Lead to Succeed

Creativity and innovation are the pathways for your business to increase improvement and productivity. That’s exactly why entrepreneurs who think outside the box are those whose businesses are growing faster than the others. In this episode, we’ll dive deeper into the importance of being creative as an entrepreneur, with our guest Miriam Schulman.

Miriam is an artist and founder of The Inspiration Place, where she helps other artists learn how to profit from their passion or become better artists. She’s helped thousands of artists around the world develop their skill sets and create more time and freedom to do what they love.

Listen in and learn more about the importance of creativity in business.

Key Talking Points of the Episode:

[02:40] Explanation of the “Passion to profit” framework and how it can help a person turn a passion into a successful business.

[04:27] What does Miriam mean by using the term Abundantly Pricing and what does it look like practically.

[09:50] The process Miriam’s coaches people through, that helps them figure out “what the market will bear”.

[12:58] How Miriam demonstrates to clients - using compassion -  that the investment they are making is all about them.

[17:27] The 3 surprising steps to starting a business that will empower you to be a true entrepreneur.

[21:30] The difference between Charm Pricing and Prestige Pricing and when to use each effectively.

[25:23] The future of marketing and what the process of staying in sync with it involves.

[30:26] Miriam’s biggest mistake and what she learned from it.

[31:51] Rapid-fire questions.

[35:42] Miriam’s life lesson.

Standout Quotes from the Episode:

“Creativity is a survival strategy.”

“You are always in charge of the actions you take.”

Connect with Miriam Schulman:

• Website

• Podcast

Connect with / follow Naphtali Hoff:

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• YouTube

Get Naphtali’s book, “Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success”

Please subscribe to, rate and review the show. Your feedback gives social proof and encourages more folks to listen.

Find Lead to Succeed on:

• iTunes

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

• Spotify

• iHeart

Please share this recording with your networks and tag Naphtali as well.

A toxic workplace culture can result in decreased happiness and satisfaction, and performance at work, particularly with startups. In this episode, guest Sophie Theen shares her tried and true advice on how founders and leaders can improve workplace culture.

Sophie Theen is an award-winning Human Resources and Diversity and Inclusion professional. She has been featured on the “Women in FinTech Power List” since 2017 and is the first HR professional to win the “Standout” spot. Theen is also widely recognized for her innovative influence on how Human Resources works in technology companies and startups. She now works with companies around the world as an advisor.

Listen in and learn more about the importance of workplace culture.

Key Talking Points of the Episode:

[02:56] Who’s responsible for accompanying culture? And what strategies does Sophie find useful for people in creating the culture.

[06:59] How Sophie helps leaders balance between working and building the human relational culture aspect of their business.

[10:15] Advice for leaders to ensure that they have a positive culture.  

[11:09] How does Sophie help the companies that are struggling with their broken culture to set themselves on a better course moving forward.

[13:38] What leaders can do - when their company is still in conception - to ensure as much as possible that they never get to a place where the culture goes off the rails.

[15:20] The distinction between startups and accomplished companies on the environment level and the amount of people involved.

[17:16] Sophie’s 3 indicators of a good/bad culture.

[20:14] How to measure the difference between people who give feedback in any data collection tools because they’re enthusiastic and those who give it because they’re desperate for change.

[22:09] Sophie’s process of helping leaders who are misaligned to change.

[25:06] How Sophie helps leaders become comfortable in asking for feedback.

[26:48] Sophie’s biggest mistake and what she learned from it.

[27:48] Rapid-fire questions.

[31:00] Sophie’s life lesson.

Standout Quotes from the Episode:

“Culture cannot be sustained on its own without the hard work and collaboration of each and every person in the company.”

Connect with Sophie Theen:

• Website

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

Connect with / follow Naphtali Hoff:

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• YouTube

Get Naphtali’s book, “Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success”

Please subscribe to, rate and review the show. Your feedback gives social proof and encourages more folks to listen.

Find Lead to Succeed on:

• iTunes

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

• Spotify

• iHeart

Please share this recording with your networks and tag Naphtali as well.

School leaders are facing huge challenges. Increased demands, resulting in record levels of mental and physical stress, has led a huge number of school leaders to quit their jobs. We need a solution! 

In this episode, Lead to Succeed guest Dr. Elvis Epps discusses many of the problems that school leaders are facing and shares helpful solutions.

Elvis is a retired high school principal from Palm Beach, Florida. He holds state certification in school leadership and administration and is the author of a new book, “New Principal, No Problem: How to Lead a Winning Culture Without Losing Your Mind.”

