Extraordinary Stories

Dr. James Leathem didn’t arrive at his work through theory. He arrived through loss, survival, and a quiet decision to listen to something deeper than logic. After losing his father and nearly his own life within weeks, he made a choice that would define everything that followed. Not just to become a doctor, but to understand what it actually means to heal.

That path wasn’t clean. Rejection, self-doubt, and the belief that he “wasn’t built for it” nearly took hold. But what changed wasn’t just persistence. It was perspective. Through his own experiences and later his work with ketamine therapy, Dr. James began to see that most people aren’t trapped by reality. They’re trapped by the way their past lives inside them.

In this conversation, he breaks down how healing actually works. Not as a quick fix, but as a process of seeing your life from a different angle. Of loosening the grip of old patterns, questioning the beliefs you never chose, and realizing that growth isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about finally seeing yourself clearly.

At a time when more people feel stuck, overwhelmed, or quietly disconnected from their own lives, this conversation offers something simple and difficult at the same time. The idea that nothing may be broken. Just unseen.

What You’ll Learn

• Why there’s no such thing as a “bad trip,” only different perspectives
• How trauma lives in the brain and how it can be reshaped
• The role of neuroplasticity in healing and personal growth
• Why your ego keeps you stuck in what’s familiar, even when it hurts
• A practical framework: safety → awareness → agency → action → transformation
• The difference between breakthrough moments and true integration
• How beliefs quietly shape identity and behavior (“beliefs = B.S.”)
• Why “me vs. me” is the only real competition
• How to reframe life from “why is this happening to me?” to “for me?”

About Dr. James Leathem

Dr. James Leathem is a board-certified anesthesiologist and pioneer in ketamine-assisted therapy. He specializes in helping patients navigate mental health challenges, trauma, and personal transformation through a combination of medical expertise and integrative healing practices. His work focuses on changing how people experience their own lives, not just treating symptoms.

About Extraordinary Stories

Extraordinary Stories explores the ideas, people, and experiences that shape extraordinary lives.

Hosts Forbes Shannon, Christine Butler, and Aaron Bare sit down with entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, and leaders to uncover the moments that changed how they see the world.

Andrew O’Brien doesn’t come from a polished version of success. His story begins in loss, addiction, and survival—growing up surrounded by death, navigating prison, and learning how to function in a world he never felt prepared for. What emerges is not a clean redemption arc, but a raw, unfiltered perspective on what it actually takes to rebuild a life from the ground up.

The turning point isn’t a single moment of clarity—it’s a line drawn in the sand. After years of chaos, Andrew makes a decision to get clean, not for anyone else, but for himself. That decision becomes the foundation for everything that follows: discipline, business success, meaningful relationships, and a life built on daily effort rather than distant promises. His philosophy is simple but unforgiving—change only happens when you’re truly done with the alternative.

What makes this conversation land is the tension between control and surrender. Andrew operates with relentless urgency, yet insists the real breakthrough comes from letting go—of outcomes, of fear, of things outside your control. Success, in his view, isn’t a single breakthrough moment. It’s the accumulation of small, consistent actions, done well, over time. The future isn’t something you predict—it’s something you build, one decision at a time.

In a world obsessed with certainty and long-term planning, this conversation is a reminder that life doesn’t work that way. There are no guarantees. Only effort, awareness, and the willingness to face discomfort head-on.

What You’ll Learn
• Why “do it now” thinking can outperform long-term planning
• The role of pain as a catalyst for growth and change
• How letting go creates clarity and better decision-making
• Why consistency—not talent—is the real driver of results
• The difference between controlling outcomes and controlling effort
• How identity shifts happen through daily actions, not big moments
• Why you can’t build a life for others until you fix yourself first

About Andrew O’Brien
Andrew O’Brien is an entrepreneur and founder in the corporate podcasting space, known for building and scaling companies through relentless effort and relationship-driven sales. His perspective is shaped by a past marked by addiction, loss, and recovery, which now fuels his work helping others grow through discipline, honesty, and action.

About Extraordinary Stories
Extraordinary Stories explores the ideas, people, and experiences that shape extraordinary lives.
Hosts Forbes Shannon, Christine Butler, and Aaron Bare sit down with entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, and leaders to uncover the moments that changed how they see the world.

Amir Glogau has spent decades building businesses, leading turnarounds, and surrounding himself with some of the world’s most influential thinkers. But underneath that success is a quieter, more personal pursuit: understanding what actually drives us. Not just in business, but in life. This conversation explores the tension between external achievement and internal alignment—and what happens when those two finally meet.

At one point, Amir believed impact meant reaching the masses. Over time, that belief shifted. Through loss, reflection, and a deeper exploration of his own inner world, he began to see that transformation doesn’t happen at scale—it happens one person at a time. That realization reshaped how he leads, how he builds, and how he shows up for others.

What emerges is a simple but challenging idea: everything we do is driven by how we want to feel. When our emotions, choices, and actions are out of sync, life feels forced. When they align, things begin to move with a kind of effortlessness. Amir calls this “soul leadership,” but at its core, it’s about taking responsibility for your inner world—and recognizing that the answers you’re searching for aren’t external.

In a time where people are constantly chasing more—more success, more clarity, more certainty—this conversation pulls things in the opposite direction. Less noise. More awareness. Less performing. More being.

What You’ll Learn
• Why most decisions are driven by the emotion you want to feel
• The concept of “soul leadership” and what alignment actually looks like
• How to shift from reacting to life to taking responsibility for it
• A simple way to understand your internal “parts” and what drives them
• Why success without self-awareness never feels like enough
• How curiosity—not control—can guide your next chapter

About Amir Glogau
Amir Glogau is an entrepreneur and business leader known for executing successful company turnarounds while exploring the deeper human dynamics behind leadership. His work blends business strategy with emotional awareness, helping leaders align their internal world with their external impact.

About Extraordinary Stories
Extraordinary Stories explores the ideas, people, and experiences that shape extraordinary lives.
Hosts Forbes Shannon, Christine Butler, and Aaron Bare sit down with entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, and leaders to uncover the moments that changed how they see the world.

Chris Rawlinson has spent his life quietly questioning the way the world works. From designing smart homes for celebrities to building a wine brand that disrupted an entire industry, his path has never followed a straight line. Beneath it all is a simple tension: why are so many parts of life unnecessarily complicated—and what would it look like to make them easier for people?

That question became a turning point. Instead of accepting complexity as normal, Chris built businesses around removing it. In the wine world, he made something intimidating feel approachable. In education, he saw adults disengaged from learning and decided to rethink how knowledge is delivered. The result was 42 Courses—an attempt to make learning practical, human, and actually enjoyable.

At the center of this conversation is a deeper idea: curiosity is no longer optional. In a world shaped by AI and overwhelming information, the ability to ask better questions may matter more than having the right answers. Chris reframes learning not as something we finish, but as something we return to—again and again—with better questions each time.

This conversation lands at a moment where technology is accelerating faster than our ability to make sense of it. Chris offers a grounded perspective: the future won’t belong to the people who know the most, but to the ones who stay curious enough to keep learning.

What You’ll Learn
• Why frustration is often the starting point for meaningful innovation
• How making things “approachable” can transform industries
• The role of curiosity in navigating AI and rapid change
• Why asking better questions is becoming a critical life skill
• How education is shifting from standardized to personalized learning
• A simple mindset shift that can unlock creativity and new ideas

About Chris Rawlinson
Chris Rawlinson is the founder of 42 Courses, an innovative e-learning platform designed to make complex ideas accessible and practical. With a background spanning smart home design, aviation, and disruptive marketing, he has built a career around simplifying the complicated and rethinking how people learn.

About Extraordinary Stories
Extraordinary Stories explores the ideas, people, and experiences that shape extraordinary lives.
Hosts Forbes Shannon, Christine Butler, and Aaron Bare sit down with entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, and leaders to uncover the moments that changed how they see the world.

Dr. Adrijana Kekic built her career inside one of the most advanced healthcare systems in the world. She was trained to understand the body at a genetic level, helping personalize medicine for others. From the outside, it looked like precision. Control. Mastery. But underneath that identity was a familiar tension: a high performer quietly ignoring her own signals.

That tension broke in a moment she couldn’t outwork. After years of pushing through exhaustion, she collapsed on her kitchen floor. A massive pulmonary embolism nearly took her life—something she, as a healthcare expert, had missed in herself. That moment forced a shift from certainty to awareness. From treating others to finally asking what it means to truly know yourself.

What emerges in this conversation is a deeper idea: we are not as in control as we think, but we are also not as powerless as we act. Health, energy, attention, and presence are not abstract ideas—they are daily decisions. And the cost of ignoring them compounds quietly until it doesn’t. Her work now sits at the intersection of biology, technology, and self-awareness, but the core message is human: you cannot lead your life if you are disconnected from your own body.

At a time when performance is rewarded and exhaustion is normalized, this conversation reframes what it means to succeed—and what it actually costs to get there.

What You’ll Learn

• Why high performers often ignore the very signals that matter most
• The difference between reactive healthcare and proactive self-awareness
• How identity shifts happen when control is taken away
• The concept of “biological liability” and why it matters for your life
• How founders and leaders can protect their energy instead of depleting it
• Why curiosity and micro-learning are essential in a rapidly changing world
• The hidden cost of ambition when it’s disconnected from presence

About Dr. Adrijana Kekic

Dr. Adrijana Kekic is a pharmacist, genomics expert, and founder of Futurome. Her work focuses on understanding the body at a systems level through multiomics and AI-driven digital twin technology, helping individuals take control of their health before disease occurs. Her perspective bridges advanced science with lived experience, shaped by her own near-death health event.

About Extraordinary Stories

Extraordinary Stories explores the ideas, people, and experiences that shape extraordinary lives.
Hosts Forbes Shannon, Christine Butler, and Aaron Bare sit down with entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, and leaders to uncover the moments that changed how they see the world.

Rudi Riekstins didn’t start as a coach or speaker. He started as someone lying awake at 4 a.m., staring at the ceiling, realizing he couldn’t keep living the way he was. On the outside, life looked stable. On the inside, it was anger, resentment, and a growing fear that he would ruin the relationships that mattered most. This conversation traces the shift from that breaking point to a life built on awareness, intention, and energy.

The turning point wasn’t a grand breakthrough. It was a quiet moment of breathing. Sitting alone, Rudi noticed something simple but profound: he could feel an emotion without being it. That separation changed everything. What followed was a process of interrupting patterns, questioning inherited narratives, and rebuilding his life from the inside out. Over time, that practice reshaped his relationships, his work, and the way he moves through the world.

At its core, this episode challenges a common assumption that change comes from doing more. Instead, Rudi argues that most people are trapped in cycles they don’t even see—repeating thoughts, emotions, and behaviors that reinforce the same outcomes. When you learn to pause, create space, and choose differently, you don’t just feel better. You begin to create a different reality.

This conversation matters right now because so many people are living reactive lives—driven by stress, expectation, and unconscious patterns. Rudi offers a different path. One that starts with awareness, but leads to something deeper: the ability to respond, create, and live with intention.

What You’ll Learn

• Why separating yourself from your emotions can change your decisions
• How thoughts, feelings, and actions create repeating life patterns
• A simple way to interrupt emotional spirals in real time
• Why most people are creating their lives unconsciously
• How energy affects how others experience and respond to you
• A different perspective on success, fulfillment, and personal growth
• How teaching and sharing your experience reinforces your own growth
• A parenting philosophy centered on safety, failure, and self-trust

About Rudi Riekstins

Rudi Riekstins is a coach, keynote speaker, and teacher focused on helping people understand and shift their internal patterns. His work centers on energy, emotional awareness, and intentional creation, drawing from both personal experience and years of coaching individuals and organizations.

About Extraordinary Stories

Extraordinary Stories explores the ideas, people, and experiences that shape extraordinary lives.
Hosts Forbes Shannon, Christine Butler, and Aaron Bare sit down with entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, and leaders to uncover the moments that changed how they see the world.

Yasmin Rivera Klein walks into rooms where she’s often the youngest, sometimes the only woman, and sometimes the only Latina. Instead of shrinking, she learns to translate that position into something else entirely a responsibility to speak, to build, and to create space for others who haven’t been heard yet. Her story is less about early success and more about learning how to trust her own voice before anyone else does.

