Make a Difference! – The Mentors Radio

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Major General David Smith, USAF, deputy to the Chief of Air Force Reserve at the Pentagon. You’ll learn about a realm most people never get to see: the intersection of high-stakes national defense, cutting-edge technology and extreme physical endurance. General Smith is a combat-proven command pilot with over 4,000 flying hours—including 700 in combat across operations like Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. On his last appearance, as an F-16 Squadron Commander, he discussed what it takes to get your goals and dreams airborne. Since then, his leadership journey has scaled significantly. In this episode, we aren’t just talking about flying fighter jets. We are tracking a lifetime journey of constant re-invention—from the cockpit of an F-16, to operationalizing the advanced F-35 platform, to studying Artificial Intelligence at MIT and Harvard. We also dive deep into General Smith’s core thesis: why physical fitness is a non-negotiable leadership responsibility, and how that legacy of grit is carrying forward to the next generation of American leaders. General David Smith has flown in combat and conquered the Ironman World Championship, and shares insights about why physical grit, constant re-invention and data-driven innovation are the ultimate keys to sustaining your life’s goals. You will not only learn about leadership, but also about teamwork, humility, trust, and translating cockpit “wingman” reliance into selflessness and service in corporate culture. General Smith’s own 30+ year career spans commanding fighter squadrons, operationalizing the cutting-edge F-35, and studying Artificial Intelligence at MIT, Harvard and John Hopkins. He knows exactly what skills the next generation will need to navigate a rapidly evolving future. You’ll learn about the Ironman Mindset, breaking down the mental “wall” of an endurance race to conquer massive organizational barriers. And you’ll learn about the Future of Talent; Why tomorrow’s leaders must anchor themselves in STEM and AI while maintaining core human values. General Smith also talks about family legacy, and he and his wife Stacy raised two incredible, service-driven daughters: Sidney (Virgnia Military Institute graduate) and Ella (a standout collegiate athlete at the U.S. Naval Academy). Whether you are an aspiring young professional or a C-suite executive, this discussion is packed with actionable wisdom. LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

MAJOR GENERAL DAVID SMITH, USAF:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Dan Hesse talks with Ambassador Randy Tobias, former Vice Chair of AT&T, and Chair and CEO of AT&T’s primary operating unit, AT&T Communications. Randy left AT&T in 1993 to become Chair, President and CEO of Eli Lilly and Company. In 2003 President George W. Bush nominated him to be the founding United States Global AIDS Coordinator with the rank of Ambassador and with the charge to develop, launch and lead what became PEPFAR, a multibillion-dollar U.S. government initiative to blunt the global HIV/AIDS epidemic, first in sub-Saharan Africa and then globally. Now in its twenty-second year, PEPFAR is credited with having saved more than 26 million lives. Subsequently President Bush named Randy Administrator of USAID and concurrently the first Director of all United States Foreign Assistance with the rank of Deputy Secretary of State. Ambassador Tobias has been recognized with a long and diverse list of honors including five honorary degrees. He has served on a number of corporate and non-profit boards, and in leadership roles with numerous organizations including as chair of the boards of trustees of both Duke University and Indiana University. He is the author of two books, Put The Moose On The Table: Lessons In Leadership From A CEO’s Journey Through Business And Life, and Never Daunted: A Life and Legacy of Embracing Change, a memoir published in 2025. LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

AMBASSADOR RANDY TOBIAS:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Horst Schulze, the legendary founder of the Ritz-Carlton hotel group, and author of Excellence Wins, as he shares his humble and amazing story of how – and why – he set the gold standard for customer service that ultimately led to the creation of the most iconic hotel brand in the world… and it all began with a dream at age five! Horst began his illustrious career as a busboy. How did he end up founding the Ritz-Carlton? What did he learn about leadership, business structure, people management, genuine motivation, financing and surviving amid brutally tough times? All these lessons and learnings—and more—are packed into this episode. LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

HORST SCHULZE:

“Industry luminaries regard Horst Schulze as the leading hotelier in the world, but his influence extends far beyond the hospitality business.”

