You’ve got the business, the car, the boat, the house. You’re blessed with a great family, friends, access to more than your wildest dreams. But something is missing. Something is gnawing at you. If this sounds familiar, you may be in need of “soul fulfillment,” which is what Host Chris Schembra’s guest on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times has provided thousands of people. At his Rythmia Life Advancement Center in Costa Rica, Founder & CEO Gerry Powell offers comprehensive plant-based medicine retreats. The modalities work at a deep level to help remove shame, fear, trauma and the anger that fuels – and is a downfall for – so many hyper-successful people. You’ll learn about Gerry’s transformational journey and how he stepped away from the multimillion-dollar serial IPO lifestyle he thought would bring him happiness – but that instead left him profoundly empty and suicidal. Working with plant-based shamanic techniques opens up new pathways to self-acceptance and compassion. It’s a journey that 97% of Rythmia participants describe as nothing short of a “miracle,” a source of relief and revelation that transcends our ingratitude, confusion and old, unhealed wounding. Most of all, says Gerry, people leave his one-week retreats with an entirely new regard for life: “I made it out of sheer perseverance and brutality, but there are so many other ways to do it and feel different.” You’re invited to explore and see your soul’s fulfillment in a completely new way!

More information about the medically licensed plant medicine and transformational retreat experience offered at Rythmia is available at this link, along with a video about Gerry’s very personal journey to wellness (here).

If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience or subscribe to our newsletter, please visit this link.

Click hereto hear more fascinating conversations with Fortune 500 CEOs, professional athletes and entertainerswho have shared their human stories on Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• When the Bucket Doesn’t Feel Full: Why Gerry wants to reach out to successful entrepreneurs who very often feel something missing and don’t understand what or why.
• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to – or that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? So many people, but Shaman Gina was pivotal.
• The Gift of Perspective: How plant medicine can help reveal to us the ways in which even those who hurt us are of help in our lives – even when we don’t see it.
• Sections in Chris’s book that are relevant to plant medicine:
  • Connect the Dots Backwards: About gratitude as a link to our past.
  • Struggles into Benefits: About the science behind “grateful processing.”
• Feeling the Feelings: How a lifetime of numbing and other corrosive emotional coping mechanisms turned around only after Gerry was able to embrace a shamanic experience with plant-based medicine.
• Repairing the Fraction: Gerry turned his life over to healing, creating a unique retreat space at @Rythmia in Costa Rica, changing the lives of more than 14,000 seekers.
• Coming from Ingratitude: How a hypervigilant “brute” approach to the pursuit of goals yields only more anger, shame, guilt, regret.
• Plant Medicine: It’s a conduit to compassion, self-love, wisdom and generosity that enables us to be collaborative, empathetic, curious leaders.
• Knowing When You’re Ready: Plant medicine comes into focus when we are ready to put the pieces together and open ourselves to transformation.
• The Comeback Story: Rythmia is about taking people out of their hole, to the brink and back from despair to a “miracle.”
• Joining the Tribe: Why plant medicine work of the type Gerry practices offers hyper-achievers a place to reconnect, work through shame and guilt and find wholeness in a safe community environment.

QUOTABLE

• “It’s the perfect time to be in this work as the world is waking up that there is a greater human potential out there.” (Chris)

• “There are people who help pull you towards your higher self and people who hurt you who keep pushing you towards your higher self.” (Gerry)

• “Gratitude is about looking into the past and being grateful for all the steps that took you to where you are today – the good and the bad.” (Chris)

• “Once you die you can actually live life without the fear of death, which makes you really want to be more than anything a beneficial presence here on earth.” (Gerry)

• “The secret to success and happiness is not necessarily a new go-to-market strategy, not a higher intellect or new network … It’s actually to look inside yourself and be at peace with who you are.” (Chris)

• “Very few of us who are hyper-successful were raised in the right way. There’s a reason those folks are in the one-tenth of one percent. And it’s not because everything was nice and tidy.” (Gerry)

• “Guilt and shame and regret are extremely lonely emotions and the thing you think you should do is not talk about it. But it’s actually the opposite: Confront it, talk about it and forgive yourself. Plant medicine really helps you do that.” (Chris)

• “The obstacles you’ve overcome – the shame, guilt and trauma you feel right now – are the best parts about you because true human connection and belonging do not occur when our lives appear to be perfect.” (Chris)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• More about the global leadership community YPO at this link.
• About "Grateful Processing," a concept developed by Prof. Phillip Watkins of Eastern Washington University.
• "The Magic of Thinking Big," by David J. Schwartz, PhD.
• About Michael Beckwith’s Agape Spiritual Center.
• More about author Kurt Vonnegut’s "Six Emotional Arcs of Storytelling."

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Gerry is Founder and CEO of Rythmia, an all-inclusive, luxury, medically licensed plant medicine center in Guanacaste, Costa Rica. His singular goal is to serve guests and help each individual get their Miracle.

FOLLOW GERRY:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | TWITTER|INSTAGRAM

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS

These are bumpy times economically and for many of us it’s a period of professional redefinition. What path are we on and is it the career we truly desire? How can we best showcase our skill sets and the value-add we bring? Host Chris Schembra’s guest on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times has a methodology that focuses on these questions and much more. Loren Greiff, Founder & President at PortfolioRocket, has developed a framework that’s applicable across industry sectors as well as the many phases of our career development. It’s as much about defining our own core values and the expertise we offer as it is identifying the workplace culture best suited to our fundamental vision. Loren shares her proprietary four-step process for reimagining – and bringing to reality – a job that feels like exactly the right fit. You’ll come away inspired to redefine what you bring to the table and leverage your network – most especially those 2nd, 3rd and 4th degree contacts that hold far more promise than you might imagine! The market right now is fluid, but the one thing that remains consistent always, says Loren, is the importance of being fully ourselves and clear about what we have to contribute: “This is not about contorting yourself and playing Cirque du Soleil with your career,” says Loren, who also hosts Career Blast in a Half. “This is about really advocating and treating yourself as somebody who is going to transform an organization.”

If you’re ready to retool your career trajectory, now is the time to book a discovery call with Loren, which you can do at this link. You’ll also find inspiration and wisdom in her podcast, Career Blast in a Half.

If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience or subscribe to our newsletter, please visit this link.

