From Embers To Excellence™

Lafontant Dorival has 14 years of service as a firefighter with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue and has spent the majority of his career in Miami Dade’s 5th Battalion at Firehouse 7. Currently on Charlie tour serving as dedicated nozzleman. He was recruited to join MDFR’s Recruit Training Program as an Instructor, where he has made significant impacts to its program and recruits with his passion and instruction on all disciplines while focusing on “Firemanship”. He is dual certified as a Firefighter/ Paramedic, Technical Rescue Technician as well as a State of Florida Instructor II and Live Fire Training Instructor. Additionally, Lafontant will be teaching “The Way of The Nozzle” at the 2022 Orlando Fire Conference.

To connect or follow Lafontant, you can check him out here: https://www.instagram.com/the_wayofthe_nozzle/

Karen is the host of the podcast “Saving You a Seat” and Author of “The Connected Leader: 7 Strategies to Empower Your True Self and Inspire Others.” She is also a psychotherapist turned leadership consultant with a Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Karen blends psychology and spirituality with leadership in order to transform the lives of countless Fortune 1000 leaders at work and home. Her book, The Connected Leader, shows us humans how to grow emotionally and spiritually using her 7 Strategies of Connection to become our best selves as parents, spouses, and leaders at work. The following is a list of those 7 strategies:

1. connecting consciously

2. listening deeply

3. exhibiting empathy

4. celebrating curiosity

5. demonstrating accountability

6. navigating chaos comfortably

7. walking with confidence

In the book, Karen shares that there is a human being crisis and that “connection” is the antidote. Yet, while we are wired to connect, most leaders do not know how to connect in healthy, sustainable, empowering, inspiring ways. Between self-discovery (connecting with ourselves in transformative ways) first and then with others, Karen shares seven key strategies for individuals, teams, and organizations who want to lead in resilient, authentic ways, channel the power of connection, and enhance their business metrics.

Her Story and How Leadership Can be Found in Anyone

Karen's mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness when Karen was 10. Her mother's illness paired with an abusive home life, financial struggles, and the need to constantly pretend everything was fine forced Karen to become an adult when she was far too young. She became a leader for her two siblings and eventually developed the seven attributes of leadership that her book is based around: connecting consciously, listening deeply, exhibiting empathy, celebrating curiosity, demonstrating accountability, navigating chaos comfortably, and walking with confidence.

To connect with Karen or to find her book, visit: https://karenjhardwick.com/

Jerry is a conflict resolution coach for Asian-American leaders. He started coaching in 2017 to help other Asian-American professionals deal with the challenges they encounter at work, with their families, and within themselves.

Prior to starting his coaching business, Jerry worked as a pharmacist and began facilitating leadership workshops in 2012. Today, Jerry offers a range of coaching services, which includes individual coaching, group workshops, and keynote presentations.

Jerry and I discuss some common mistakes people make with conflict, tips to resolve conflict effectively, and what led Jerry to pursue coaching full-time. Jerry talks about his decision to niche-down and focus his efforts on helping clients of Asian descent. We close the conversation with Jerry’s book recommendations. Additionally, he offers a free download that can help leaders approach conflict in a more effective way.

If you would like to connect with Jerry, visit his coaching website at https://www.adaptingleaders.com

Mark is the author of “The Career Toolkit, Essential Skills for Success That No One Taught You.” Educated at MIT, Mark has spent his career launching and fixing new ventures at startups, Fortune 500s, and academia. He’s developed new software languages, online marketplaces, new authentication systems, and tracked criminals and terrorists on the dark web. Mark helped create the Undergraduate Practice Opportunities Program, MIT’s “Career Success Accelerator”, where he’s taught for twenty years. Mark also serves on the boards of non-profits Techie Youth and Plant a Million Corals.

This is an excellent episode. Mark and I dive into topics related to leadership development, ethics, and the mindset of successful people. We talk about his book, his app that was built to compliment his book, the program curriculum at MIT that he helped develop and what it entails. He tells me about three of his most successful students and some of the qualities that they all seemed to have in common.

If you’d like to connect with Mark or purchase his book, check out the many ways to do so:

Book:

Chapter synopsis and table of contents:

https://www.thecareertoolkitbook.com/synopsis

Social Media:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hershey/

https://twitter.com/CareerToolkitBk @CareerToolkitBk

https://www.facebook.com/TheCareerToolkitBook @TheCareerToolkitBook

https://www.instagram.com/thecareertoolkit/ @thecareertoolkit

His app is completely free and you can download it here:

Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id1520119819

Google: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.thecareertoolkitapp&hl=en_US

Raamon Newman is Co-founder & CEO of New Mavericks, a global leadership development consultancy based in Los Angeles, Melbourne, and Sydney. He has worked with over 50 top CEOs and executives of billion dollar-revenue companies for more than 20 years, providing them with techniques to achieve high leadership capacity, averting problems and seizing growth opportunities. Raamon is also co-author to “The Science of Protection: How Leaders Gain an Unfair Advantage to Create Stellar Success.”

He is a former top-three nationally-ranked track athlete, national cross country team winner, state championship-winning rugby player, environmental products entrepreneur, 10-year full-time meditating monk, Meisner trained actor, a philanthropist, and a graduate from the University of Auckland with a Bachelor of Commerce in Marketing.

Raamon and I discuss his book, “The Science of Protection,” and some of it’s key take aways. We talk about his time as a monk and how he uses that experience to help high-achieving business leaders realize even higher levels of success.

He tells me how we can avert problems and predict opportunities based on our leadership behavior; how to improve our ability to take spontaneous right actions and increase our deserving power to get what we envision; and what prevents our effective decision-making as leaders.

If you’d like to connect with Raamon or purchase his book, visit: https://www.newmavericks.com

Michelle is the Founder of Elevate Life Coaching and a Clinical Pharmacist at Keck Medical Center of USC who graduated with a Doctor of Pharmacy from St. John's University. She is an International Motivational Speaker, a Visibility Confidence Coach, a Meditation & Mindfulness Teacher, an Associate Certified Coach, a Certified Professional Coach, a Certified Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, a Certified Cor. E Transition Dynamic Specialist, and the Author of “Perfectly Normal: An Immigrant's Story of Making It in America.”

Michelle is an expert in helping Women Coaches and Thought Leaders in taking a step forward and unstuck from setbacks in life and in business to tell better stories and be brave to get seen, heard and hired!

Michelle Kuei was an 11-year-old student in rural Taiwan when a car running a red light completely altered her life’s trajectory. Through the long and painful process of recovery, Kuei made surprising discoveries about loss, identity, and personal strength—revelations that helped guide her through her journey as an immigrant to the United States. With radical honesty bolstering her storytelling, Kuei shows us how positive transformation can happen when we let go of self-pity, embrace our flaws, and learn to love ourselves.

Michelle and I have a great conversation about her journey, what it means to be authentic, overcoming adversity to achieve greatness, and how to cultivate courage as your everyday habit.

To learn more or to get connected with Michelle visit her website here: http://elevatelifecoaching.org

Lisa Wilson is a Leadership Vision Coach and Human Resources Cultural Consultant. Her passion is teaching leaders to effectively lead their teams by creating exceptional workplace cultures. Witnessing the impact of both poor and great leadership she now devotes herself to coaching leaders so their teams can experience the excellence they deserve.

Lisa believes that leadership is not only about the people around you. It’s about leading yourself in a way that allows you to show up for your team as the best version of yourself. Her experience in Human Resources and her own health struggles have taught her the importance of the "dual paths" of leadership.

Lisa holds a Bachelor of Business Administration, is a Certified Human Resources Leader, a Certified DiSC and True Colors Facilitator, and holds a certificate in Advanced Dispute Resolution, and most recently a Distinguished Toastmaster.

Lisa and I have an amazing discussion that covers so many dynamics of leadership. We compare notes and share how we coach developing leaders. We even discuss personal experiences that have shaped those coaching techniques.

If you’d like to connect with Lisa, please visit her website here: https://lmwcoaching.ca/

Geoff Speyrer is a veteran of the war in Iraq and the founder of the S.E.T. 22 endurance challenge that raises money to help veterans with PTSD. Shortly after Geoff returned home from the middle east he began struggling with the symptoms of PTSD. During our conversation he gives an honest account of how he struggled with addiction, became a fugitive from the law, spent time incarcerated, and time in mental health facilities.

His story is inspiring and includes details of his journey through recovery and advice he has applied to his own life. He describes himself as a hybrid athlete, but in some circles the term “extreme endurance athlete” would be used. He is currently training for the Forgotten Florida 100 which is a 100-mile foot race. His S.E.T. 22 endurance challenge consists of a 100-mile bicycle route, a 26.2-mile run/walk, and then flipping a 200-pound tractor tire 1-mile (about 600 times) all within a 24-hour period.

Geoff and I have a great conversation in this episode, but if you’d like to learn more about him or would like to connect with him, check him out here:

https://www.facebook.com/geoff.speyrer

https://www.instagram.com/geoffspeyrer/

Corey Poirier is a multiple-time TEDx, MoMondays, and PMx Speaker and International Bestselling Author. He is also the host of the top rated ‘Get Paid To Speak’ Show, founder of The Speaking Program, Author of the For The Love of Speaking Book, founder of bLU Talks, and he has been featured in multiple television specials.

A columnist with Entrepreneur and Forbes magazine, he has been featured in/on CBS, CTV, NBC, ABC, is a Forbes Coaches Council member, and is one of the few leaders featured twice on the popular Entrepreneur on Fire show. He has also interviewed over 5,000 of the world’s top leaders.

Corey and I discuss his life growing up and what put him on his current path. We talk about his speaking career and how he is so successful at helping others land speaking engagements around the world. He even provides a free gift to the audience. So, listen and take advantage of his offer.

To learn more about Corey or if you would like to connect with him, here are several links that will help:

http://thespeakingprogram.com/

http://thatspeakerguy.com/

http://www.thebookofwhy.com/

http://thebookofwhyaudio.com/

Emily is a provisional licensed professional counselor in New Orleans, LA. She specializes in trauma and PTSD and has worked primarily with veterans and first responders. Emily got her master’s in counseling from TCU and her master’s in clinical psychology from UCF, where she trained under one of the country’s leading experts in PTSD treatment, Dr. Deborah Beidel. Emily was born and raised in Columbus, OH and attended The

Ohio State University for psychology and neuroscience. After graduation, she moved to Fort Hood, TX for a job working on PTSD research studies with active-duty soldiers. This experience fueled her desire to provide comprehensive, research-informed PTSD treatment and put her on the path toward becoming a mental health counselor.

This episode explores different modalities for treating PTSD, my experience with PTSD, and Emily’s very personal journey from healing her own trauma to her current position in New Orleans. If you or someone you know is struggling with PTSD, this episode may offer some insight and hope.

Additional resources are available here: https://www.hollenbachleadership.com/resources

To connect with or learn more about Emily visit her profile here: Psychology

Today Profile