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Excuses to Connect
Excuses to Connect episodes
- 36: From Shy to Superconnector with Godwin Chan
Godwin Chan is the host of the Digital Introverts podcast. This is a show where introverts share their success and failure stories and discuss how they thrive in the digital age. The show is for introverts from all walks of life who are ready to just start and scale their next venture, whether it's a creative hobby, side hustle, small business, or startup. In addition to being a podcast host, Godwin is a Doctor of Pharmacy Candidate at the University of Toronto, and is interested within healthcare venture capital - don’t know what that means? No worries, we cover that and a lot more in this episode, including how he went from being shy to having the wide network that he has today.
Highlights & Takeaways- How Godwin wanted to write a memoir, which transitioned to doing interviews for a book oriented towards introverts and the future, and finally landing on the idea of creating the Digital Introverts podcast
- How content creators are competing in the attention economy and very few ever make it to the top - but newer kinds of decentralized social platforms will allow people to directly control their monetization, so that there will be more full-time creators
- Godwin used to not talk at all as a kid and presenting in front of people was a nightmare, but over time, he got more comfortable interacting with others
- Godwin’s strategy using social media platforms to connect with people with similar interests, and that’s how he got into the world of venture capital
- Blending his interests of science and business, where his longer-term goal is to invest into the next great generation of healthcare companies.
Resources Mentioned- Contact Godwin: All Godwin’s Socials
- Digital Introverts: Spotify | Apple | Website
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Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Watch my TEDx Talk: “How to Find Excuses to Connect”
Email: [email protected]
Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnect
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41 min - 35: Fighting People Named “Josh” with Josh Swain
Out of pandemic boredom, Josh Swain created a Facebook group chat with other people named Josh Swain and challenged them to meet in a year to compete for the right to use the name “Josh”. The screenshot of this group chat went viral on the Internet and led to this event being dubbed the “Josh” fight. Although he just intended it to be a joke, it became an actual event and fundraiser for the Children's Hospital & Medical Center Foundation in Omaha, along with a food drive for the Food Bank of Lincoln. This story was a perfect example of an excuse to connect and I knew I wanted to have Josh Swain on the show. Enjoy this shorter episode as he shares about the creation of this event and what he’s up to now!
Highlights & Takeaways- Josh has always tried to go for the username and social media handle “Josh Swain”, but it’s almost always been taken already, so he wanted to challenge people to see who really deserves this title.
- He thought only maybe 50 people would show up, but it ended up being almost a thousand people coming together to fight each other with pool noodles.
- Josh ended up raising over $15,000, thousands of pounds of food for the food bank, and even had the Josh Cellars company triple their donation.
- He’s hosting another Josh Fight on May 21, 2022 to remind people that even though we’re doing something ridiculous, we can still bring some good to the world.
- If there’s something you want to do, Josh advises: “Don't think about the billion things preventing you from doing it. My main mantra in life is: ‘If you don't do something, you will always wonder what would happen if you did.’”
Resources Mentioned- Contact Josh: Twitter | LinkedIn
- The Josh Fight: Website | Instagram
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Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Watch my TEDx Talk: “How to Find Excuses to Connect”
Email: [email protected]
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22 min - 34: Venn - The App to Make Friends with Jesper Algaard
Jesper Algaard is the Founder and CEO of the Venn app. Venn is Norwegian for “friend” and it’s an app designed to help people make friends. This is done by matching people based on similar interests and personalities, as well creating activities to move the online conversations to in-person interactions. In this episode, Jesper shares his inspiration behind creating this app, curious facts about human connection, and stories about how connection comes about in different stages of our lives.
Highlights & Takeaways- When Jesper was in his 30s, he realized that his social life was changing quite a bit: friends who he used to regularly hang out with became less available because they got married. Venn came out of the idea of utilizing technology to help people be more social with the right people.
- Norway is a “very non-flirty population” as compared to people in Spain and Italy. Norwegians won’t sit next to each other if they don’t have to, and people prefer being at a distance.
- 50% of their users are people who are actually in a relationship - they may have a family, kids, and friends, but they still want more.
- How he had a surprising friendship with an 80-year-old man by connecting over world politics and economics.
- How he also had a several hour conversation with a Japanese TV celebrity without expecting it
- “If you have a friend who you haven’t talked to in a long time, I would say pick up the phone and have a chat because good friends are probably one of the most things we can have. Friends rock!”