Click hereto hear more fascinating conversations with Fortune 500 CEOs, professional athletes and entertainerswho have shared their human stories on Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be and why? No doubt or hesitation – Eileen Jones, a high school English teacher who was the first person to acknowledge Loren’s writing talent and develop her voice. Cheers to her!
• Yes, And: What enabled Loren to be both an outlier and standard-bearer; perform as a maverick while also maintaining impeccable dignity.
• Research shows that thought leaders are regarded as having two things:
  • Authenticity.
  • Information to share of value to others.
• Applying the Methodology: How Loren’s framework has proven elastic enough to adapt easily across the full range of industry sectors, from legal to ops to HR to creative.
• Shedding the Cloak: What prompted Loren to break with the hiring/recruitment industry status quo in order to establish a creative alternative model.
• Sheltering: About putting a repeatable process in place for migrating out of blocked, unhappy workplace situations.
• Loren’s Four-Step Proprietary Process:
  • Step 1: Get Clear!
    • Ask yourself what you’ve been doing and why.
    • Determine your core values, the benchmark for evaluating opportunities going forward.
    • Establish how people are going to find you via 15-20 keywords relevant to your skill set .
    • Identify 10-15 companies that meet your ideal criteria.
    • Showcase specific problems you’ve solved or successes you’ve had.
    • Create boundaries around the conditions under which you want to meet.
  • Step 2: All about Your Assets!
    • Reimagine LinkedIn as more than a profile. It needs to convert interest and generate activity/connections.
    • Create content – which includes strategically commenting on other people’s posts. Join conversations!
    • Develop marketing materials with effective (timely) messaging.
    • Design collateral (visual and written) that is accessible.
  • Step 3: Networking with strangers!
    • Reach out to 2nd, 3rd and 4th degree links – which are going to be your more useful allies in finding a new niche.
    • Formulate pitches that will demonstrate preparation and initiative.
    • Learn how to ask sharper, more mind-blowing questions.
  • Step 4: Do your homework (aka Sniff Testing)!
    • Perform due diligence on your prospective employer.
    • Ensure that onboarding and your 30/60/90-day plan are in place.
    • Keep eyes and ears open for unexpected leads or connections.
    • Scan the landscape for business challenges to which you can bring your vision, expertise and solutions.
• Shout-Out for Eileen Jones: Thank you for your example, bravery, wit, class – all the known and unknown gifts you’ve given Loren over the years!

QUOTABLE

• “Being a rebel can be blended with a lot of discernment, decorum and the ability to be kind and loving and just a really wonderful person.” (Loren)

• While it’s not without its merits, the whole industry of hiring and recruiting was just broken. It was a calling for me that you are either going to be part of a continuous problem or you are going to create a different kind of solution.” (Loren)

• “I realized that if I was going to launch a business it had to solve a big problem – a problem so relevant that it resonates with anyone in the job search process.” (Loren)

• “If you don’t know how to navigate forward in your career, you need to have a system that is rinseable and repeatable (because) with the churn rate this will happen over and over and over again.” (Loren)

• “At some point in life when we realize we’re miserable, we either continue the same patterns and getting the same jobs … or we take a pause and a new approach.” (Chris)

• “The real transformation happens when you are developing relationships with 2nd, 3rd, 4th degree connections, which are known as your weaker ties. The weak links are your stronger ties.” (Loren)

• “The hidden job market is available to every single one of us … and can come through multiple areas – content, conversation, somebody standing in line at the post office. You don’t know so you have to keep your eyes and ears open.” (Loren)

• “This is not about contorting yourself and playing Cirque du Soleil with your career. This is about really advocating and treating yourself as somebody who is going to transform an organization.” (Loren)

• “You’ve got to figure out the unique problem that you can solve … You want to really know and be able to articulate what that problem is and what it will change.” (Loren)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• Seneca’s Letter 13 on “groundless fears” can be found here.
• More about Stanford's study: "Strength Through Weak Ties" by Mark Granovetter as featured in "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"
• "Personal Socrates: Questions That Will Upgrade Your Life from Legends & World-Class Performers," by Marc Champagne.
• Learn about the podcast Big Questions with Cal Fussman.
• More about the marketing and branding maestro, Seth Godin, available here.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Loren Grieff’s career took off in New York as a VP at J. Walter Thompson. For the past decade+ she has established herself as a top performer recognized for a unique ability to serve demanding clients, identify talent unicorns and drive excellence in the industry. PortfolioRocket is the culmination of more than 25 years of corporate design and marketing positions across global agencies, corporate in-house teams, creative staffing and management consulting.

FOLLOW LOREN:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | PODCAST

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS

This episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times issues an unmistakable call to action: Join the crusade for workplace openness and compassion! Host Chris Schembra’s guest, Geoff McDonald, is explaining the business and moral case for making mental health integral to our corporate cultures. Why? Because beyond fostering top performance and competitive advantage, it saves lives. As a keynote speaker and business transformation consultant with decades of HR leadership at Unilever, Geoff is uniquely positioned to destigmatize the mental health challenges that are all too common in today’s noisy world. Having navigated a diagnosis of anxiety-fueled depression, he understands the paralyzing impacts and basic ingredients for restoring equilibrium. His experience was painful and frightening but, as Geoff shares, it was also an invitation to enable change and human connection. You’ll learn through this conversation how a combination of unconditional love and willingness to be vulnerable ultimately empowered Geoff, a UK-based native of South Africa, to open a global dialogue around mental health in the workplace. “Too often we have not focused on the concept of the health and energy of our people as a critical enabler of performance,” says Geoff. But we can reject stigma and isolation! Join us as Geoff outlines the steps we can take to bring more gratitude, kindness, quality of life and bottom-line results to our workplaces!

If you want to be further inspired by Geoff’s perspective on mental health and wellbeing as key indicators for thriving workplace cultures, check out his powerful TedX Talk, "Let's Talk About Mental Health."

If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience or subscribe to our newsletter, please visit this link.

Click here to hear more fascinating conversations with Fortune 500 CEOs, professional athletes and entertainers who have shared their human stories about Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or enough thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? It has to be mom, in recognition of the unconditional she provided as Geoff’s baseline.
• Midnight, January 25, 2008: How a massive panic attack on the eve of his daughter’s 13th birthday triggered debilitating anxiety, a diagnosis and a transformational choice.
• The Power of Love: About the curative effects of both embracing his humanity and accepting the love Geoff’s family and friends offered through a dark passage.
• Four Ingredients that Healed Geoff’s Anxiety-Fueled Depression:
  • Getting a concrete diagnosis that integrated various symptoms.
  • Being authentic and forthright about the feelings he was experiencing.
  • Trusting the credibility and respect he’d built over 20 years at Unilever.
  • Working for a compassionate leader who had experience dealing with mental illness within his circle of family and friends.
• How Geoff empowered himself – and others – through openness and vulnerability.
• Common Conditions: Why depression, anxiety and other mental health challenges are just part of being human in the world today.
• Implementing the Cure: Why purpose is integral to creating workplaces that are healthy.
• About a Finite Resource: How pervasive burnout and pernicious stress erode the energy we need to fuel our teams and move mountains.
• Making Mental Health and Wellbeing a Strategic Priority:
  • Supports and energizes workers – a key ingredient for workplace success.
  • Enhances people’s lives – which is simply the right thing to do.
  • Yields performance metrics – that support leadership objectives.
• Why actively de-stigmatizing mental health at an organizational level cultivates psychological safety, retention and potentially saves lives.
• Chris Captures the Alchemy: About the combination of openness and cushion of unconditional love that supported Geoff’s recovery and fuel his mission today.
• In closing, please join this crusade by doing three things:
  • Reflect on (and get curious about) your own relationship to mental health and ask: Is it one of intolerance or true compassion?
  • Keep the conversation going. The more of us who are candidly discussing mental health, the greater the de-stigmatization.
  • When you’re ready, consider sharing your story, which is like sending a small lifeboat out into the ocean of people now suffering in silence and feeling alone.

QUOTABLE

• “The purpose-driven work that we do is very tiring … But every time I talk to (Geoff) the energy is real, I feel it in every bone in my body and it inspires me to do greater good for our world.” (Chris)

• “That sense of unconditional love – and how powerful that can be … is so important.” (Geoff)

• “The decision I took was that I wouldn’t be burdened by the stigma associated with (mental) illness and that empowered and liberated me.” (Geoff)

• “A sense of love and a sense of hope were probably the two most powerful ingredients in my recovery ... Those two emotions kept me going.” (Geoff)

• “I am not good at masking my feelings. It’s just who I am and – you talk about gratitude – I am so thankful that my personality is ‘what you see is what you get.’ ” (Geoff)

• “An expression of your vulnerability just makes you more human and allows for deeper, more meaningful connection between two human beings.” (Geoff)

• “If overall health and wellbeing is a critical enabler of performance, then why don’t you make it one of your strategic (business) priorities? Why don’t you create workplaces … that will enhance the lives of people working there?” (Geoff)

• “Too often we have not focused on the concept of the health and energy of our people as a critical enabler of performance.” (Geoff)

• “It’s time to step up bigger and think of the purpose and legacy that you’re leaving with the people that surround you ... the energy and connection and social wellbeing.” (Chris)

• “Sometimes just being more open to receiving love from others is the first step to your own healing.” (Chris)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• About Alastair Campbell, podcast host and communications strategist.
• More information about the WorkHuman Live Conference, where Geoff will be a keynote speaker, from April 17-20, 2023 in San Diego.
• Geoff’s Tedx talk "Let's Talk About Mental Health."

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Geoff McDonald is now best known as a global advocate, campaigner and consultant who is passionate about addressing the stigma of mental ill health in workplaces, and about helping organizations embed purpose as a key driver of business performance. Prior to this he was the Global VP of Human Resources for Unilever. In 2008 he was diagnosed with anxiety fueled depression, recovery from which led him to discover a new personal purpose. And in 2014 he left his role with Unilever to devote his time, energy and expertise to ending the stigma of depression and anxiety in the workplace. He tells his powerful story to audiences around the globe, knowing first-hand that talking about mental health saves lives.

FOLLOW GEOFF:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | YOUTUBE| TWITTER

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS

Have you transcended the transactional? Host Chris Schembra’s guest on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times embodies the abundance that flows from giving without the constant expectation of receiving in return. Galen Hair, a highly successful plaintiff’s attorney, speaker, author and podcaster, has built his practice around a purpose-driven approach to both law and service. The outcome? Prosperity, yes. But yet more importantly Galen and his team at Insurance Claim HQ are working for clients they believe in arguing cases with merit. They come from a place of gratitude and, as Galen explains, “I find that when you give something without expecting anything you tend to get much better stuff in return.” In this case, we’re talking about the huge impacts his firm of 119 employees with more than $30 million in annual revenue is making on behalf of 10,000 clients. You’ll learn how his involvement with Hurricane Katrina clean-up in New Orleans foreshadowed the meaning-infused work Galen would go on to do as an attorney representing those who have been wronged and evolving his industry’s mindset through platforms such as his Level Up Claims Summit, the nation’s No. 1 property casualty conference, which takes place this year on June 9th in New Orleans. Click here to learn more and register!

If you’d like to connect with Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience or subscribe to our newsletter, please visit this link.

Click here to hear more fascinating conversations with Fortune 500 CEOs, professional athletes and entertainers who have shared their human stories on Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or enough thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? How a music teacher at his Texas public school went above and beyond to impact Galen’s life artistically, emotionally and financially.
• Giving for the Sake of Giving: Why life can be looked at like a series of bank accounts from which we draw and replenish at any given time – and often to the benefit of all.
• In the Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: About Galen’s intimate involvement with both the horror and generosity that rocked New Orleans – diving in with no real skill set (he’d been training as an opera singer) but a huge amount of heart.
• Embracing Purpose: How Galen refocused his career, creating a legal “practice with a purpose” that combined his desire to do good with an ability to earn a secure income.
• How to Practice Law with Integrity:
  • Take cases that make sense for you – not your bank account.
  • Remember that you’re a lawyer, but also an individual.
  • Take cases for people and causes in which you believe.
  • Don’t worry about the rest of it!
• Staying on Task: Even when building a venture feels challenging, it’s easier to remain focused and disciplined when the big picture feels right.
• Timing and the Universe: Galen recalls how a life-changing case fell into his lap in the space of a day in which he’d suffered an acute panic attack about his firm’s viability.
• Building Community: How Galen’s Level Up Claims Summit and podcast have helped people within the legal industry connect and inspire gratitude among one another.
• The Proverbial Silver Lining:
  • Remember that seemingly negative things can yield positive impacts.
  • Recognize tools available to meet challenges today versus in the past.
  • Use gratitude as a vehicle to leverage lessons learned.
• Parting Thought: Why Galen holds special admiration and gratitude for Chris, who has been there at pivotal moments to help him with the mindset he needed to adopt!
• The Bookkeeping of Benefits: Chris honors the act of kindness and vote of faith Galen placed in him and his company in the midst of Covid19.

QUOTABLE

• “I came from a tumultuous family environment and one of the things that I discovered as an adult is that my family’s survival was not an accident. We were really lucky to have people help us out.” (Galen )

• “We’re often really guilty of paying attention to our financial bank account and not the people we love or the things we have around us.” (Galen)

• “The good news about gratitude is that it doesn’t always have to be given back. Sometimes it can be paid forward.” (Chris)

• “You can pump up that bank account as fat as you want it but you will not be fulfilled if what you’re doing isn’t bringing you some sense of purpose.” (Galen)

• “As a leader, take care of yourself as much as what you are building. People are what’s behind the business.” (Chris)

• “I find that when you give something without expecting anything you tend to get much better stuff in return.” (Galen)

• “You have in some way, shape or form – intentionally or unintentionally – helped me adopt a mindset that was going to be necessary for what was coming next.” (Galen)

• “The people on your team, the people that you serve, are counting on you to lead with integrity, hope, optimism and connection. Be there for them when they need it most!” (Chris)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• Bader Scott Injury Lawyers in Atlanta.
• More about Mike and Jessica Magill’s Crisp coaching program.
• More about the Student Hurricane Network.
• Learn more or purchase tickets for this year’s Level Up Claims Summit.
• Stoic quotes about the peril of ingratitude from Lucius Seneca.
• The work of gratitude researcher/author Adam Grant, featured in his book "Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success."
• "Lonely at the Top: The High Cost of Men's Success," by Thomas E. Joyner.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Galen M. Hair, an aggressive and relentless litigator, is licensed in multiple states and boasts clients from around the world. He focuses not only on the litigation in front of the client, but the long-term personal and business effects that his clients’ issues will cause. A best-selling author, he has already helped thousands of policyholders navigate their own insurance claims. He’s a national speaker on all areas of insurance recovery and has won numerous accolades, stays active in non-profits and the community at large. He also is an Assistant Examiner for the Louisiana Bar Exam in Constitutional Law.

FOLLOW GALEN:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | CONFERENCE| PODCAST

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS

Do you know your four key quadrants and how to bring them into balance? On this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times, Host Chris Schembra welcomes back best-selling author Robert Glazer, who is taking us inside his Elevate framework. As the founder of Acceleration Partners, he and his team provide clients a unique framework through which to optimize the core capacities foundational for healthy, thriving enterprises. You’ll come away from this lively give-and-take with concrete steps for restoring life elements that are “out of whack” and in need of more attention. “It requires deep self-awareness and real authenticity to be the type of leader you actually are,” says our guest. “If I don’t understand my values and why they are my values, I’m showing up as a completely different type of leader.” Don’t miss pivotal insights from Robert’s most recent book, "Elevate Your Team: Empower Your Team To Reach Their Full Potential and Build A Business That Builds Leaders," and frontlines perspectives on the leadership challenges we’re facing daily, both personally and organizationally. Is it time you got your spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical capacities into alignment? Sign up for Robert’s on-demand course (use code GRATITUDE to receive $20 off). And once you’ve done your core work, let us know about the values that define you!