Dr. Epps has been featured on Oprah’s XM Radio Network, where he discussed topics such as Bully Prevention and Maintaining a Happy Home. He is also a Certified John Maxwell Trainer, Coach, and Speaker. Dr. Epps is a proud military veteran of the US Navy.

Listen in and learn more about the challenges and opportunities facing school leaders.

Key Talking Points of the Episode:

[02:09] What got Elvis into education and what drew him to school leadership.

[04:48] The criterias that Elvis used to determine that he was a good fit for his job position.

[09:42] The biggest challenge that school leaders are facing today and the solutions that Elvis could offer them.

[15:48] Elvis making the argument that leadership is leadership, regardless of whether it's in the boardroom or the classroom.

[21:04] In Elvis’s opinion, are public schools failing? And which areas would he guide leaders of public school to focus on.

[24:59] Is retirement all that it’s cracked up to be?

[27:21] What “leaving a legacy'' means to Elvis.

[30:50] Elvis's biggest mistake and how he grew from it.

[32:56] Rapid-fire questions.

[35:41] Elvis’s final life lesson.

“We cannot pour from an empty cup.”

“Leadership is influence.”

“Be kind to yourself.”

• Website

• LinkedIn

• Youtube

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• YouTube

Get Naphtali’s book, “Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success”

Please subscribe to, rate and review the show. Your feedback gives social proof and encourages more folks to listen.

Find Lead to Succeed on:

• iTunes

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

• Spotify

• iHeart

Please share this recording with your networks and tag Naphtali as well.

Living in a hustle culture, everybody needs you to stay on the hamster wheel. Only those who have learned the value of Pausing and Reflecting will encourage you to do the same. And this is exactly what Lead to Succeed’s guest, Jennie Blumenthal will inspire us to do.

Jennie spent 20 years as an executive in Corporate America counseling Fortune 500 companies on growth strategy and digital transformation and left during the pandemic pivot. She now coaches executive women to do their own Corporate Rehab and grow in their existing career or in a new opportunity.

Her new book CORPORATE REHAB: Ditch The Hustle Culture and Thrive Again came out on October 1, 2022.

Listen in and learn more about the value of pausing and reflecting.

Key Talking Points of the Episode:

[02:14] What is Corporate Rehab and why so many women need it.

[08:23] Jennie’s insights about the importance of taking a “pause” and reflecting.

[12:12] What message would Jennie deliver if she had an opportunity to share about thoughts process and success in places of education.

[18:26] The ideals that Jennie would share with the young population.

[27:42] Jennie’s take on the roles that leaders have in creating culture and an advice to bosses that will help create a better culture.

[30:11] Advice to women who want to quit their workplace but haven’t done it yet.

[31:29] The craziest WHY that Jennie ever heard.

[32:47] Jennies biggest failure and what she learned from it.

[33:53] Rapid-fire questions.

[35:55] Jennie’s final life lesson.

“It’s the hustle culture that we’re trying to rehab from.”

“Start by looking within.”

“Your thoughts may be real but that doesn’t mean they are true.”

• Website

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• Twitter

• TikTok

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• YouTube

Get Naphtali’s book, “Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success”

Please subscribe to, rate and review the show. Your feedback gives social proof and encourages more folks to listen.

Find Lead to Succeed on:

• iTunes

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

• Spotify

• iHeart

Please share this recording with your networks and tag Naphtali as well.

Around 4 million Americans are quitting their jobs each month in 2022 because of gender inequality, toxic workplace culture, and burnout. Can The Great Resignation really be the solution? This is what we discuss with Lead to Succeed’s guest Sara McElroy.

Sara is a former hustle culture devotee, ex-chief marketing officer, the Wall Street Journal’s poster girl for pandemic career burnout, and a two-time member of the Great Resignation: class of 2021 and 2022.

She returned to her journalism roots to uplift the voices of women from the Great Resignation by founding Raze to Rise, a journalism project sharing heartfelt personal stories from the women of the Great Resignation.

Listen in and learn more about the importance of putting your employees first.

[03:49] The impetus that made Sara change what she was doing and how it served her.

[11:30] The kind of women dealing with resignation and what they are finding on the back end.

[15:01] What women chose to do after leaving their jobs and if it is a valuable alternative to what they left behind.

[17:58] The sentiment of the corporate America towards Great Resignation.

[24:07] How Sara finds the people that she interviews.

[29:08] How Sara coaches or give advice to people wondering about pulling the plug on their current job.

[31:24] Key strategies that would make the quitting process simplest for a person who knows that it’s time to quit.

[35:17] Sara’s biggest mistake and what she learned from it.

[38:02] Rapid-fire questions.

[40:33] Sara’s final life lesson.

“We really have to think about decision and action as two separate milestones.”