Resources Mentioned- Contact Jesper: LinkedIn
- Venn: Website | App Store | Google Play
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Watch my TEDx Talk: “How to Find Excuses to Connect”
Email: [email protected]
Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnect
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee
46 min - 33: How to Build Your Dream Network with J. Kelly Hoey
J. Kelly Hoey is the author of Build Your Dream Network: Forging Powerful Relationships In A Hyper-Connected World. She’s currently working on her second book which focuses on the unique networks women need for career success. Kelly has been lauded by Forbes (“1 of 5 Women Changing the World of VC/Entrepreneurship”) and Business Insider (“1 of the 100 Most Influential Tech Women On Twitter”), has contributed to a variety of publications including The New York Times - these and other unexpected career opportunities she notes, are a direct result of building a network. Join us for an insightful conversation on the do’s and don’ts of networking, and how you can start building your dream network today.
Highlights & Takeaways- Don’t commit random acts of networking. Kelly advises you to think: “Is this activity somehow aligned with information I need, or a goal I’m pursuing, or to fill an identifiable gap I have in the network supporting my career?”
- As young people, you can still provide value to other people who are further along in their career or more successful. People mentor others because they get a helper’s high, and if you let someone know how their advice or connection helped them, then that is adding value to the relationship.
- Think about how digital spaces compare to physical spaces. LinkedIn is like the office or industry conferences. Facebook is where your friends and family gather. Twitter is the cocktail party. Instagram is like a yard sale, where you never know what’s going to happen.
- For people who are in their early 20s, your network is not likely to be more diverse than it is right now. The people you went to the same school with are going to have careers in all sorts of different directions over the next 5 to 10 years. By staying in touch, you’re going to have a very diverse network.
- Start building your dream network before you think you need it. Nurture the relationships you have today thinking about where you want to go in the next 5 to 10 years.
- Showing up regularly, intentionally and consistently is how you build trust. You confirm and affirm who you are so that other people will want to help you.
Resources Mentioned- Contact Kelly: Website
- Kelly’s Books: Build Your Dream Network | Networks Women Need
- Bird by Bird by Anne Lemott
- On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen King
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Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Watch my TEDx Talk: “How to Find Excuses to Connect”
Email: [email protected]
Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnect
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee
52 min - 32: Finding Your Passion and Being an Everyday Leader with Zach Hose
Zach Hose runs the ZAP! Podcast where he has conversations with people from diverse backgrounds and dive deep into what they’re passionate about. He is also an author, a singer/songwriter, and completing a Masters in HR Administration and Leadership. In this episode, we explore various perspectives on the topic of passion, as well as everyday leadership, communication differences in people with different genders, how to connect with people during job searching, and much more!
Highlights & Takeaways- “Don’t compare your Chapter 1 to someone else’s Chapter 20” - don’t be discouraged when you see other people who are living the dream of your life, because we’re all on our own path and it’s going to be a unique journey for us all.
- If people approach Zach and say they don’t what their passion is, he reverse engineers it and tells them that sometimes you have to find out what you’re not passionate about to find out what you are passionate about
- He’s an advocate of the multi-passionate approach where it’s totally okay to have passions in lots of different spheres because we’re not one-dimensional people
- Zach’s favourite quote is from Roberto Clemente: “Anytime you have an opportunity to make a different in this world and you don’t, then you’re wasting your time on Earth.”
- Anyone can be a leader - it doesn’t have to be a grandiose gesture or a big speech, but just recognizing how our everyday actions impact others.
- Correctly calling someone’s preferred name is important, not just using whatever name is easiest or most convenient.
Resources Mentioned- Contact Zach: Instagram | Twitter
- ZAP! (Zach Attack Your Passion) Podcast
- Zach’s Books: 365 Days: The Journey | The Things I Never Said | The 10 Laws of Effective Leadership
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Watch my TEDx Talk: “How to Find Excuses to Connect”
Email: [email protected]
Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnect
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee
48 min - 31: Igniting Your Inner Flame with Mohsen Youssef
Mohsen Youssef is also known as “The Ignited Flame.” That’s because he found his flame, which is his passion and love for life and people. He is currently running the 3000 Flames project, which is about meeting as many people as possible in a span of a year, and having these meaningful interactions whether it's in the elevator, grocery store, or across the world through virtual platforms. In this episode, he shares his story of being an ex-Amazon manager to reconnecting with himself and his emotions at a men’s retreat. Oh, and also how he once traded a bottle of baby lotion for a Booster Juice at an airport. I hope you enjoy this inspiring conversation.
