Leigh Martinuzzi

Chess 4 Life

An incredible conversation today with Elliot Neff about Chess. You may think of chess as just a game but as I've learnt today, it's much more! Through Elliot's journey in playing chess and becoming a Chess Master, he went on to develop a program to help children excel in life. Elliot and the team and Chess4Life have developed programs to help make a positive impact on the lives of 1 million kids each week. Elliot shares the educational mindset and life skills that chess can teach. Amazing!

Pick up a copy of Elliots book, A Pawns Journey, using this link.

Guest Bio.

Elliott Neff is a National Master in Chess, author of A Pawn’s Journey (October 2018), and CEO of Chess4Life, which exists to help kids develop life skills through the game of chess. What began for Elliott as a childhood fascination with chess has blossomed into an opportunity to positively impact tens of thousands of kids per week through Chess4Life programs, and a vision of impacting 1 million youth per week. Elliott’s coaching expertise is reflected in his certification as a USCF Level V Coach, an honor that fewer than a dozen top level coaches in the US share.

Elliott’s work is endorsed by many, including:

Grandmaster Varuzhan Akobian

Mary Miller, co-creator of The Dream Manager program

Robert Katende, Founder and Director of SOM Chess Academy in Uganda, coach to Phiona Mutesi of the Queen of Katwe.

Elliott is a husband, father, entrepreneur, and author.

Wanting, The Power of Memetic Desire.

Humans don’t desire anything independently. Human desire is mimetic – we imitate what other people want. This affects the way we choose partners, friends, careers, clothes and travel destinations. Mimetic desire is responsible for the formation of our very identities. This is a great conversation with Luke about how we can best understand our desires, simply by asking Why, and some guidance on how we can free ourselves from chasing unfulfilling desires.

Pick up a copy of Luke's book, Wanting here.

Guest Bio.

Luke Burgis is an entrepreneur and scholar who has founded 3 successful companies. He is currently the Entrepreneuer-in-Residence at the Ciocca Center for Principled Entrepreneurship in Washington DC, and the author of the bestselling book Wanting: The Power of Mimetic Desire in Everyday Life.

Optimal Health & Wellness

I speak with Dr Ron Sinha about metabolic health and how we can improve it. As a physician and the world’s leading insulin resistance expert, Dr Ron has much to share. As a highly sought-after wellness speaker in Silicon Valley, Dr Ron has first-hand experience working with individuals and companies to help improve overall health and wellness in the lifestyle dynamics of the 21st century. Discussing everything from exercise and diet to sleep and wearables. It will inspire change!

Guest Bio.

Dr. Ronesh Sinha is a physician and world’s leading insulin resistance expert. He is the author of The South Asian Health Solution, which has been a resource for readers worldwide on insulin resistance and heart disease prevention. He is also a highly sought-after wellness speaker in Silicon Valley who has given talks at TEDx Talks and Google.

Dr. Ronesh is also the Chief Medical Officer of Silicon Valley Employer Forum (SVEF), a coalition of over 60 of the biggest tech employers in the world that impacts and influences the evolution of global benefits through innovative plan designs, administration, sharing results, and leveraging member companies to drive change in the marketplace. SVEF members include Apple, Facebook, Google, Netflix, LinkedIn, PayPal, Tesla, Microsoft, Alibaba Group, and Oracle.

They help shape the global benefits across health care, retirement, wellbeing, time off, perks, and other programs for 2.2 employees in 112 countries where SVEF members are present.

The Mystery of You

Have we forgotten about being happy in our pursuit of happiness?

We have been well trained to go after what we want, but are we missing out on life by always focusing on some future event?

In this conversation with Emilio Diez Barroso, he invites us to uncover a peace that is untouched by the happenings of life and encourages us to discover who we are beyond our familiar identities and roles. Life is a spiritual journey and when we discover our deepest, most natural level of Self, we can tap into this greater sense of freedom.

Guest Bio.

Emilio Diez Barroso was a lifelong seeker—seeking recognition, achievement, love, success, and finally, the ultimate carrot: enlightenment. In his pursuit of enlightenment, he was forced to face what all the seeking had been trying to avoid: his own sense of unworthiness. Defeated at the game of avoiding and humbled by the realization of his true nature, he is now dedicated to alleviating suffering in the world. Emilio is married and is a father to three incredible teachers. He is an active investor, philanthropist, and entrepreneur and sits on the board of over a dozen companies. He has a master’s in spiritual psychology and resides in Los Angeles.

Emotional Intelligence EQ

Freedman is a leader in the field of emotional intelligence have a proven track record in helping many raise their own and others' performance with emotional intelligence. In this conversation with Josh, we develop an understanding of what EQ is and then how we can better understand it and use it to guide us in our life's purpose. Please enjoy!

Guest Bio.

Joshua Freedman is cofounder and CEO of Six Seconds -- the global community of emotional intelligence practitioners, researchers, and experts, working toward a billion people practicing EQ (www.6seconds.org). He is a master-certified coach (International Coaching Federation) and leader of the international EQ Coach Certification, an instructor for Columbia Teachers College Summer Principals Academy, and teaches professionals all around the world practical tools to measure and create value with emotional intelligence.

Freedman’s international bestselling book, At the Heart of Leadership, is one of five including Whole-Hearted Parenting. He leads two ongoing research projects, The Workplace Vitality Report, and The State of the Heart – which is the world’s largest study of EQ. He’s coauthor of the POP-UP Festival, in partnership with UNICEF World Children’s Day, which is a free play-based curriculum introducing SEL to 1.5 million children and adults. Josh also appears regularly on youtube.com/sixseconds sharing insights on how to gain value from emotions.

