeps leaders stuck
✅ The importance of healthy boundaries in leadership and life
✅ What it means to become "InFLOWential" instead of simply influential
✅ How authenticity creates stronger relationships, teams, and businesses
✅ Practical strategies for leading with purpose, confidence, and alignment

If you've ever felt trapped by expectations, overwhelmed by responsibility, or disconnected from your true self, this conversation will challenge and inspire you to redefine success on your own terms.

Most business owners think they have a marketing problem.

They don't.

They have a leadership problem.

In this episode of Embrace Your Awesome, John Geyston reveals why growth doesn't expose your strengths—it exposes your weaknesses. Discover the hidden bottlenecks that keep entrepreneurs trapped in the daily grind, why more customers won't solve broken systems, and how to build a business that thrives without depending on you every minute of every day.

If you're ready to stop working in your business and start leading through your business, this episode is your roadmap to sustainable growth, stronger leadership, and lasting success.

🎧 Subscribe, follow, and share this episode with another entrepreneur who's ready to break through their next level.

🎙️ Podcast TitleSpotify Episode Summary