You can hear lots more about how to push your personal limits by listening in to Robert Glazer’s The Elevate Podcast. Or purchase his latest book, "Elevate Your Team: Empower Your Team To Reach Their Full Potential and Build A Business That Builds Leaders."

Want to stay in touch with what Robert’s up to? You can receive his weekly Friday Forward newsletter, click here.

If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience or subscribe to our newsletter, please visit this link.

Click hereto hear more fascinating conversations with Fortune 500 CEOs, professional athletes and entertainerswho have shared their human stories on Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• Because he’s a repeat guest. Chris slightly tweaks the pod’s signature gratitude question to ask: How has gratitude been foundational to Robert’s “other-ish” orientation in life.
• From the Jump: Acknowledging the value and benefits we receive from the people who come into our lives and the relational elements that cement true success in life.
• About Robert’s Writing Method: Interweaving the spiritual, emotional, intellectual and physical elements that are the framework for his myriad best-selling books.
• State of Mind: If you’re constantly coming into conflict or dealing with negativity, it’s probably time to ask: Are you bringing the best version of yourself?
• Rejection as a Catalyst: How the “Valley of Death” shapes ultimate business outcomes – if we adopt the tools necessary to adapt to and navigate the terrain.
• Reframing Growth: Why it’s important for leaders today to figure out how to bring their entire team along through waves of expansion that are humane and sustainable.
• Robert’s Four Core Competencies to Elevate Organizational Cultures:
  • Spiritual Capacity: Understanding bedrock strengths and values.
  • Intellectual Capacity: Improving your ability to think, learn, plan and execute on goals. It’s your personal operating system!
  • Physical Capacity: Tending to personal performance and optimized well-being.
  • Emotional Capacity: Cultivating strong relationships and how you react to outside individuals and circumstances.
• Finding Your Values: About Robert’s online course and how it expands our spiritual vocabulary and capacity.
  • Examining the role of trust.
  • Bringing awareness to core narratives that drive leadership styles.
  • Finding solutions that reinforce psychological safety in the workplace.
  • Take the free Four Capacities Quiz or use cod GRATITUDE to get $20 off the his on-demand core values course.
• The Role of Vulnerability: How sharing personal stories and normalizing our common humanity empowers teams to look inward, get honest and make necessary adjustments.
• The Growth Mindset: When we explore, attune to and build our core capacities our leadership abilities expand in ways that enable us to be agile and flexible.
• Shifting the Story: How developing the capacity (and helping our teams) to process negative autobiographical experiences turns those negatives into powerful positives.
• Parting Thoughts:
  • Remember to model the importance in today’s hybrid world of being intentional about creating breaks and separation between work and home.
  • A vacation is allowed to be a vacation. Take a real break!
  • Consider using delayed delivery to manage the flow of email – for your benefit and that of others up and down the organization.
  • Don’t forget that setting boundaries empowers everyone!
  • Maintain not just a work-life balance but a life in balance – spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically.

QUOTABLE

• “I think gratitude is an orientation … It’s outside of ourselves, thinking about what we can do for others.” (Robert)
• “If you’re focusing (only) on internal, self-reflective things, you’re forgetting about the most important part of humanity, which is to be in relation and connection with and acknowledge the benefits of others.” (Chris)
• "When we show up as an exhausted, diminished version of ourselves, we’re not really helping anyone else.” (Robert)
• “If you’re meeting a**holes every hour of the day, you’re probably an a**hole. It’s your state of mind. How we feel changes our perceptions in all those interactions with others.” (Robert)
• “The whole aspect of capacity-building within an organization is learning, evolving and future-oriented.” (Robert)
• “Leaders are having to wake up and say, ‘You know what? We can’t do the growth-at-all-costs model anymore because we forgot about our people.’ ” (Chris)
• “A big piece of organizational emotional capacity is psychological safety.” (Robert)
• “It requires deep self-awareness and real authenticity to be the type of leader you actually are … If I don’t understand my values and why they are my values, I’m showing up as a completely different type of leader.” (Robert)
• “We make mistakes. We review them. We don’t make them again. We focus on the things we control, not the things we don’t control.” (Robert)
• “What’s cool is that emotional capacity is how you react to challenging situations. It’s your emotional mindset. It comes as resilience, hope, pride, self-confidence, optimism in the face of really difficult circumstances.” (Chris)
• “When you can assign a list of positive benefits to a negative autobiographical experience and give gratitude to it and make it part of your story, it becomes the best thing that ever happened to you.” (Chris)
• “Don’t allow a focus on external variables … If a sales team lost a deal, it should not be about the competitor’s price. It should be about how we showed up, were we prepared, what was the feedback? Things that you can control.” (Robert) 
• “It takes a great level of discernment to look within and acknowledge the things that you can actually control and should change. That takes wisdom.” (Chris)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• Find all of Robert’s books at this link.
• Learn more about the Anatomy of Peace at The Arbinger Institute.
• Discover Robert’s course on expanding core capacities here.
• Find out more about Alcoholics Anonymous’s Serenity Prayer.
• About "Grateful Processing," a concept developed by Prof. Phillip Watkins of Eastern Washington University.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Robert Glazer is a serial entrepreneur, award-winning executive, bestselling author, and keynote speaker. Founder and Board Chairman of global partnership marketing agency Acceleration Partners, he has significant experience in digital monetization, affiliate & partner marketing, customer acquisition, e-commerce, and direct-to-consumer marketing. He has served as a board member and advisor to many high-growth companies in the e-commerce and marketing verticals. Bob shares his ideas and insights via Friday Forward, a popular weekly inspirational newsletter that reaches more than 300,000 individuals and business leaders across 60+ countries. He is a #1 Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and international bestselling author of five books: Elevate, Friday Forward, Performance Partnerships, Moving to Outomes, and How to Thrive in the Virtual Workplace. He has also been columnist for Inc., Forbes, and Harvard Business Review, and hosts the Elevate Podcast, a top podcast for entrepreneurship in more than 20 countries.

 

FOLLOW ROBERT:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | INSTAGRAM| PODCAST

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS

Dear You! On this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times an immigration activist and legal powerhouse teaches us how to write letters to the selves we intend to become. Hillary Walsh, President and Founder of New Frontier Immigration Law, explains how this simple tool can help us determine – and then manifest – the things we want to be, do and have. It starts with articulating a vision – then identifying the week-by-week, month-by-month steps necessary to make it a reality. It’s exactly this kind of focused goal-setting that has driven Hillary’s growing legal advisory firm and foundation. You’ll learn how she transcended childhood abuse, as well as stints in foster care and lockup, to become a crusader for the rights of those without a voice – victims of domestic violence, human trafficking and a broken immigration system. Gratitude is at the root of Hillary’s ambitious goal to empower marginalized people – the core mission that animates her whole team at New Frontier Immigration Law on even the toughest of days. Says Hillary: “The only way out of a ditch is not to dig more. It’s not to have someone pull you out. It’s up to you to levitate out.” Now there’s a thought for your next motivational letter!

Did you try our 60-second letter-writing exercise? If you’d like to share the thoughts you composed while listening to this episode, we’d love for you to send them to us via this contact.

The short documentary at this link will give you the overview on Hillary’s work and the passion she brings to immigration law. Click here if you’re interested in learning more about the goal-setting retreats we discussed.

