Larger Than Yourself

Joe Mechlinski is a New York Times bestselling author, speaker, and social entrepreneur who believes that an engaged workforce is the key to unlocking human potential. More importantly, he's one of my best friends. In this episode, the two of us covered love, plant medicine, parenting, trauma, equality, complicated conversations and his exciting new book.

Bree Jones watched her hometown of New Rochelle, NY become gentrified so fast that by the time she tried to do something, it was already too late. Vowing to find a solution, Bree moved to Baltimore and founded a community led real estate company called Parity, whose mission is to renovate abandoned buildings to create affordable home ownership and prove that you can do development without displacement.

Delali Dzirasa is the future. His story about the hustle and hard work that led him to create Fearless, a tech company whose mission is to build software with a soul, was so inspiring. Delali shows us all how much more successful we can be when we chase purpose over profit.

Simon Cataldo shares his fascinating life journey that led him to reimagine the game of lacrosse. The story of how Harlem Lacrosse came to be has very little to do with the actual game, it's all about how the sport itself, looked at differently, can change the life trajectory of our most forgotten and disenfranchised youth.

Shelley Halstead's burning desire to know why things are how they are, led her around the world, and eventually to Baltimore where she launched Black Women Build, a homeownership and wealth building initiative that trains Black women in carpentry, electrical, and plumbing by restoring vacant and deteriorated houses in West Baltimore.

Sports enthusiast and three-time All-American athlete, David Slomkowski, combined his love and appreciation for the athletic spirit with his entrepreneurial prowess to create Athletes Serving Athletes. The organization is committed to helping athletes with disabilities find opportunities to participate in mainstream sports while ensuring they and their families feel loved and included.

Jonathan Rose is a socially conscious innovator and leader in the real estate world and beyond. Since founding Jonathan Rose Companies in 1989, he's been on a mission to repair the fabric of cities, towns, and communities by delivering visionary projects that are affordable, environmentally responsible, and socially conscious.

Sean Smeeton didn't just want to re-imagine the ice cream industry, he wanted to empower others along the way. Beginning as a local non-profit and later transitioning to become a worker-owned-purpose-driven cooperative, Taharka Brothers is now a majority black owned business that has built its reputation as one of Baltimore's favorite ice cream vendors.

David Sullivan is a huge believer that Entrepreneurship is a mindset that can be applied anywhere. His ability to listen deeply and see the gaps led him to found Till, a company that empowers renters to thrive in their homes by radically transforming rent into a positive and personalized financial experience.

Donald Manekin defines the servant leader role. From serving as the Chief Operating Officer of Baltimore City Schools to helping reimagine real estate with Seawall, Donald has distilled the powerful lessons learned from his father––to lead humbly, with love, by listening deeply––and decades of community-minded work experience into his forthcoming book: The Inside Out Company.