Having endured an expensive journey to consider a career change, Joanna Burgraf found that to follow your passion was the worst piece of advice she'd ever gotten. Joanna is a Chicago-based senior lead for an award-winning creative services team managing ten brands at Enova International, a company using technology to develop innovative financial products. You'll hear how this fashionable but naive empowerment slogan shifted her focus — from working on being a valued cooperative member of a larger team — to the self-engrossed, navel-gazing, isolating habit of finding one’s true "Self."

In this episode's talk, Co-Founder Kirkland Tibbels. This talk originally aired earlier this year — and we can't study it enough. Recorded in May of 2015, this webinar introduces three different orientations to action: Self-Action, Inter-Action, and Trans-Action. As we are the leading business education in trans-actional competence this segment is designed to illustrate the naivety and danger of Self-Action.

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Thrive

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Joanna Burgraf on LinkedIn

Enova International

Transactionalism

Note: Self-Action, Inter-Action, and Trans-Action are terms introduced in Transactionalism: An Historical and Interpretive Study (Influence Ecology. Phillips, Trevor J., 2015-11-22. Tibbels, Kirkland; Patterson, John, eds.) and in Knowing and the Known (Dewey, John; Bentley, Arthur Fisher. 1949-01-01. Beacon Press).

Sean Gillespie is a successful artist who creates award-winning abstract sculptures from his one-man studio in Denver, Colorado. His work can be found in exclusive galleries, national juried shows, and in corporate installations across the United States. Influential U's members include business and creative professionals from all over the world; we educate not only executives and entrepreneurs but also artists, designers, musicians, writers, and filmmakers -- and today perhaps we'll tackle the question: How do you make a living as an artist? It might be common to assume that artists make terrible business people, yet the same can be true in many professions. In all cases, what is required is transactional competence: knowing how to construct a recurrent business offer that meets your individual aims for work, career, and money. You'll hear Sean's journey and, how a little a study -- goes a long way.

In this episode's talk, we listen in on a Membership Webinar to hear Kirkland Tibbels explain the nature of indifference and how we might navigate an indifferent marketplace.

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Code: 30DAYS

Sean Gillespie on LinkedIn

As a property developer, John Baigent lost practically everything in the global financial crisis of 2007-2009, then recovered just in time to lose it all again in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, a quake that caused widespread damage in New Zealand's second-largest urban area. He's not only overcome what would sink most people — he also continues to thrive.

In this episode's talk, Co-Founders John Patterson and Kirkland Tibbels discuss how most people just lack the ambition to live as they aspire to live . . . that they'll wait for life to "turn out" and do not produce the situations, conditions, and environments they require to live a productive and satisfying life.

John Baigent is not like "most people."

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Thrive

Code: 30DAYS

Christchurch Property Projects

Troy's father's last words are a mantra he's lived by. His business plan autobiography reads like a character who suffered not for being dull, but for being way too smart. He talks about the early days and answers the question: How do you make $30K a month in personal income?

In this episode's talk, Co-Founder Kirkland Tibbels outlines the fundamental background that underlies the specialized knowledge enjoyed by our members around the world. In it, you'll start to hear for yourself why Troy Frost and so many others are thriving.

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CODE: 30DAYS

In this episode of the Influential U podcast, host John Patterson chats with Jenn Oliver, Senior Director of Service for the Academic Division at the University of Virginia's HR Department.

Jenn, a self-identified Producer personality, shares her transformative journey from being overextended and burnt out to cultivating balance and alignment in both her personal and professional life.

Through her five-year study with Influential U, Jenn learned to prioritize herself, embrace the strengths and limitations of her personality, and engage effectively with others of different temperaments. She offers candid insights about her struggles, the cost of putting others before herself, and the profound shifts she’s experienced in her relationships, career, and identity.

Listen as Jenn discusses how embracing "gray areas," leveraging collaborative relationships, and valuing others’ perspectives have not only enhanced her influence at work but also strengthened her family life. This inspiring conversation is filled with actionable takeaways for anyone striving to navigate their personality in the transactions of life.