If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience or subscribe to our newsletter, please visit this link.

Click hereto hear more fascinating conversations with Fortune 500 CEOs, professional athletes and entertainerswho have shared their human stories on Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or enough thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? Her longtime friend Lisa, a beauty pageant mentor who supported Hillary as a feisty teen-age competitor in pursuit of scholarship money. Decades later, it stands as “the most authentic demonstration of friendship and love” Hillary has ever known.
• Lonely at the Top: Bringing the intensity required to achievement and innovation can predispose judgment, projection and high expectations that not everyone shares.
• How Hillary Stays Committed: Ongoing goal-setting and targeted plans are key, as well as detailed letters to her future self that articulate concrete goals.
• New Frontier University: The platform, which will offer revolutionary access to education and skills, launches in the next six months.
• A Letter to Myself in Sixty Seconds:
  • Investigate/Determine the things you want to be, do and have.
  • Who do you want on your team five years from now?
  • Imagine the gift you want to have cultivated five years from now.
  • Include specific data and personal targets, then build backwards month by month, week by week.
  • Speak your desires directly to the universe.
  • Put it in writing: “Dear (Me), It’s 2028 and I’m so glad I’ve been able to x,y and z.”
• New Frontier’s Big-Picture Goals: 
  • To serve and support those who have experienced domestic violence and human trafficking.
  • To compensate for shortcomings in the social welfare system.
  • To provide options and a voice to undocumented people who are victims.
  • To create a new line of defense for those who have suffered trafficking.
• Hillary’s Ups & Downs:
  • Challenge: Hiring and identifying partners has been an “intense learning journey.”
  • Challenge: Losing confidence when senior hires “tank your leadership culture.”
  • Victory: The funny, irreverent, high-energy team she has assembled.
• A Great Fix for Down Moments: Grab a piece of paper and jot down three things you have to celebrate and ask others around you to do the same. Try creating a dedicated Slack channel! You’ll feel gratitude shift the energy!
• Parting Thought: If you feel like your team isn’t working for you, then it’s time to stop and take stock. Whenever you think your people are your problem, it’s because you’re out of alignment with your own core values!

QUOTABLE

• “I hate pretending because authenticity is one of my core values.” (Hillary)
• “I’ve accepted that my life is going to be very out of balance. I think seeking balance is the enemy of innovation and achievement.” (Hillary)
• “I’m very dissatisfied, which is why I want to change so much and make a really lasting impact that outlives me.” (Hillary)
• “I don’t need people to know my name when I’m gone, but I need the shit that I did now to matter in three generations.” (Hillary)
• “You’re fighting for something really, really, really big and meeting resistance. And that resistance comes in the form of loneliness … self-doubt … Imposter Syndrome … pleasing others and challenging your ability to do what you need to get done.” (Chris)
• “As I started figuring out the ‘what’ I wanted to do, the ‘who’ that was going to make it happen started showing up in my life.” (Hillary)
• “We get so caught up in the minutiae. We are very short term-oriented people, but we can pause and broaden our perspectives.” (Chris)
• “Long-term thinking helps us to remember in the short term why we’re doing things. It’s a reminder of core values.” (Hillary)
• “Gratitude is not just about being grateful for positive things ... It can be used to help pick you up out of a hole, to find positive benefits in negative autobiographical experience. It’s a tool for resilience, self-confidence, self-efficacy.” (Chris)
• “You think you’ve got it all figured out and then your business levels your ego in this exhilarating but exhausting kind of way.” (Hillary)
• “The only way out of a ditch is not to dig more. It’s not to have someone pull you out. It’s for you to levitate out.” (Hillary)
• “Money won’t solve every problem, but having the comfort of knowing you consistently have enough and that you can change your trajectory … is a gamechanger.” (Hillary)
• “In order to see the change you want to see in others, first you have to make change within yourself … It’s not about changing others. It’s about clearing up your side of the street.” (Chris)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• "Lonely at the Top: The High Cost of Men's Success," by Thomas E. Joiner.
• About The One Thing goal-setting retreats and the book by the same name.
• View Will Smith’s Academy Award-winning performance in "King Richard."
• "The Long Game: How to Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World," by Dorie Clark.
• More about Marty Seligman’s Theory of Positive Psychology.
• "Find Your Freedom: Financial Freedom for a Life on Purpose," by Jamie P. Hopkins.
• About The Arbinger Institute’s "Anatomy of Peace."

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Hillary Walsh helps immigrants live free in the United States. Through her experiences of suffering child abuse, being put in foster care and serving a stint in lockup, Hillary became committed to fighting for the rights of others. In the past 10+ years of practicing immigration law, she’s represented clients before the U.S. Supreme Court, the Supreme Court of Nevada, the Ninth, Sixth, and Fifth Circuit Courts of Appeals, the Board of Immigration Appeals and immigration courts nationwide. Hillary is also a mother of four, a military wife, a law professor, a TEDx speaker, and an award-winning immigration lawyer. 

FOLLOW OUR GUEST:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | INSTAGRAM| YOUTUBE

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS

What is it about building wealth that is so fraught? As we learn on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times, our relationships with money are deeply rooted in narratives that map back to our childhoods and often are mired in confusion or trauma. Lifting the veil on our complex dance with financial planning, respected industry leader Jamie Hopkins, Managing Partner of Wealth Solutions at the Carson Group, is sharing with Host Chris Schembra the framework on which he has built his latest bestselling book  "Find Your Freedom: Financial Planning for a Life on Purpose." Through the course of 23 carefully choreographed and info-packed chapters, we learn about some of the most common roadblocks to wealth building, how our personal money stories shape financial destiny and why it’s so important  to challenge patterns of thought that do not serve. This lively conversation touches on everything from the importance of selfishness to the power of community to the multidimensional nature of giving. Most importantly, Jamie underscores how truly rich, impactful lives start at the core of who we are – with what we believe we deserve. “You are worthy of great financial freedom. That is the most important thing,” says our guest, whose work is all about helping clients make the shift. “If you don’t believe that, all the other work, the investment strategy and tax tactics will be siloed off from the impact and your true meaning.” If – like so many of us – you’re stuck in scarcity, this episode is your first step towards abundance!

Did you know that we move better when we move within communities that align with our goals and support integral decision-making? Click here to get started exploring the important research and strategies featured in Jamie’s bestselling books, "Rewirement: Rewiring The Way You Think About Retirement!" and "Find Your Freedom: Financial Planning for a Life on Purpose."

If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience, please visit this link. And clickhereto listen to previous episodes of Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks – have never thought to thank – who would you give that credit and thanks to? Two new friends who came into Jamie’s life unexpectedly and without any forced ties or premeditated reasons for being in each other’s orbits.
• Find Your Freedom: About the Carson Group’s brand evolution and focus on building wealth and creating impact through a codified financial blueprinting process.
• "Find Your Freedom: Financial Planning for a Life on Purpose:"How Jamie’s latest book reflects a macroeconomic movement towards more sustainable – and human-centric – market economies and financial planning as a profession.
• The Monster of Wall Street: Jamie takes a brief look back at his work on the Bernie Madoff case and the ways in which that “complete abuse of trust” shaped his career.
• Trust Is Everything: Why good faith is essential to the healthy, collaborative advisory relationships Jamie believes must extend across the entire financial planning industry.
• It Starts With Our Stories: Jamie shares the trauma central to his childhood, a working-class upbringing upended when his father died unexpectedly in a construction accident.
• Giving As a Mask: A look at some of the complex dynamics that can occur when we dissect the motivations and compensations associated with gifts and philanthropy.
• Distinguishing How We Give:
  • As the outgrowth (very often reflexive, even non-sensical) of a habit.
  • As the communication and manifestation of a Love Language.
• Two Key Chapters:
  • Chapter 23: Celebrate (and show gratitude) for your accomplishments for continued success. It’s key to maintaining positivity and momentum.
  • Chapter 20: The Power of Community. A look at why having a network that reinforces your values and long-term goals fosters kinder lives and better decision-making.
• Parting Words of Advice: You are worthy! Even if a sense of financial scarcity lurks, you have it within your power to claim impact, meaning and value. And if you struggle with it? That’s okay, too. You are in good company!