”You gotta come back to you and figure out what you want. You know what’s best, turn off the noise.”

• Website

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• YouTube

Get Naphtali’s book, “Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success”

Please subscribe to, rate and review the show. Your feedback gives social proof and encourages more folks to listen.

Find Lead to Succeed on:

• iTunes

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

• Spotify

• iHeart

Please share this recording with your networks and tag Naphtali as well.

Want to know why certain companies produce the best products and have the happiest customers?

Their secret is that they invest in their people and put them first.

And this is exactly the philosophy of Lead to Succeed guest Matt Blumberg.

Matt is the founder and CEO of Bolster, a new talent marketplace for on-demand executives and board members launched in 2020. Matt was previously Chairman & CEO of Return Path, the market leader in email optimization. Under Matt’s leadership, Return Path won numerous “employer of choice” awards including #2 on Fortune Magazine’s “Best Companies to Work for” list.

Matt is also Founder and Chairman of Path Forward, a non-profit whose mission is to empower people to restart their careers after time spent focused on caregiving. He is also the author of Startup CEO: A field guide to scaling up your business, and Startup CXO: A Field Guide to Scaling Your Company’s Critical Teams.

Listen in and learn more about the importance of putting your employees first.

[02:26] How Matt got to where he is today.

[06:21] How the email optimization industry helped Matt with his non-profit work.

[10:36] Why Matt chose to make Path Forward a 501(c)(3) instead of a consulting firm.

[13:07] Why it was important to Matt that his business be a great place to work.

[15:30] Where did Matt’s philosophy come from and how difficult was it for others to accept it.

[21:38] Who needs on demand executives and board members? Is that a growing trend?

[27:21] How does Matt see the opposite ways of people wanting to work inside the organization and others asking for their freedom.

[28:57] Matt’s biggest mistake and how he grew from it.

[32:02] Rapid-fire.

[34:24] Matt’s final life lesson.

“Find joy in something today.”

“Be open to new ideas.”

• Website

• Blog

• LinkedIn

• Twitter

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• YouTube

Get Naphtali’s book, “Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success”

Please subscribe to, rate and review the show. Your feedback gives social proof and encourages more folks to listen.

Find Lead to Succeed on:

• iTunes

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

• Spotify

• iHeart

Please share this recording with your networks and tag Naphtali as well.

Starting a new venture is hard. But to do so annually? Now that sounds really tough. But that’s exactly what Lead to Succeed’s guest Sean Castrina has done for each of the past twenty years!

And he’s in no rush to stop.

Sean is the founder of The Weekend MBA. He’s a serial entrepreneur, having started more than 20 companies over the last 20 years, and still seeks to launch a new venture annually.

Sean is the author of 4 bestselling business books and hosts one of the most popular business podcasts on the planet – The 10 Minute Entrepreneur Podcast.

Listen in and learn more about serial entrepreneurship.

[01:31] What’s the Weekend MBA & what does it serve.

[03:35] Castrina’s objectives on starting a new venture annually.

[06:25] Did Castrina start from entrepreneurship on out or was it his core to build off.

[07:28] What drove Castrina’s core.

[09:29] Castrina’s thoughts about “business success or failure is in the planning”.

[11:51] The method of Castrina’s superpower: Identifying, Recruiting, and Retaining world-class talents.

[13:28] How to find the right people to recruit.

[15:30] Castrina’s process of retention.

[17:51] What gave Castrina the idea for the 10-Minute Entrepreneur & what can he accomplish from it.

[20:00] Castrina’s addiction and the process of getting to where he is today.

[26:28] Castrina’s biggest mistake.

[27:39] Rapid-fire.

[30:23] Castrina’s final lesson.

• “Never stop looking.”

• “Don’t start the day until it’s been planned.”

• “I’d rather make 50% of a lot, than a 100% of a little.”

Get Naphtali’s book, Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success

• Website

• LinkedIn

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Twitter

• YouTube

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• YouTube

Please subscribe to, rate and review the show. Your feedback gives social proof and encourages more folks to listen.

Find Lead to Succeed on:

• iTunes

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

• Spotify

• iHeart

Most people seek happiness in money, success, power, and shiny objects. But that is NOT where happiness lies. Instead, turn your attention to yourself. It’s in loving, leading and respecting yourself that you’ll find what you’re asking for. This is what we learned from our guest Tommy Breedlove.

Tommy is the Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author of the book, "Legendary" and the founder of the Legendary Life Movement, a movement that empowers driven people to be pros in leadership, business, mindset, and their relationships.

Tommy started his 20-year corporate career at one of the largest financial consulting firms in the world, and eventually became a shareholder, the international practice leader, and a member of the board of directors.

