Gratitude Through Hard Times

We live in a culture that rewards busyness. Having no work/life balance is applauded, and being overworked is the norm. But this toxic culture surrounding work is detrimental to us and our relationships.

Aliza Kline knows this all too well and has the solution, Shabbat. Shabbat creates the space to pause, rewarding relaxation, rest, rejuvenation, connection, and joy.

Aliza is the President and CEO of OneTable. OneTable's mission is to make Shabbat dinner accessible to tens of thousands of people who otherwise would be absent from the Jewish community. They provide resources, tools, and rituals that are not only attainable but sustainable. In the last six years since their founding, they've empowered their community to produce over 45,000 dinners.

In this episode, Aliza graciously shares with us about her passions and life's work.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

- Aliza giving credit and thanks to her history teacher and soccer coach in high school, Kara Buckley (2:51)
- How Aliza continues to stand up and speak out (5:29)
- The importance of Shabbat for pausing and connecting (8:04)
- How community helps us create a ritual of rest (12:51)
- Having a solo Shabbat practice (15:45)
- Breaking societal norms in order to create future growth (19:00)
- How creative and innovative you can be with Shabbat (24:10)
- What's next for OneTable (28:35)
- Aliza's message to Kara (33:01)

Links:

- Connect with Aliza on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliza-kline-47b70a7/
- OneTable - https://onetable.org

Listen to this episode and learn about:
- How you can cultivate gratitude in the hard times so that you come out of them better than ever!

Links:
- 6 Ways to Cultivate Gratitude Through Hard Times Article - https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/359404
- 7:47 - https://www.747club.org
- Steven Kotler - https://www.stevenkotler.com

Tragedies are something we all experience throughout the course of our lives. When a tragedy occurs, we have the choice to either count our blessings or count our pitfalls. Life is a matter of perspective, so when we count our blessings and find gratitude in a tragedy that is when we find our inner peace.

Susan Ganeshan is the epitome of living a life full of gratitude.

Susan is the Chief Marketing Officer of Granicus. Granicus is the leading provider of citizen engagement, technologies, and services for the public sector, helping governments come closer to the people they serve. They have the first and only civic engagement platform, which serves over 4,500 government organizations connecting more than 220 million people.

In this episode, Susan shares genuinely with us about her life, her legacy, and her gratitude practice.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

- Susan giving credit and thanks to her brother, Dean (2:53)
- Confidently taking on difficult challenges (7:57)
- The power of gratitude journaling (15:21)
- What's next for Susan (22:53)
- The legacy that Susan is forging (28:14)
- Susan's loving message to her Mother (32:29)
- Closing remarks of gratitude from Susan (35:44)

Links:

- Connect with Susan on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-ganeshan-088129/
- Granicus - https://granicus.com

The first step to building anything is to simply start. Whether you're building a business, a house, or a gratitude practice, the only way it will grow is if you make the effort to begin each day.

Casey Clark is an architect that helps entrepreneurs start living their life's passion.

Casey is the co-founder and CEO of Cultivate Advisors, an advisory firm that helps take small businesses to the next level. Casey and his team have helped thousands of owners reach their growth objectives through core business skill development and scalable systemization. Casey’s mission with the company is to simply help business owners achieve their dreams and take back control.

In this episode, Casey graciously shares with us how he scales businesses by building leaders.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

- Casey giving credit and thanks to both his Grandfather and Jim Sober (2:25)
- When Casey's mindset shifted to being focused on impact (7:03)
- Pursuing an entrepreneurial life of passion (9:30)
- How Casey overcame and grew from difficult life moments (12:03)
- How entrepreneurs know when they're ready to scale (17:51)
- What's next for Casey (20:30)
- The importance of community and relationships for Cultivate (21:55)
- How to maintain mental and emotional well-being when working remote (23:11)
- What's next for Cultivate Advisors (26:06)
- Casey's message to Jim Sober (29:11)

Links:

- Connect with Casey on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/caseytheentrepreneur/
- Cultivate Advisors - https://cultivateadvisors.com/

One of the benefits of gratitude is that it shifts our focus from ourselves to those around us; it makes us humble. Humility paves the ground for servant leadership, which is all about recognizing you're not a self-made person.

Brent McCarty is the definition of a true servant leader.

Brent is the President of ESET North America. ESET is the pioneer of antivirus protection, with the global vision of enabling its users to enjoy the full potential of themselves and their technology in a secure digital world.

Brent was kind enough to share with us his humble beginnings that became the roots of his leadership journey.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

- Brent giving credit and thanks to his dad, Bill, for being an exemplary role model (2:38)
- How Brent's childhood impacted his leadership style (6:02)
- What to do to let your employee's voices be heard (8:44)
- Developing a bottom-up leadership style (10:42)
- How to create a culture of innovation without sacrificing the quality of work (13:40)
- Being a leader in 2020 (16:23)
- How to communicate with leaders in uncertain times (21:14)
- Where Brent and his team are going next (23:57)
- Brent's message to his dad (29:12)

Links:

- Connect with Brent on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brentmccarty/
- ESET - https://www.eset.com/us/

Exclusion hurts, but we all encounter it in our professional and personal lives. Everyone seeks to belong to something greater than themselves, but how do we find this belonging in our exclusion-filled, chaotic world?

Erik Day is the advocate we all need to overcome exclusion.

Erik is the Senior Vice President, Small Business at Dell Technologies, and the Global Executive Chair of the PRIDE Employee Resource Group at Dell Technologies. He is also the Board of Directors for Out and Equal Workplace Advocates.

When his dream to become a minister in the Methodist church was taken away, Erik searched for a new platform to make a meaningful difference. He ultimately found Corporate America to be his stage to give a voice to the voiceless.

Erik was gracious enough to share with us his story and his journey through leadership and advocacy.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

- Erik giving credit and thanks to both his husband, Craig, and corporate America (3:23)
- How corporate America saved Erik's life (9:08)
- The importance of inclusion initiatives for growth and development (13:05)
- Dealing with remote work as a leader (18:35)
- Communicating the value of human connection (21:55)
- Erik's message to corporate America (26:22)

Links:

- Connect with Erik on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-day-a14a0632/
- Dell Technologies - https://www.delltechnologies.com/en-us/index.htm

There's a well-known quote that says, "Nothing great comes without risk". Our guest today knows this all too well.

Christopher Gaeta has been pursuing his interests and turning them into his life's greatest passions since the age of 12.

Christopher is a venture capital associate specializing in healthcare investments for VU Venture Partners. A contributor to CNBC, U.S. News & World Report, and Yahoo Finance, Gaeta has amassed one of the largest LinkedIn networks in the country for his age. Captain of the Men's Golf team at Swarthmore College, Gaeta, is also the first student at Swarthmore to be concurrently pursuing a master's degree at the University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine while still an undergraduate. He is a Stanford University Innovation Fellow and an alumnus of The Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut.

Christopher was gracious enough to take some time to share with us his successes and lessons from life so far.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

- Christopher giving credit and thanks to his brother, Matthew, for being an outstanding role model (3:38)
- How Christopher developed a tolerance to risk at a young age (7:20)
- Christopher's early goals in life (9:30)
- Managing risk as an entrepreneur (11:33)
- Tolerance and analytical skills when investing in stocks (14:16)
- The link between golf and investing (17:17)
- Where Christopher learned the act of teamwork and leadership (21:38)
- The secret of balancing it all (26:38)
- Christopher's self gratitude (30:33)

Links:

- Connect with Christopher on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/christophergaeta/
- Gaeta Sports Management - https://gaetasportsmgt.com/

It can be hard to figure out what your dream is in life, and even harder to find the right path to take to achieve that dream.

Chris McIntyre is the American Dream Maker. Chris's destiny is to help people experience their life's wildest dreams.

Chris is the Co-Founder and Chief Experience Officer of EagleRider. EagleRider is the world's largest motorcycle rental, tour, and membership company, carrying the largest selection of new Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, BMW, Honda, Indian, and more for rent and touring. EagleRider operates from over 200 worldwide locations, leads over 100 guided and self-drive motorcycle tours including Route 66 and the Wild West, and convenient one-way motorcycle rentals, luggage storage, free parking, free use of DOT-approved helmets, excellent Club EagleRider membership benefits, and more.

In this episode, Chris McIntyre dives deep and shares with us his passions and joys in life.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

- Chris giving credit and thanks to his wife, June, for always keeping him on track (2:18)
- How June, Chris McIntyre's wife, keeps him on a steady course in life (6:56)
- How to accept, as a dreamer, that other people don't have the same dreams as you (10:17)
- The difference between luck and gratitude (13:23)
- What EagleRider is all about (15:54)
- Following our dreams leads to life's greatest gifts (21:03)
- The next journey for Chris (24:42)
- Chris's bike of choice for a ride from Anchorage to Seattle (34:00)
- A story about destiny (36:15)
- Chris's message to June (43:37)

Links:

- Connect with Chris on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-mcintyre-31677b3/
- EagleRider - https://www.eaglerider.com/

The ebb and flow of life is something we all are subjected to. Like the tides of the ocean or the phases of the moon, things in life naturally come and go.

Lynne Capozzi is no stranger to life's ebb and flow.

Lynne is the Chief Marketing Officer at Acquia and one of their boomerang stories, first serving as Acquia CMO in 2009. Lynne left Acquia in 2011 to pursue her nonprofit work full-time. She returned to Acquia in late 2016 to lead the marketing organization into its next stage of growth. Apart from work, Lynne is on the board of directors at the Boston Children’s Hospital Trust and runs a nonprofit through the hospital.

Lynne was generous enough to share with us her boomerang story and her passion for community.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

- Lynne giving credit and thanks to her two life long best friends (3:00)
- Lynne's experience being a "boomerang" at Acquia (5:32)
- How Lynne got involved in the nonprofit sector (7:14)
- How to balance a job with nonprofit work (11:50)
- Giving the way you want to give (13:46)
- Acting like a storyteller not a salesperson (16:46)
- How to protect ourselves from going back to the pre-COVID times (18:25)
- What's on the horizon for Lynne (19:40)
- The importance of open and honest communication (21:28)
- Gratitude and it's power over fear and negativity (24:39)

Links:

- Connect with Lynne on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnecapozzi/
- Boston Children's Hospital - https://www.childrenshospital.org/
- Acquia - https://www.acquia.com/

We all have ideas that make up our life's dream. But turning those aspirations into reality is the tricky part.

John Miller is a master of making dreams come to life.

John is CEO of Cali Group, a holding company focused on using new technologies to transform the restaurant and retail industries. Cali Group owns a global QSR restaurant chain, CaliBurger, and has major equity positions in Dive afDiliated technology companies (Super League Gaming, FunWall, Miso Robotics, PopID, and Kitchen United). Prior to founding Cali Group in 2011, John was an early employee at Arrowhead Pharmaceuticals (NADAQ: ARWR). John is currently serving
as CEO at PopID.

John gratefully shared with us about his family and work life and how he put his vision into existence.

Listen to this episode and learn about:

- John giving credit and thanks to his ex-wife, Caroline (2:34)
- How John finds balance co-parenting through a pandemic (3:38)
- John's strategy for combining his family life with his work life (5:11)
- How to help children develop a passion for business (7:55)
- The importance of human interaction in business (12:52)
- The innovation of Kitchen United (16:30)
- What excites John (22:08)
- Closing remarks from John Miller (29:04)

Links:

- Connect with John on Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-miller-63282314a/

- The CaliGroup - http://thecaligroup.com/