In this episode's talk, Drew Knowles and Kirkland Tibbels explore the power of saying “no” with clarity and grace, emphasizing how your aims and commitments guide what invitations, offers, and requests to accept or decline. Kirkland shares a Hollywood story highlighting the importance of respecting your offers and those extended to you. Learn why the ability to decline defines your success as much as the opportunities you embrace. 

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Thrive

Code: 30Days

Jenn Oliver on LinkedIn

The University of Virginia

University of Virginia, Human Resources

Video: Why put your mask on first

Who keeps us from falling off the proverbial cliff?

While some are naturally inclined to dream new ideas and others can’t help but build new relationships, there is a segment of society whose entire focus and role are to protect us from our poorly constructed shortcuts.

This typically skeptical personality recognizes that nothing around us is a coincidence; things are either poorly designed or built to exacting standards.

Often shamed for not seeing the world as ‘glass-half-full,’ this transactional personality plays the vital role in offering the evidence required to lay claim to facts.

Karl Strand founded his consultancy by making the most of his skepticism and guarding the standards for commercial architectural exteriors. Karl and his wife, Randee, live in Dallas, Texas.

They have been students of Influential U since June 2015. In this episode’s Talk, we’ll hear Co-Founder Kirkland Tibbels talk about the asset and liability of the Judge personality and how each personality can work together.

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Thrive

Code: 30DAYS

Before embarking on a full-time real estate career, Karina Christensen was part of the personal flight team for American business guru Jack Welch and media proprietor Oprah Winfrey, having the opportunity to travel with them for many years around the world and cultivate within herself what it takes to partner with high-profile clientele successfully.

As a specialist now working with Keller Williams Luxury Homes International, she and her team specialize in luxury condominiums in Denver, Colorado. Having lived in Munich, London, Singapore, and Montana, Karina followed the sage wisdom, "you are the company you keep," and built her career by nurturing coveted relationships. Attracted to this education and its influential ecology of peers, Karina learned that 'relationship' is only one of many powerful tools and unlocked the ceiling on her income and satisfaction.

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Thrive

Code: 30Days

Karina Christensen on LinkedIn

How do you produce a robust identity amongst thousands of peers in a large corporate environment? Ron Sprengeler is someone who's done just that. Rather than join the naïve ranks of those whose viewpoint is that the job alone entitles them to a respected identity, Ron's case study demonstrates how to produce a powerful corporate identity in two ways: one, you'll hear how he's become well known and admired for his specialized knowledge and two, he shares just how he's cultivated a respected identity, reputation, and character among his peers. He's survived a big merger and feels confident that what he's learned from Influence Ecology will continue to help him provide real value in the marketplace.

This episode's talk distinguishes some of the fundamental principles that produce a respected identity—not only for the small business owner but also for any employee working within any size organization.

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Thrive

Code: 30DAYS

LinkedIn

After ten years with a nationally recognized financial planning practice, Wesley Pingelton had ambitions to go out on his own. In doing so, he got what he wanted: great success, creative freedom, and the opportunity to work with the right client. But with each complex case, a unique solution produced a massive amount of labor. In a short time, he cringed at the thought of growing his business.

You'll hear how he learned to construct a business model that's allowed him to scale his business, meet his financial goals, and truly enjoy his family life.

In today's talk, you'll hear Co-Founder Kirkland Tibbels and I address how most people make offers they are unfit to present, commit to, or fulfill. Many just cannot prove that they are fit to build and maintain the transactions that would satisfy their aims.

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Thrive

Code: 30DAYS

Full Circle Wealth

Wesley Pingelton on Linkedin

Our featured interview is with an outstanding Chicago trial attorney who talks about his critical and analytical judgy-ness and how it has become a great asset. In this episode, Joe McNerney and Co-Founder John Patterson take the time to learn more about the Judge and Inventor personality and how personality, when understood, can help all of us transact more effectively. But Joe also cautions us all about the error of independence and self-sufficiency.

In our talk, we hear from Vice President Drew Knowles and Co-Founder Kirkland Tibbels as they lead a conversation about the need to be surrounded by a surplus of great help.