Healthy Diet & Mindfulness

In this episode, Dr Raj Anand shares information to equip you with the knowledge to enable you to make healthy choices for food. A healthy diet alone, however, is not enough to maintain good health. There are many other measures required, one of which we discuss is mindfulness. At 87 years of age, Dr Raj jumps in with great energy, passion and knowledge which is easy to digest. I hope you enjoy it!

Pick up a copy of Raj's book here.

Guest Bio.

Full bio: Dr. Raj K. Anand is a retired cardiology specialist with over 60+ years’ of experience in the medical field. Yes, you read that right, he is almost 90 years old.

Raj is also a healthcare author, focused on equipping readers to make the right decisions regarding their health. His latest book ‘Healthy Diet and Mindfulness to Prevent Coronary Heart Disease’ educates readers on how to make healthy choices to avoid disease.

Being Essential

In my conversation with Dain, he shares what Being Essential is all about and presents the seven questions that will help anyone discover an authentic path to the true self and master a virtuous cycle of self-awareness that fosters purpose, value, and joy at work and in life.

Grab a copy of Dain's book Being Essential here.

Guest Bio.

Dain Dunston has spent 35 years as an advisor and coach to leaders, helping them frame the foundation of their personal and professional journeys. He’s a founding Partner at Reservoir LLC, a company designed to bring deep resources to leaders, led by a coalition of some of the most respected executive coaches in the U.S. Reservoir provides advisory services to the C-suite, next-generation leadership development, and advocacy for conscious leadership, societal responsibility, and sustainable business practices. Dunston is a frequent speaker on leadership, culture and coaching topics and has provided speech and executive coaching to companies like Deloitte, General Motors, IBM, BMW, British Airways, Pfizer, Rite Aid, Wyndham Hotels, and many others.

Navigating Ambiguity

A thought-provoking conversation with Andrea small to help us all better navigate ambiguity. In our discussion, you will learn how to lean into the discomfort of the unknown to turn creative opportunities into intentional design. Please enjoy!

Pick up a copy of Navigating Ambiguity here.

Guest Bio.

Andrea Small is a design strategist, educator, and now, apparently, a writer. As a Teaching Fellow at Stanford's d.school, she and her cohort originated the “Navigating Ambiguity” curricula, and she has co-authored the forthcoming d.school book "A Designer's Guide to Navigating Ambiguity.”

Andrea is currently Creative Lead at Samsung Research America on their R&D Innovation Team in Mountain View, CA. Working closely with SRA executive leadership, her team works at the forefront of advanced technology design and research. She also supports innovation and creativity throughout the R&D organization.

She currently teaches “Innovations in Inclusive Design” at Stanford. As part of the course, she and her teaching team designed a set of Intersectional Design Cards, a tool designed to help teams explore and develop intersectional design solutions.

Leadership Blind Spots

Mike Maddock is a serial entrepreneur with a high level of curiosity. He has spent most of his life creating businesses and using his visionary mind to grow them. He has helped many high performing businesses do the same. Solving problems with disruptive ideas to help businesses to thrive. I hope you enjoy my conversation with Mike Maddock.

A selection of Mike's book below.

Guest Bio.

Mike Maddock is an entrepreneur, a keynote speaker, a best-selling author, and a CEO Coach.

Mike will tell you that his purpose is “To inspire and empower curiosity.” His passion is to make people believe they can change the world and then provide the tools, frameworks and hard-earned wisdom to make a positive impact happen.

Mike calls himself an Idea Monkey because he loves to solve problems with disruptive ideas. This passion for problem-solving has driven Mike to establish 7 successful businesses, including innovation and strategy consultancy Maddock Douglas which has helped more than 25% of the Fortune 500 create and launch new products, services and business models.

Mike co-chairs the Gathering of Titans Entrepreneurial Conclave at MIT and is past president of Entrepreneurs' Organization Chicago. Currently Mike is the Chairperson of Young Presidents' Organization in Chicago.

A doodler, turned cartoonist, turned author, Mike has been using words and pictures to create smiles and build ideas his entire life. Today, Mike is a contributor to Forbes and author of four bestselling books: Free the Idea Monkey...to focus on what matters most!, Brand New: Solving the Innovation Paradox and Flirting With the Uninterested, Innovating in a Sold, Not Bought Category. And finally, Plan D––his latest book about how Disruptors use their superhero powers to put a dent in the universe.

The Solopreneur's Money Manifesto

They are the questions that keep you up at night as a solo entrepreneur: Are there financial land mines I’m missing? Am I paying too much in taxes? Should I save more?Will I ever be able to retire? To better understand you financial motivations first you need know which direction you wish to head. Enjoy this conversation with Gabe Nelson.

Grab a copy of Gabe's book here. 

Guest Bio.

Gabe Nelson earned a BS in Economics from South Dakota State University in 1995, began working in financial services immediately following graduation, obtained his Certified Financial Planner® Designation in 2006, and founded Gabe Nelson Financial in 2008.

“With 25 years in the financial services industry and more than a decade as a business owner, I understand the importance of independent, objective, trusted advice. I’m as excited about my clients’ dreams as they are!”

“I also believe in strong relationships, both professionally and personally. After marrying my wife Melissa in 1995, we started a family and have three daughters: Lauren, Avery, and Lydia. You may see me in a local coffee shop having a meeting with a client, snowboarding in Colorado, or perfecting my stroke on the golf course.”