QUOTABLE

• “Part of your personality is to help those around you succeed by challenging the system.” (Chris)
• “I like this notion of having friends that don’t rely on me for money, aren’t asking me for things and (came into my life) serendipitously.” (Jamie)
• “(At Carson Group) we noticed that people the last couple of years were starting to crave more than a spreadsheet … They were craving meaning and impact on the world.” (Jamie)
• “(You) can have a lot of success and still live in fear … and I think it’s a natural fear that a lot of people hold from a scarcity background.” (Jamie)
• “Generally speaking, everybody make selfish decisions … That doesn’t mean that there aren’t some selfless acts out there, but I think most decisions are based around this core sense of ourselves and survival.” (Jamie)
• “You’ve got to be a little bit selfish sometimes and pay yourself first so that by the end of your career you’ve received the dividends of these little selfish acts of paying yourself along the way.” (Chris)
• “It’s not about the numbers. It’s about what we are able to do … That’s what financial planning and freedom is about for most people.” (Jamie)
• “We are not just individuals on an island. We are part of a community. We crave it and actually make better decisions inside of communities.” (Jamie)
• “As we become closer to more people, we actually make more altruistic and bigger picture decisions. When we become more isolated we actually make more selfish decisions.” (Jamie)
• “You are not determined by your net worth or your intellect or the job you have or even who’s around you. Your success is determined by whether or not you can have a positive mental attitude and believe that you are worthy.” (Chris)
• “You are worthy of great financial freedom. That is the most important thing … If you don’t believe that, all the other work, investment strategy and tax tactics will be siloed off from the impact and your true meaning.” (Jamie)
• “I’ve seen a lot of people – a lot of you listeners with some of the best networks and intellect in the world – completely squander it because you didn’t believe that you were worthy of it.” (Chris)
• “A lot of you are fast-growth founders. You need to be planning for your own personal retirement, even in the midst of trying to plan on the financial well-being of your company. You need to be doing both at once.” (Chris)

RELEVANT LINKS:

• Click here for Episode #72, “Learning from Failure,” featuring Ron Carlson.
• All about the Carson Group’s “Blueprinting” process at this link.
• Check out the new Netflix docuseries about Bernie Madoff here.
• Scientific research about why "Birds Fly Faster in Flocks."

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Jamie Hopkins is the Managing Partner of Wealth Solutions at Carson Group, a national wealth management firm that offers coaching and partnership to financial advisors. A nationally recognized writer, researcher and educator, Jamie is a regular contributor for Forbes, InvestmentNews and MarketWatch. He has been published in dozens of financial, educational and legal journals, and he’s the media’s go-to expert on retirement income planning and tax law.

FOLLOW Jamie:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | TWITTER

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS

As Host Chris Schembra reminds us at the close of this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times, it’s never too late to learn something new – IF we’re willing to take a pause, step back and offer ourselves grace. And few people embody this practice more vividly than his guest, Allison Hare, who is redefining what it looks like to be a so-called late bloomer. As the host of “Late Learner,” a popular podcast (formerly known as Culture Changers) that explores what it means to open up to new things at any stage of life, she encourages us to embrace spontaneity, authenticity and the unexpected. Having grown up programmed from childhood to be hard-charging, self-supporting and financially aspirational, Allison spent many years as a highly successful sales executive. Problem was, over time, the path she was on was depleting her – and burning through her creative energy. It wasn’t easy to shake everything up and risk her secure status quo, but the outcome is undeniable. This is a woman who radiates joy and positivity. Today she is sharing that source of light by helping her clients, seminar participants and podcast listeners to get similarly unstuck. “It was an insane leap of faith when I made the decision not to make any decisions for the foreseeable future, until I could hear my own voice,” says Allison. She’s inviting us to much the same: Pause, get quiet and make space for that inner knowing and the integration of gratitude. Are you ready to celebrate not just goals achieved, but the journey itself? This conversation will give you great ideas and tips for doing exactly that!

Check out Allison’s upcoming Calm in the Chaos retreat experience or book a free discovery call with her at this link.

If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience, please visit this link. 

And click here to listen to previous episodes of Gratitude Through Hard Times, featuring Fortune 500 CEOs, Academy Award winners, Grammy Award winners, Superbowl champions and more!

KEY TOPICS:

• Love/Hate: Allison loves being a host and invites guests on her show based on a gut instinct. What she least likes? When she comes across as … less than her sharpest!
• Mirroring as a Tool to Create More Meaningful Connection: About the neurological impact that occurs when you repeat the last three words spoken by the person with whom you’re in conversation. It makes them feel authentically heard!
• Signature Question Time: If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? Herself! It feels self-indulgent but it’s true, and a source of struggle.
• Cultural reasons why we can be so resistant to feeling gratitude towards ourselves:
  • Gendered upbringing that emphasizes modesty for women.
  • Biblical emphasis on not being boastful.
  • Social norms that frown upon being “conceited.”
• I’ll-Be-Grateful-When Syndrome: By tying our ability to feel gratitude and be happy to achieving certain metrics we set for ourselves tends to undermine good feeling available to us all along the journey.
• Comparing your success to the success of others is a recipe for perpetual ingratitude.
• Allison’s Gratitude Inventory:
  • Rest, pause and reflection.
  • Taking the time and space to get quiet enough to hear her own voice.
  • Consciously detaching from deeply ingrained messages that did not serve.
  • Claiming freedom.
• The No. 1 Testimonial from Participants in Chris’s Gratitude Experience: This was a space for me to pause, reflect and connect. Clarity is self-empowering!
• Words of Wisdom: Let it be easy! Move towards places with the least resistance.
• Allison’s New Direction:
  • Her successful “Culture Changers” podcast has been rebranded “Late Learners.”
  • She’s leaning into sharing her journey out of corporate America and into self-discovery and lifelong learning.
  • The new roadmap is a work in progress whose DNA is a sense of wonder.
  • It’s all about the question: What can happen when you head in a new direction?
  • A focus on teaching herself and others to take a brand new path – or embark on no path at all and just see what comes along!
  • A sense of wonder and surprise prepares the way for unexpected delight.
• Feeling Stuck? Try This Simple Exercise: Break out of routine and instead pursue an “unplanned plan,” opening up to something new or spontaneous! (Chris and Allison share a very recent such adventure and how it lit them up!)

QUOTABLE

• “The thing that once got you in trouble is also the thing that helps you out so much – being a good mirror of what’s happening.” (Chris)

• “In my head, if I’m not further along (my entrepreneurial journey) then I don’t have a right to trust me yet … and in the process give up my own power.” (Allison)

• “What an interesting thing that we as a society as a whole are so bad at giving ourselves gratitude.” (Chris)

• “It’s very easy when you have big goals and big dreams … to measure your progress or happiness or gratitude on whether you’ve achieved that or not.” (Chris)

• “My value was truly wrapped around my productivity, my earning, my ability to stand on my own two feet without a man … and it was an insane leap of faith when I made the decision not to make any decisions for the foreseeable future, until I could hear my own voice.” (Allison)

• “One of the biggest lessons over the past (almost) year is that the harder I run, the harder I get yanked back … It’s almost like I’m trying to microwave something that requires baking.” (Allison)

• “Money and prosperity and all of those things don’t have to be exclusive to something that I hate. It’s just finding the right combination and giving myself freedom and space to figure out and listen to my body.” (Allison)

• “My mission has always been, If you feel like you’re stuck, it doesn’t mean that you have to quit your job … but it does mean taking a new path, a new pivot, a new direction.” (Allison)

RELEVANT LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• "Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended On it,"by Chris Voss.
• "Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones,"by James Clear.
• Perfect locale for an “unplanned plan”: Just Add Honey.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Allison helps Entrepreneurs, Executives, and Business Professionals Disrupt the Status Quo so that they can create a better tomorrow. She’s also a podcast host and producer, most recently at the Late Learner Podcast, which is ranked top 1.5% worldwide and was voted the Top Podcast in Atlanta Magazine of Dec 2022. She also authors the Allison's Journal blog, 

FOLLOW ALLISON:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | TWITTER|INSTAGRAM

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS

Passionate. Smart. Honest. Nice. These may not be your typically hard-charging business terms but for Chris Jackson, President at Stream Realty, they are bywords for long-term growth and success. As Host Chris Schembra’s guest on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times explains, the commercial real estate powerhouse has long prioritized a human-centric approach – with amazing results! Chris sand his team at Stream foster not only a healthy workplace culture but resilience and retention of top talent. From the most senior leadership to the most recent hire – the shared mission is all about emphasizing integrity, authenticity, family and loyalty to the brand. It’s clearly a recipe that’s working! Over the past 20 years, Chris and his team have built this privately held company into a $5.8 million revenue juggernaut with 294 million square feet of real estate under management around the nation. You’ll learn about Chris’s 25-year marriage, a partnership that exemplifies the power of unconditional support, as well as the priority he places on showcasing team members, clients and partners alike. And with his “eternal optimism,” Chris finds a silver lining in even the bumpiest of economic times. “Downturns are what hold the greatest opportunities,” he says. “If you treat downturns as an opportunity for growth and connection, you’ll build relationships that outlast any market cycle.” With its forward-looking workplace vision, Stream Realty challenges all of us to consider the power of making gratitude, empowerment and humility a core component of any business plan.

You can learn much more about Chris and what Stream Realty has to offer at this link.

If you’d like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience, please visit this link. And click hereto listen to previous episodes of Gratitude Through Hard Times. 

KEY TOPICS:

• When a Picture is Worth a Thousand Words: About the art work on display in Stream’s HQ office – created by a broker and an embodiment of the human-centric, empowering ethos Chris promotes.
• The Signature Question: If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? Chris pays tribute to Heather, his wife of 25 years and the unconditional partnership they share.
• Understanding the Narrative! About the “Six Emotional Arcs” that define a gratifying story – and in particular the perennial “back and better than before” storyline.
• About how Chris learned to turn downtimes (such as pandemic) into an opportunity to cultivate trust, resilience and ultimately growth (by standing by the team and doing the next right thing).
• Why Stream Realty has come out of Covid19 and other challenging circumstances stronger than ever. The secret sauce? Integrity and a commitment to the entire team.
• Hard Lessons Never Go to Waste: Chris shares the story of how he turned an impulsive (and, it was quickly clear, also misguided) career move into a career-defining pivot that became his 20-year journey with Stream.
• Word to the Wise: Eagerness, change and passion are great. But check the impulsivity!
• Thoughts and feelings that fuel ingratitude:
  • Anxiety.
  • Fear.
  • Guilt.
  • Anger.
  • Shame.
  • Regret.
  • Conflict.
• Thoughts and feelings that fuel gratitude:
  • Empathy.
  • Courage.
  • Compassion.
  • Curiosity.
  • Action.
  • Innovation.
• How “eternal optimism” shapes Chris’s leadership style and infuses it with:
  • Empathy.
  • Gratitude.
  • Awareness of the contributions of others.
  • Ability to celebrate and share the spotlight with others.
• About the core values (compassion, empathy and empowerment) central to the growth culture that supports a diverse group of 1,400 Stream employees nationally.
• Striking the Balance: Chris uses sports as a metaphor for knowing when to celebrate, when to regroup and how to keep the focus on an overall winning record year over year.
• Giving Up Control to Get Control: Myriad outside forces shape the real estate market, but Chris advocates taking charge of those things you can, like:
  • Your attitude.
  • How you treat one another.
  • Your effort.
• Top Tips for People Launching their Careers:
  • Find a company whose values align with your own.
  • Prioritize environments that will support growth and advancement.
  • Look for leaders who will champion and promote you.
• How Gratitude Shows Up with Stream’s Clients  and Partners: 
  • Constant awareness that without their trust and confidence, there is no Stream.
  • Long-term relationships based on reciprocal integrity and loyalty.
• About what Stream has to offer that publicly traded corporations (beholden to stockholders first) cannot in terms of prioritizing the team.
• Credit Where It’s Due: Taking note of Chris’s eagerness and the ease with which he gives praise to and calls out by name co-workers as well as customers and partners.
• What Chris is Grateful For:
  • Incredible relationships – family, friends and colleagues.
  • An opportunity to champion a company and industry he loves.
  • The journey ahead and blessings he has known along the road so far.
• In Closing: What Stream Realty and its vision offer us as we reassess today’s market, career opportunities and the pursuit of empathic, empowering workplace cultures!

QUOTABLE

• “It’s a crazy world out there … but we can hopefully inspire an attitude of curiosity, flow, innovation, so many amazing things!” (Chris S.)
• “Downturns are what hold the greatest opportunities. If you treat downturns as an opportunity for growth and connection, you’ll build relationships that outlast any market cycle.” (Chris S.)
• “We’re fortunate to be a privately owned company so we can do what we want, when we want and do right by our people. And the consequence of that was that our people … saw us do the right thing (curing pandemic) in terms of taking care of people and their families.” (Chris J.)
• “We’ve always come out of (setbacks) stronger because our people trust us more; they feel safe and the foundation we’re all standing on is that much better.” (Chris J.)
• “If you wake up and dwell on the negative, you are plagued. You are falling victim of ingratitude. If you’re waking up and appreciating the good, you are maintaining an attitude of gratitude.” (Chris S.)
• “Being a great leader is all about empathy and gratitude. Without those two characteristics, you’re not able to recognize the qualities, skills and contributions of the other members of your team.” (Chris J.)
• “That’s the thing with real estate. You can only control what you can control. There are outside forces that you have no control over. (But) you can control your attitude, how you treat one another, your effort.” (Chris J.)
• “Without our customers and partners, we would cease to exist. We would have no reason to be here … They’ve trusted us with big and important decisions.” (Chris J.)
• “This is the leader of a very large company telling you how they built a culture of recognition and appreciation – of gratitude – and how that’s really fueled a lot of their success.” (Chris S.)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• Click here to learn more about the artwork by Adam Jones, a senior VP at Stream Realty.
• More about author Kurt Vonnegut’s "Six Emotional Arcs of Storytelling."

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

With 25 years of experience in commercial real estate, Chris serves as President of Stream Realty Partners, overseeing the company’s business units and driving the growth and expansion of Stream’s businesses nationally. Stream is one of the fastest-growing commercial real estate firms in the country with offices nationwide, over 250,000,000 square feet of commercial buildings under leasing and/or management, and $3.3 billion in transaction volume annually.

FOLLOW Chris:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

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As Chris Schembra’s guest on this episode of Gratitude Through Hard Times demonstrates every day, bringing an attitude of gratitude to the sales process fosters the kinds of quality relationships that are foundational to long-term success. Alex Ridder, VP for Global Accounts at The Adecco Group in Switzerland, has helped make the $20 billion-a-year global recruitment company the powerhouse that it is by emphasizing connection. And there’s nothing squishy about it! As you’ll hear highlighted throughout the show, studies and research clearly demonstrate that emotion and promotion go hand-in-hand. Chris and Alex talk about the importance of bringing empathy into the workplace, whether through expressing appreciation for team members’ efforts or building trust relationships with clients. Alex explains why transactional sales are self-limiting and while holding space for people to explore pain points and reach out for support opens up infinite consultative possibility. Human interaction, these two gratitude gurus agree, is a key differentiator in the marketplace. In a world of automation and depersonalization, it's our ability to offer openness and trust that sets us apart – professionally as well as personally. Tune in to learn about the hard science that backs up the power of gratitude to build community, secure relationships and cement positive outcomes all the way around. “I don’t believe gratitude has a finite limit,” says Alex, who is also an Ambassador to Adecco’s Win4Youth initiative. “Interpersonal conversation creates a much more transparent and joyous conversation … which then leads to greater business outcomes.”

If you enjoyed this episode and would like to learn more about Chris and his 7:47 Virtual Gratitude Experience, please visit this link. And click here to listen to previous episodes of Gratitude Through Hard Times.

KEY TOPICS:

• If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life that you don’t give enough credit or thanks to – that you’ve never thought to thank – who would that be? While there are numerous people to thank on a regular basis, it’s his dad Rick that Alex can never thank enough. 
• Although “all about the numbers” as a sales guy, gratitude plays a prominent role in Alex’s life that can’t be quantified. It’s infinite!
• No Destination: There is no perfect thank-you note or endpoint for expressing gratitude. It’s an ongoing journey without specific metrics or obligatory reciprocity.
• Authentic emotion is a key ingredient when communicating gratitude. The practice isn’t meant to be a check-the-box, but an expression of something heartfelt and genuine.
• It’s a Fact: It feels good to give and to receive gratitude. Most people overestimate potential awkwardness and underestimate the good feelings they’ll experience.
• Gratitude in Groups: In addition to the pleasures of giving and receiving, an added element of gratification and teambuilding comes from witnessing such exchanges.
• Peer-to-Peer Gratitude: Make it a public event to encourage the free flow of generosity, trust and affirmation.
• About the Difference Between Being Grateful to Some Thing and Some One: It’s less about the transaction and more about the emotional journey.
• Here’s an exercise to try: When you think about the things for which you’re grateful, look for measurable, specifics to identify and articulate the why.
• About the Relationship Between Luck and Gratitude:
• Alex explains what he believes is the “soft correlation” between having a positive mentality, gratitude towards the people around you and positive outcomes.
• Chris explains that luck is what happens to you while gratitude is a perspective you embrace irrespective of what happens to you.
• How do you wake up and set intention for the day? Do you put gratitude front and center? The choice is yours – and the results undeniable!
• Emotion to Promotion: A Google study has demonstrated that long-term sales relationships thrive when they are based on mutual, reciprocal generosity and trust.
• Why human interaction is a key differentiator within hyper-competitive marketplaces:
• Personal touch helps uncover specific pain points.
• Personalized solutions distinguish themselves by not being homogenized.
• The stronger the relationship, the more likely a solution and sale emerge.
• How empathy and holistic relationships – which springs from gratitude – are game-changing superpowers when injected into the buying/selling process.
• About sharing market insights that Adecco clients can use to build community and connect in meaningful ways.
• Why eliciting gratitude also often creates serendipitous interpersonal connections that knit teams together through psychological safety and trust.
• Melding Atelic with Telic: The importance of immersing in activities as both journey and destination, integrating gratitude along the path to achievement and connection.

QUOTABLE

• “There’s an infinity of gratefulness that you have and as you continue to appreciate what people have done for you … I don’t believe gratitude has a finite limit.” (Alex)
• “When your gratitude practice is mainly formulaic or commoditized, it’s doing good but not using gratitude to its fullest.” (Chris)
• “We advocate giving gratitude when you genuinely want to give gratitude, when you genuinely feel the emotion.” (Chris)
• “There is a mutual gratification in giving and receiving gratitude in an altruistic way.” (Alex)
• “To be grateful is to be grateful to someone. Be grateful for the person behind the thing you are grateful for in a measurable and specific way.” (Chris)
• “A positive attitude that includes a grateful disposition towards others is going to lead to more positive interactions with others, which others might skew as lucky.” (Alex)
• Gratitude is a choice and perspective. You can either wake up in the morning and dwell on the negative or wake up in the morning and appreciate the good.” (Chris)
• “It’s hard to architect luck but it’s very easy to architect gratitude. The choice is yours.” (Chris)
• “Showing gratitude can be a strong way of starting the empathy conversation and also to really allow for a trusting environment.” (Alex)
• “Interpersonal conversation creates a much more transparent and joyous conversation for everyone in general, which then leads to greater business outcomes – if I’m putting my sales hat back on.” (Alex)

LINKS/FURTHER RESOURCES:

• More about Sara Algoe's research on the power of witnessing gratitude.
• "I Want to Thank You: How a Year of Gratitude Can Bring Joy and Meaning in a Disconnected World,"by Gina Hamadey Bergman.
• Think With Google: "Promotion to Emotion: Connecting B2B Customers to Brands."
• About the community engagement and advocacy work of Jeni Asaba at Jamf, who creates affinity groups for Apple-focused IT admins.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Alex is the Vice President for Global Accounts at The Adecco Group in Switzerland, where he takes a people-first approach to enhance client experiences through strategic and consultative engagements. As the world’s leading workforce solutions company, Adecco offers flexible and permanent candidate placement, outsourcing and managed services across all sectors. Alex is deeply involved with Win4Youth the global charitable initiative of the Adecco Group. This programme encourages people throughout the world to be healthy, and through their healthy activity, the company responds with millions in donations supporting youth. 

FOLLOW ALEX:

WEBSITE | LINKEDIN | TWITTER|INSTAGRAM

ABOUT OUR HOST:

Chris Schembra is a philosopher, question asker and facilitator. He's a columnist at Rolling Stone magazine, USA Today calls him their "Gratitude Guru" and he's spent the last six years traveling around the world helping people connect in meaningful ways. As the offshoot of his #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling book, "Gratitude Through Hard Times: Finding Positive Benefits Through Our Darkest Hours,"he uses this podcast to blend ancient stoic philosophy and modern-day science to teach how the principles of gratitude can be used to help people get through their hard times.

FOLLOW CHRIS:

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | LINKEDIN | BOOKS