Highlights & Takeaways- “Why wait ‘till I got all the money in the world, or I'm more established in a career or a job? Why not just go now? I have a car. I have friends who are down to go and I have my adventurous mindset that I will go anywhere.”
- Mohsen would remember a lot of days where he would through the hallway and he would be feeling sad or angry. But when someone said hi to him, he would always smile because he didn’t want people to see me sad. He was scared to show them that side. What if they don't like me? What if they don't want to connect anymore?
- Why Mohsen left his high-paying Amazon job to find inner peace
- His experience of staring another man in the eye, while putting a hand on his own heart and the other person’s heart.
- How he was able to trade a bottle of baby lotion for Booster Juice
- “Do things that allow for a more authentic, genuine, effortless expression of yourself. And as you step into that, witness more of life, passion, and the ignited flame that arises within you, like it did to me.”
Resources Mentioned- Contact Mohsen: Instagram | LinkedIn
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Watch my TEDx Talk: “How to Find Excuses to Connect”
Email: [email protected]Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnect
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee
48 min - 30: Being Unapologetically You with Alif Huq
Alif Huq is actually a mutual friend of one of the previous podcast guests, Ahmad Jabbir from Episode 9. He is a Digital Marketing Automation Specialist, and he excels in this role because of his ability to connect and network. However, he was once painfully shy and awkward. In this episode, he shares many stories that are embarrassing, emotional, and about embracing himself fully as the person he is.
Highlights & Takeaways- The ultimate meaning of life is being “so you” that people feel inspired and want to be themselves.
- People who are more strategically inclined in social situations are people who know who can adjust their level of energy to the person they’re talking with. What makes you a social ninja is being adaptable.
- The story of Alif walking home from school and praying that the person in front him didn’t turn around, because that meant Alif had to chat and he didn’t know how to hold a conversation.
- How Alif’s attitude shifted from trying to be popular, to wanting to get to know others, and now focusing on how connecting with others helps get more meaning in his life.
- Hurt people hurt other people - Alif’s perspective on not blaming others, and trying to break the cycle of hurt.
- How in South Asian culture, people don’t normally discuss their emotions, but he witnessed an instance at a wedding where someone crossed that wall, and instead of being shamed, they were able to accept each other unconditionally.
Resources Mentioned- Contact Alif: Instagram | LinkedIn
- “The Way of the Superior Man” by David Deida
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Watch my TEDx Talk: “How to Find Excuses to Connect”
Email: [email protected]Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnect
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee
50 min - 29: Leading a Limitless Life with Lionel Migrino
Lionel Migrino identifies himself as a Filipino-Canadian living with cerebral palsy. He is proud of his Filipino roots and to be a member of the disability community. In this episode, he emphasizes how he does not solely define himself as a person with a disability, because he lives his life without any limitations. His goal is to show people that your obstacles should not stop you from going on adventures and chasing your dreams. He is a photographer, anti-racism and disability advocate, and emphasizes the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Highlights & Takeaways- Cerebral palsy impacts one’s fine motor skills, but it is also different for everyone and there’s many layers to it. It might just affect a particular group of muscles, or someone might be non-verbal, and so on.
- Lionel points out that society often puts the disability community in a box, and leaves their voice out of important decision-making and policies. He is passionate about promoting equity and ensuring there is a voice for the voiceless.
- The first step of being an ally is recognizing your own privilege and also not being afraid of being uncomfortable. People with disabilities live in an ableist world that is not made for them. “So why can’t others be uncomfortable for a few minutes to learn about another person’s experiences?”
- His “Kwento’t Litrato” project compares and contrasts the experience that white people and racialized people have when asked the question: “Where are you from?” For racialized people, they can be asked this all the time and it’s a microaggression
- “I think it’s so important that the voiceless are heard so that change can happen without being dehumanized, or sacrificed, or without negative implications.”
- “Your voice is as important as everyone else, and we should embrace our uniqueness and differences. Don’t be afraid to be who you are and don’t be afraid to own it.”