That trust didn’t come naturally. Yasmin started in finance with a clear, logical path toward becoming a CFO. It made sense on paper. But over time, she began to feel the tension between who she thought she was supposed to be and what she was actually drawn to building. A mentor saw something in her she couldn’t see herself. Her husband challenged her identity as “just a numbers person.” Eventually, she made a decision that changed everything she walked away from certainty and stepped into creativity, launching Agency 27 on her 27th birthday.

What emerges from her story is a deeper insight about leadership in a modern world. Community is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s the foundation. Whether she’s building a national nonprofit chapter, designing experiences that people remember years later, or creating access points in spaces where representation has been limited, Yasmin approaches everything with the same question: how do people feel when they leave? The answer shapes everything from strategy to execution.

This conversation matters now because more people are realizing that traditional paths don’t always lead to meaningful work. Yasmin’s story offers a different model one where identity, community, and creativity are not distractions from success, but the very things that make it possible.

What You’ll Learn

• Why being the “youngest in the room” can be an advantage, not a limitation
• How community becomes a strategic advantage in business and leadership
• The identity shift from following a path to creating your own
• Why experiences matter more than branding in modern marketing
• How to design environments where people feel seen, valued, and connected
• The role of mentors and partners in unlocking unseen potential
• A practical mindset for building resilience, energy, and long-term sustainability
• Why authenticity is the foundation of meaningful success

About Yasmin Rivera Klein

Yasmin Rivera Klein is an entrepreneur, community builder, and founder of Agency 27, a full-service events and marketing company focused on creating meaningful, experience-driven connections. She also serves as President of the Phoenix chapter of the Association of Latino Professionals for America, where she leads initiatives that expand access and opportunity for underrepresented communities.

About Extraordinary Stories

Extraordinary Stories explores the ideas, people, and experiences that shape extraordinary lives.
Hosts Forbes Shannon, Christine Butler, and Aaron Bare sit down with entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, and leaders to uncover the moments that changed how they see the world.

Tomás León has spent more than 25 years working across healthcare, nonprofits, startups, and community initiatives—but his story doesn’t start there. It begins in an 800-square-foot home in Tucson, raised by blue-collar parents who grounded him in values of service, family, and faith. In this conversation, Tomás reflects on the tension between humble beginnings and high-impact leadership, and how understanding your origin becomes the foundation for everything that follows.

A defining turning point came not from success, but from correction. As Tomás rose into leadership roles, he experienced moments where ego and title began to take over. It was his mentors—especially one who had guided him since childhood—who stepped in, challenged him, and “held up the mirror.” Those moments pulled him back to purpose-driven leadership and reshaped how he defines success: not as power, but as alignment with a personal mission.

At the core of Tomás’ philosophy is what he calls the “Power of Four”: purpose, mentorship, networking, and well-being. But beneath those pillars is something simpler and more difficult—curiosity. Curiosity led him into new worlds like venture investing, into deeper relationships through mentorship, and into a constant evolution of purpose. His perspective reframes leadership not as certainty, but as a lifelong process of learning, asking, and becoming.

This conversation matters now because many people are chasing clarity without ever slowing down to understand themselves. Tomás offers a grounded reminder: before you optimize your future, you have to reconcile your past.

What You’ll Learn

• Why your origin story is the foundation of your purpose
• The “Power of Four” framework for success: purpose, mentorship, networking, well-being
• How mentors create real growth by holding up a mirror—not just offering advice
• Why curiosity is a competitive advantage in leadership and life
• How to approach networking as giving, not taking
• The hidden challenge of success: staying grounded as your influence grows
• Why well-being is the most overlooked and most critical leadership skill
• How to start defining your personal mission when you feel lost

About Tomás León

Tomás León is a healthcare leader, strategic advisor, and community builder with over 25 years of experience across public, private, and nonprofit sectors. He is the founder of Tomás León and Partners, where he works with mission-driven leaders and organizations to drive growth, impact, and purpose-aligned transformation.

About Extraordinary Stories

Extraordinary Stories explores the ideas, people, and experiences that shape extraordinary lives.
Hosts Forbes Shannon, Christine Butler, and Aaron Bare sit down with entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, and leaders to uncover the moments that changed how they see the world.

Brandon Gerson has built companies, advised founders, and now helps turn university innovation into real-world ventures. But underneath the resume is a quieter tension—how to balance ambition with being a present husband and father, how to build at scale without losing yourself at home. This conversation opens in that space between success and self-awareness, where the stakes aren’t just financial—they’re personal.

At one point, Brandon shares a simple rule that’s carried him through both business and marriage: take a walk. It sounds small, but it marks a turning point in how he navigates conflict, pressure, and the collision between work and life. Instead of reacting, he creates space. That same instinct shows up in how he evaluates founders—pausing long enough to listen deeply, ask better questions, and say the hard thing when it matters.

What unfolds is a deeper look at how judgment, intuition, and honesty shape leadership. Brandon talks about backing people over products, balancing vision with realism, and the tension between being “the kite” and “the rock.” He doesn’t pretend to have it all figured out. Instead, he offers a grounded perspective on building something meaningful while staying accountable to the people closest to you.

At a time when technology is accelerating faster than most people can adapt, this conversation feels especially relevant. It’s not about chasing the future—it’s about staying human inside it.

What You’ll Learn

• Why stepping away in moments of tension can change the outcome of relationships
• How great founders balance vision (“the kite”) with execution (“the rock”)
• What experienced investors actually look for beyond the pitch
• The role of radical candor—and how to give honest feedback without shutting people down
• Why listening is one of the most undervalued skills in leadership
• How AI will reshape work—and what separates those who adapt from those who fall behind
• A practical way to think about risk, ambition, and regret over the long term

About Brandon Gerson

Brandon Gerson is an entrepreneur and venture builder with deep experience in startups, marketing, and early-stage investing. He is currently helping lead a venture studio model that pairs university innovation with experienced operators to bring ideas to market. His work sits at the intersection of business, technology, and human decision-making.

About Extraordinary Stories

Extraordinary Stories explores the ideas, people, and experiences that shape extraordinary lives.
Hosts Forbes Shannon, Christine Butler, and Aaron Bare sit down with entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, and leaders to uncover the moments that changed how they see the world.

Casey Caston’s story starts where most people assume the happy ending begins: the wedding day. But within hours, something felt off. What followed wasn’t a fairytale marriage, but three years of loud, painful conflict that forced both him and his wife to confront something deeper than compatibility. They weren’t just fighting each other. They were colliding with everything they carried from their past.

The turning point didn’t come from a breakthrough conversation or a shared realization. It came when his wife chose to work on herself alone. Over time, her behavior changed in ways Casey couldn’t ignore. Different responses. New boundaries. A shift in how conflict showed up. That change forced him to face something uncomfortable: the problem wasn’t just the marriage. It was him too.

What emerges from this conversation is a reframing most couples never consider. Love isn’t what holds a relationship together. Trust does. And trust isn’t built through intensity or emotion, but through consistent behavior, structure, and accountability. Casey and his wife rebuilt their marriage over five years, not by chasing feelings, but by installing habits that created connection on purpose.

This conversation matters because it challenges a story many people quietly believe. That if a relationship becomes difficult, something must be wrong. Casey offers a different perspective. Difficulty may not be the signal to leave. It may be the signal to learn how to build something stronger than what you started with.

What You’ll Learn

• Why the transition from dating to marriage often creates unexpected conflict
• How childhood experiences quietly shape adult relationships
• The difference between communication, conflict, and emotional “combat”
• Why trust, not love, is the true foundation of a lasting relationship
• A simple reframe that turns couples from adversaries into teammates
• How individual growth can transform a relationship without forcing the other person
• Practical tools like “code words” and structured check-ins to prevent damage during conflict

About Casey Caston

Casey Caston is a relationship coach, speaker, and co-creator of Marriage365, a platform designed to help couples build stronger, more intentional relationships. Drawing from his own experience of nearly losing his marriage, he now works with high performers and couples to install practical systems that create trust, connection, and long-term success.

About Extraordinary Stories

Extraordinary Stories explores the ideas, people, and experiences that shape extraordinary lives.
Hosts Forbes Shannon, Christine Butler, and Aaron Bare sit down with entrepreneurs, thinkers, creators, and leaders to uncover the moments that changed how they see the world.