At the top of his career, Tommy experienced a transformational moment inspiring him to walk away from the corporate world to change his life and follow his true calling.

Listen in and learn more about how to move your life in a new direction.

[02:50] What made Breedlove leave corporate for his current work.

[08:16] How Breedlove mastered the courage to take a new direction.

[11:43] What does legendary mean to Breedlove and why should people aspire for that.

[14:44] What’s more important: mindset or actions?

[18:56] What holds people back from becoming legendary.

[23:57] What’s Breedlove ultimate intention behind asking his clients deep and personal questions before he starts working with them & what does it tell him about the capacity to work and support somebody.

[28:02] Breedlove’s biggest mistake and what he learned from it.

[28:51] Rapid-fire.

[30:29] Breedlove’s final lesson.

• “The most selfless thing we can do is put ourselves first.”

• “Participate in your own rescue.”

• Website

• LinkedIn

• Facebook

• Instagram

• Twitter

• YouTube

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• YouTube

Get Naphtali’s book, “Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success”

Please subscribe to, rate and review the show. Your feedback gives social proof and encourages more folks to listen.

Find Lead to Succeed on:

• iTunes

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

• Spotify

• iHeart

Please share this recording with your networks and tag Naphtali as well.

Never let a teacher’s opinion about your ability or your performance in school determine your future. This is what JR Rivera's story taught us.

JR’s teachers said he would never amount to anything. But in the years since, this straight "D" student who barely graduated high school has become a businessman living an extraordinary life of limitless possibilities.

Listen in and learn more about the way to success.

[02:41] JR’s story and who it most inspires.

[06:01] What would JR say to people who are stuck right now.

[07:35] JR’s opinion about having a fallback plan.

[10:33] JR claims that “The Customer Is Always Wrong.” Huh?

[12:21] “God wants you to be Filthy-Stinking Rich”

[20:49] JR’s advice for his younger self.

[23:43] The importance of building relationships.

[26:46] Who should start a podcast and why?

[28:58] JR’s biggest mistake and how he grew from it.

[31:23] Rapid-fire.

[33:56] JR’s final lesson.

• “If I can give myself one lesson it would be: Get better friends and shut up and listen.”

• “Do less thinking and more doing.”

• “Turn your notification off and move your cellphone away from you.”

• “Talk less, listen more.”

• Website

• Facebook

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• YouTube

Get Naphtali’s book, “Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success”

Please subscribe to, rate and review the show. Your feedback gives social proof and encourages more folks to listen.

Find Lead to Succeed on:

• iTunes

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

• Spotify

• iHeart

Please share this recording with your networks and tag Naphtali as well.

We all want a strong brand.

And we want to market and sell effectively.  

Easier said than done, right?

Which is what made this conversation with Derek Champagne so exciting!

Cause he’s got the answers… and they’re simpler to apply than you might think!

Derek is CEO of The Artist Evolution—a marketing, design, and practice management firm. He helps businesses of all budgets design and implement marketing strategies that yield tangible results.

Derek has developed and managed brands and marketing campaigns in multiple industries, from start-ups to household names. He is a guest lecturer at business conventions and college business marketing classes covering marketing and social media subject matter.

Derek is also a nationally published musician who has made musical contributions to the soundtracks of television shows on ABC, MTV, Bravo, Oxygen, and the E! Channel.

Listen in and learn how to use effectively marketing to grow your brand. 

[06:04] The core components of successful brands.

[08:43] What would Champagne say to someone who has a range of products/services that gets to the core?

[12:35] Why people don’t automatically assume that listening to their customers is step 1.

[15:15] How does understanding how to make a potential client a hero in their own story affect a marketing approach.

[25:03] The importance of knowing who your target market is.

[29:14] Why mastermind groups are so valuable.

[32:33] Champagne’s biggest mistake and how he grew from it.

[34:42] Rapid-fire.

[37:48] A final life lesson.

• “My mindset is always: how do we get a better stickiness.”

•  “It may not be your fault, but it is your problem.”

• “Think of yourself as a legacy entrepreneur.”

Connect with Derek Champagne:

• LinkedIn

• Website

• Book: Don’t Buy A Duck

Connect with / follow Naphtali Hoff:

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Instagram

• YouTube

Get Naphtali’s book, “Becoming the New Boss: The New Leader's Guide to Sustained Success”

Please subscribe to, rate and review the show. Your feedback gives social proof and encourages more folks to listen.

Find Lead to Succeed on:

• iTunes

• Stitcher

• Google Podcasts

• Spotify

• iHeart

Please share this recording with your networks and tag Naphtali as well.