"I was letting people drive my relationships; letting them tell me what I needed to be successful."  - Cinthia Manuel, first-generation Latina, TEDx Talker, and Latina-preneur. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Cinthia rebrand the idea she shared in her TED Talk where she challenged the way people think about the mentor/mentee relationship. They explore the other side of the perspective to help mentors understand how they too can benefit from the “exchange”. This conversation shows how you can challenge a traditional idea and then create a space for your audience to digest your idea. Afterwards, the expert in you may be asking, “How would I define the mentee in me?”

"Can you imagine being on a planet where everyone is cared for, in a basic sense. The thought makes me emotional. And I believe that is possible."  - Beach Pace, CEO of the Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliate in Portland, Oregon. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Beach turn an idealistic thought of creating a public service academy into a tangible idea about making service the center of a paradigm shift towards global achievement. They explore the psychology behind getting people to care and to take action. This episode shows how finding what makes you excited about your idea will give you the language and concepts you need to share your idea across audiences. After this, you may be compelled to ask yourself, "Where did I serve today?" #Globalachievement

"If they are not standing up for that, then it would probably be more of a cost than the cost of a sidewalk." - Paisley Elliot, 8 year old social activist and nominee for the International Children's Peace Prize. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Paisley explore how to prepare for counterarguments to her idea and how to convince her audience to take action. She shares a thought about how children and adults can become change makers. After this discussion, you’ll be inspired to think about what makes your heart sad and how you can take action in your own backyard.

"Knowing something is not good enough. Find the opportunities among the chaos." - Amelia Marican, the 7-Figure Branding Coach. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Amelia explore how to boil down a big picture idea. She drops a thought about developing your “superpower” skill. After this discussion, you’ll understand how exploring all the directions of your idea and “replacing” one word with another can give your concept specificity, clarity, and brevity.

"It’s not how many, nor how much, but how deeply you connect." - Naftali Tessler, Chief of Staff at Hamaspik and business/personal development coach. In this episode, Naftali wants to create a “movement” to help you deepen your connections. Marc and Cathey challenge him to explore how to first help people realize that they need to act on an idea and then how to give your audience the space to receive your concept. After this discussion, you’ll know how to deepen your connections one conversation at a time.

"There's so much that we all have to do more of. How can you be at peace?" - Crystal Bonds, school principal, thought leader, and the founder of Changing Norms. An idea gets dropped about how to solve a problem that has plagued disadvantaged schools and neighborhoods for decades. In this coaching session, Marc and Cathey stopped writing notes and started drawing images so they can help Crystal simplify a big picture idea to get more people involved in her solution. Then they landed on the concept of an essential question to drive home Crystal’s idea. Maybe your idea could also use a picture and an essential idea.

"Those who become great are the ones who know how to take the energy from their supervillain side and turn it into an heroic attribute."  - Tristan Harvin, brand marketer, ideator, conduit of community, and a pizza-lovin', people-huggin Yankees fan. A discussion about self exploration led us to ask: How do you reverse engineer your thoughts to get an audience all in on your idea? In this coaching session with Tristan Harvin, Marc and Cathey ask him loads of questions that lead him to the one essential question he is asking you to answer. We explored how to "put a label on your secret sauce". That's the short phrase your audiences will forever link to you and your message. After this conversation, his question will have you doing your own self-spring cleaning and showing up fresh for your purpose in life.

"There's a huge distinction between struggling and suffering. We all suffer, but to struggle is an artform."  - Victoria Grinman, integrated therapist, speaker, & transformation agent. Sometimes the experts need to be challenged. How do you redefine what industry insiders are saying and create a new way of thinking?  In this coaching session with Victoria Grinman, Marc and Cathey help her break new ground with an idea that she says might make her colleagues mad. This discussion explores the approach transforming a niche idea into a global concept. After this conversation, you might discover something about yourself that will make your relationships better.

“I forgive him whether he is sorry or not.” - Rob Paylor, D1 Rugby player, inspirational storyteller, & national champion who was told he would never walk again. How do you add more power to an already powerful idea? How do you get your audience into the mental space of accepting your personal story as their own universal truth? In this coaching session with Rob Paylor, Marc and Cathey help him “pop out of his personal story” to engage audiences through a deeper level of metacognition. This discussion reveals the strategy for turning a talk into an experience. After this conversation, you might look at your “paralysis” in a way you never imagined.

"Discover your purpose. Dance with your duality. Telling stories is easier than speaking English." - quotes from Season 1 guests of It's About to Go Down. So what happens when a bunch of idea creators get together in the same zoom? In this "rap-up" episode, Marc and Cathey catch up with the members of the Season #1 community: Mark Brown, Lou Radja, Jessi Duley, Carol Barah, Jackie Cummings-Koski, Mira Kaddoura, Jennifer Gu, and Shenetta Malkia. Ideas are exchanged, new connections are made, and they let us know what has transpired with their ideas since they last spoke with Marc & Cathey. This is not just an abbreviated version of season #1, but also a "fire"side chat that opens up new possibilities of what is yet to come. After this conversation, you might discover what you can do next with your idea.