Resources Mentioned- Contact Lionel Migrino: Instagram | Website
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnect
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee36 min - 28: Talking Politics and Religion Without Killing Each Other with Corey Nathan
Corey Nathan is the host of a podcast called Talkin’ Politics & Religion Without Killin’ Each Other. His aim is to have a home for engaging conversations about the topics that matter most in our culture. He talks about the screamers that are taking all the oxygen out of the room, and instead he wants to have civil conversations that explore nuance and understand different points of view. In this episode, we do a deep dive into connecting across differences, and how to have human-to-human conversations with people whose beliefs might differ significantly from our own.
Highlights & Takeaways- You might still disagree with someone’s views, but you can understand and appreciate each other on a human level - lead with curiosity and empathy
- Assumptions and generalizations often come in the question form of: “Why do all…?” For example, Corey grew up Jewish and became a Christian, and he has been asked: “Why do all you Jews vote Democrat?”
- He defuses generalizations by saying: “I can’t speak for all Jews. We're all different. Some vote this way, some vote that way. So I'll speak for myself.” And he encourages others to re-examine their assumptions
- Corey was met a lot of resistance and heated dialogues with his family after he converted to being a Christian, but it was his dad’s inclination to value their father-son relationship more than other cultural and political convictions that would allow them to cut through the weeds and walk the path together.
- Focus on building relational rather than transactional connections: “The good news is you can nurture those relationships. You can earn that credibility and get into the room. There's more opportunity than ever. But if it's simply like banging the phones, dialing for dollars, it's just not going to happen.”
- Find excuses to connect: “It amazes me to this day, how approachable and accessible all kinds of folks are at every level. If you have something to talk about, if you have points of common connection or a common cause. I'm not saying that everybody's going to get back to you, but it's going to be more than 1/100 or 2/100, if you approach it that way.”
Resources Mentioned- Contact Corey: Instagram | Twitter
- Talkin‘ Politics & Religion Without Killin‘ Each Other
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnect
Support Me: Buy Me A Coffee
51 min - 27: Unleashing the Potential of Immigrants with Hyder Hassan
Hyder Hassan is the CEO of Immigrant Services Calgary. Immigrating from Pakistan in 1999, he had a one-liner about his dream in Canada. It was the line: "I want to create massive change within myself and others around me." Since then, he has been at the head of the innovative Gateway Program, which is transforming the newcomer experience, and also being highly involved in his community, including through Toastmasters, Rotary, Big Brothers and Big Sisters, among many other organizations. In this episode, we explore his 3 R's that are central to his worldview, the story of how he became the CEO of Immigrant Services Calgary, and his values when it comes to leadership and mentorship.
Highlights & Takeaways- In a healthy debate, one person can come with their Point A and the other person with Point B. But instead of arguing about who’s right, Hyder says there is a new Point C that both people can reach and that stimulates growth
- What are your dreams? What are your goals? What are your priorities? These are the 3 questions that the innovative Gateway program asks to help newcomers with integrating into Canada quicker and more smoothly
- The story of a newcomer from Nigeria who was asking how he could remove qualifications from his resume so that he appeared more “Canadian” - instead Hyder flipped the narrative and emphasized how immigrants are our future leaders and have all this potential that just needs to be unleashed
- Trust-building comes from having the courage to own one’s failures, and also the ability to give and receive candid feedback. Hyder utilizes adaptive leadership to create a compelling vision and organizational culture that values clear communication
- There are times when Hyder feels lonely when he makes calls as the CEO, but is being questioned and fingers are being pointed at home. In those moments, he calls his mentors who encourage him and provide him with valuable insight
- “The kite always rises against the wind. And when you get to the top of the mountain, forgive the people that got you up there.”
Resources Mentioned- Contact Immigrant Services Calgary: Email | LinkedIn | Website
- Gateway Connects
- Immigrants of Distinction Awards
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Enjoyed this episode? Share it with a friend and make sure to follow Excuses to Connect on Facebook and Instagram.
Music by Meghan Rennie - Instagram / Soundcloud
Website: excusestoconnect.com
Email: [email protected]
Leave a Voice Message: https://www.speakpipe.com/excusestoconnectSupport Me: Buy Me A Coffee
45 min
About Excuses to Connect
From the publisher's feed
Have you ever wanted to connect with someone, but you stopped yourself? Excuses to Connect is a podcast about actively creating the conditions that make meaningful connections easier. In other words, you can make excuses to connect. Join me, Richard Lee-Thai, as I have conversations with experts, friends, and strangers on their struggles and successes when it comes to human connections. As a listener, I hope that you can take these insights and find excuses to connect with people. You never know how any one connection can transform your life.
https://excusestoconnect.com/