—Dr. Tim Irwin, New York Times bestselling author and leadership authority

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Dan Hesse talks with former U.S. Senator William W. “Bill” Bradley and how he navigated major life transitions, why he shares very personal stories; you’ll even hear Bill sing a Van Morrison song to demonstrate his latest passion. Senator Bradley represents a rare convergence of elite performance across athletics, academics and public service. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1979 – 1997 representing the state of New Jersey. In 2000, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President. Prior to serving in the Senate, he was an Olympic gold medalist and a professional basketball player with the New York Knicks during which time they won two (2) NBA championships. In 1982, he was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame. Senator Bradley holds a bachelor’s degree in American History from Princeton and a master’s degree from Oxford, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Senator Bradley is a Managing Director of Allen & Company and hosts American Voices, a weekly show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio that highlights the remarkable accomplishments of Americans, both famous and unknown. He has authored seven books on American politics, culture, and the economy, and his performative autobiography, Rolling Along, has been viewed more than 20 million times. LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

BILL BRADLEY:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Vienna Pharaon, a highly regarded licensed marriage and family therapist practicing in New York City and author of an off-the-charts best-selling book, The Origins of You: How Breaking Family Patterns Can Liberate the Way We Live and Love. This episode addresses some of the most fundamental and powerful forces in each of our lives that directly affect our individual ability to reach our full potential, in life, relationships, athletics, and in literally any endeavor we pursue, including business. Vienna Pharaon’s insights on human behavior and a common “why” behind what we individually choose, can be—and often are, literally, transformative and life-changing. Her book, The Origins of You, has become a global phenomenon, a national best-seller, and already has been translated into 24 languages. In the book, Vienna offers a profound analysis of how unresolved childhood wounds fundamentally reshape our relationship and our professional trajectories… and if not addressed, can put our career or lifestyle at risk. We may discover we are living a story we never actually chose. In this episode, you’ll uncover the hidden forces and childhood patterns that are secretly threatening our leadership, our organizations and our personal lives. Learn how to get the wisdom YOU need to protect YOUR future and break any destructive cycles. LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

VIENNA PHARAON:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Dan Hesse talks with Bruce Mehlman, CEO of Mehlman Consulting, a bipartisan firm he founded after serving at senior levels in politics, policy and business, to discuss the growing role that geopolitical risk plays in the strategy of all companies, large and small. Mehlman Consulting helps Fortune 500 companies and innovative startups understand, anticipate and navigate the ever-evolving policy environment and trends likely to impact the global marketplace. A highly sought-after public speaker to Boards of Directors, global conferences and strategic planning sessions, Mehlman’s popular Age of Disruption substack reaches tens of thousands of readers across business, government, NGOs and global investment firms each week. His well-recognized infographics regarding political trends are frequently covered in leading publications, including the Washington Post, Axios, Politico, CNN, Bloomberg and Fox News. Mehlman has lectured on “winning business-government relations” at the Harvard Kennedy School, Yale School of Management and Georgetown University, among others. Mehlman previously held the post of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Technology Policy, having been nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2001. Prior to this appointment, he worked at Cisco Systems, the House of Representatives and at a Washington D.C. law firm. Mehlman is widely regarded as an expert in running issue campaigns, managing C-suite associations and developing strategies that achieve impactful policy outcomes. He also serves as Executive Director of the Technology CEO Council.

BRUCE MEHLMAN:

In this episode of The Mentors Radio, Host Tom Loarie talks with Robert Spetzler, M.D., a world-renown neurosurgeon specializing in cerebrovascular disease and skull base tumors. He served as the J.N. Harber Chairman Emeritus of Neurological Surgery, and Director Emeritus, as well as President and CEO Emeritus, of the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Under Dr. Spetzler’s leadership, the Institute grew from a regional center to a global destination for the treatment, education, and research of neurological conditions. He is also emeritus chair of neurosurgery at the Phoenix campus of the University of Arizona College of Medicine. Dr. Spetzler was involved in pioneering the technique of hypothermia and cardiac arrest (‘cardiac standstill’) for the treatment of difficult brain lesions, which, as he explains, “has allowed us to treat patients who otherwise had absolutely no other option.” He performed more than 6,000 aneurysm surgeries during his career, treating some of the most complex cases in the world. Just over 100 of those patients underwent cardiac standstill. Dr. Spetzler’s desire to pursue a medical career, and to treat all—especially patients—with dignity, took root when he was age 5, when he had contracted tetanus from a rusty nail. Tetanus at the time was usually fatal. In the middle of the night his parents rushed him to the hospital, doing what they could to make sure he stayed awake on the way (to avoid falling into a tetany attack). At the hospital, he became one of the first people to receive a new drug, penicillin, which saved his life. Later, during a medical teaching presentation of his case, with the young Spetzler included in the presentation, the doctor failed to treat his young patient with even the slightest degree of dignity. Dr. Spetzler never forgot what that felt like and treating others, especially his patients, with dignity remained first and foremost the rest of his life, including in his practice and in his leadership. Honored many times by professional societies, including the American College of Surgeons and the Congress of Neurological Surgeons, in 1994, Dr. Spetzler was chosen to be the Honored Guest of Congress of Neurological Surgeons. At age 49, he was the youngest recipient of this prestigious honor. Five years later, he received the Herbert Olivcrona Award (the “Nobel Prize of Neurosurgery”), among many other awards listed in his biography. Born in Stierhoefstetten, Germany, Dr. Spetzler moved with his family to the United States at the age of 11. He received his B.S. from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, and his doctorate of medicine from Northwestern Medical School in Chicago. His postgraduate training was completed at Wesley Memorial Hospital, Northwestern in Chicago. He completed a residency in neurosurgery at the University of California, San Francisco. He received board certification in September 1979 from the American Board of Neurological Surgery. In 1983 Dr. Spetzler left his position as associate professor of neurosurgery at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland to assume a position as chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Barrow Neurological Institute at Dignity Health St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix. He served as president and CEO of Barrow from 1986 to 2017. Also a prolific writer, Dr. Spetzler has published more than 300 articles and 180 book chapters and has co-edited multiple neurosurgical textbooks, including The Color Atlas of Microneurosurgery (2000).  

LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

ROBERT F. SPETZLER, M.D.

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks with Shirin Behzadi, author of The Unexpected CEO and an extraordinary leader who has lived what many would call three lifetimes in one. Shirin’s journey is a masterclass in perseverance, resiliance and what some would describe as anti-fragility. She rose from being alone, as an 18-year-old immigrant, working behind bulletproof glass as an all-night gas station cashier, to becoming the CEO of a billion-dollar home improvement franchise network. Along the way, she navigated a high-stakes, nine-figure private equity exit and overcame a life-threatening health crisis—a brain tumor—that forced her to redefine everything she knew about leadership. In this episode we dive deep into why your point of view—not your ability—is often your greatest limitation and how to transform adversity into your ultimate competitive advantage.  

LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

Key Wisdom from this Episode includes:

SHIRIN BEHZADI:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Dan Hesse talks with Dr. Kaushik Basu, Professor of Economics and of International Studies at Cornell University. Dr. Basu was formerly Chief Economist of the World Bank, Chief Economic Adviser to the Indian Government, and president of the International Economic Association. He is currently co-Chair of the United Nations High-Level Expert Group “Beyond GDP”. Widely published, Dr. Basu’s works have been translated into several languages, including Chinese, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Polish and French. He won the Humboldt Research prize and he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the President of India. Dr. Basu has held visiting positions at Princeton, Harvard and M.I.T., and has authored several books, including The Republic of Beliefs: A New Approach to Law and Economics and Reason to be Happy—Why Logical Thinking is the Key to a Better Life.    LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

KAUSHIK BASU, PhD:

In this episode of THE MENTORS RADIO, Host Tom Loarie talks in a new episode with Jim Loehr, one of the world’s leading performance psychologists, a true pioneer in understanding human potential who has worked with the most elite athletes and business leaders, and who is a prolific author including his most recent book—and perhaps his most important—Sapiens Reinvented. You’ll learn about the real root of fear and bias, why it affects all of us, and why Loehr believes that families are the key to real change in our future. Loehr is the co-founder of the Human Performance Institute, a groundbreaking organization that transformed how elite performers manage energy, resilience, and purpose—and which was later acquired by Johnson & Johnson. Over his career, Jim has worked with world-class athletes, business leaders, physicians, and members of the military, and he’s authored nearly 20 influential books, including the landmark bestseller, The Power of Full Engagement. You’ll learn why Jim believes his recent book may be his most important work yet; Sapiens Reinvented: Saving the Species from a Deadly Evolutionary Flaw—a bold exploration of human nature, fear, bias, and what it will take to ensure the future of our species. You’ll also learn why relationships are, in the end, the essence of a meaningful life.    LISTEN TO the radio broadcast live on iHeart Radio, or to “THE MENTORS RADIO” podcast any time, anywhere, on any podcast platform – subscribe here and don’t miss an episode!

JIM LOEHR: