Meet Mediocrity

My conversation with Rob Dill: Rob is a regular, unassuming guy.  He is a long-time biology teacher at a community college in New Jersey and he was introduced to me for the podcast by a mutual friend. When I was first introduced to Rob, I was told that he has done triathlons and he would be a good podcast guest.  Rob has accomplished so much more than that - and he’s incredibly humble about it.

Rob has done more than 10 ironman triathlons, over 30 marathons, ultra races on trails… and he has done the New York City Marathon 23 straight years!  The New York City Road Runners Club, the organization that runs the New York City Marathon honors runners who have run the race in 15 or more straight years - calling that group “streakers”.  That makes Rob a “streaker” - and, that DOES NOT mean he runs the race with no clothes on!

The best thing about Rob is that he is incredibly humble and he tells great stories about the races he has participated in.  He also provides some incredibly sensible and relatable advice for beginners - how to get started, how to build up endurance and strength, and how to do it without injuring yourself.

My conversation with Jennifer DiStefano, Kris Amplo and Bryan Kuhl:  A four person conversation on the Meet Mediocrity Podcast!  And, an incredibly special and powerful conversation at that.  Jen DiStefano is the widow of Matthew (Dezi) DiStefano - an incredibly strong, inspirational, special man who lost his battle to cancer in January 2020. Kris and Bryan are long time friends of Matthew and now they help lead the DezyStrong Foundation, an organization founded by Matthew while he was battling cancer.

Today, the DezyStrong Foundation helps cancer patients and their families with financial support to help take a little pressure off of a high pressure situation.

Matthew was an accomplished athlete, a high school teacher and perhaps one of the most successful varsity volleyball coaches in Long Island history.  In his athletic endeavors, Matthew became an inspiration and a role model to so many young women and men he came in contact with.  After his cancer diagnosis Matthew’s energy and contagious enthusiasm grew, where most other people’s would wane.  Matthew’s motto “I GET TO” resonates with anyone!  Whether it’s going to work, going to the gym, getting out of bed in the morning, eating healthy… anything at all - you don’t HAVE TO, you GET TO.

Every day we walk the planet Earth should be viewed as a great day. That’s what DeziStrong is all about, and that’s what Meet Mediocrity is all about too!

Check out the DeziStrong Foundation (and buy yourself and your friends some DeziStrong apparel) at - https://www.dezystrong.org/

Follow the DeziStrong Foundation on Instagram at - @DeziStrongFoundation

My conversation with Emily Oliver: Emily found herself in a corporate job that paid a good salary, great benefits, paid vacation and more.  Yet, she was unhappy and unfulfilled. She wanted more. 

With that, Emily went against those people who thought she should not give up the stability and opportunity of a "good job".  She became trained and certified.  Emily is now a Certified Happiness and Goals Coach.  He company is called Goals Garden.  Like a garden, our minds germinate ideas that require nurturing in order to grow.  And, when environmental facts impact the growth of our minds, we need to adapt and adjust to keep the growth on track.  The human mind and garden analogy is alive and well with Emily and her coaching approach.

Today, Emily is empowering individuals with solution-oriented methods to enhance well-being, relieve symptoms of depression, anxiety,  and ADD/ADHD. All of which allows them to experience more purpose, pleasure, and pride.

Check out Emily at:

Her website: https://goalsgarden.com/

Her Instagram: @goals_garden

Her Facebook: @goalsgarden

My conversation with Kaileen Cox: Kai is the founder and owner of Awaken Innate Healing.  When you enter Kai’s website (www.awakeninnatehealing.com) you encounter a quote: “We all have the power to heal our mind, body and spirit innately.  It’s time to awaken those powers.”  This quote sums up Kai in a nutshell.

Kai is an intuitive healer.  She is a licensed massage therapist, she is a medium and she uses the Bio-Touch healing method.  Kai is able to see spirits and energies and has honed her intuition to be able to communicate with them to help people heal on a spiritual and mental level.

I found Kai to be fascinating and authentic.  Check out Kai:

Her website: www.awakeninnatehealing.com

Her Instagram: @awaken.innate.healing

Her Facebook: @awakeninnatehealing

Bio-Touch Healing: www.justtouch.com

My conversation with Callie Wylie: Callie is the founder, owner and CEO of Glowponent, a high-performance coaching approach that focuses on wellness, nutrition, relationships and more. The thing that struck me the most about Callie is that she is dynamic, energetic, authentic and relatable. She readily admits her own human struggles and puts herself out there as an example of someone who has tried, failed, and not given up on herself.

In our conversation, Callie describes some of her missteps and how she continues to persevere. Even at her most trying moments, she constantly reminded herself, "I won't give up on this dream". This mindset and approach is what put her in a position to overcome some of her business and personal challenges to become a successful coach, podcaster and social media personality.

You can find Callie:

At her website: www.glowponent.com

On instagram: @theglowponentmethod

Her podcast: The Glowponent Podcast

My conversation with Valerie Baudais-Baconnet: Valerie went to school for journalism, but found that journalism wasn't for her and communication WAS for her!  What Valerie did learn from journalism is to approach communication with an inquiring mind - always asking why.  And then.... asking why again!

By bringing this inquiring mindset to communication, Valerie helps her clients explore the messages they want to deliver, stand in the shoes of their intended audience, and deliver communications that resonate the way her clients want them to resonate.  This standing in the other person's shoes is what Valerie and I hope will bring on what I termed "the golden age of communication".  Understanding and relating better to one another when speaking, when writing, when interacting on social media could maybe bring people and our society closer together and create that "golden age".

Valerie also places a strong emphasis on listening.  Pay close attention to those quiet people.  They are the ones who are listening, doing, thinking and learning - things that are hard to do when you are speaking!

Check out Valerie's Val&Co website: http://valandco.eu/

Check out Val&Co on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/val&co/

My (second!) conversation with Pam Sherman: Pam is the self proclaimed Perfect Balance Guru with a following of health and wellness clients she calls "the tribe".  When Pam and I spoke the first time (Season 2, Episode 2), Pam told us about the journey that led her to becoming a trainer, a wellness instructor, an author and a motivational speaker.  

On this episode, Pam and I explore the small things we can do to improve our overall wellness.  As Pam describes, you don't need to sweat to make healthy improvements.  Pam also shares challenges she has faced with maintaining her own weight and fitness and how she overcame those challenges.  

Pam is amazingly positive, energetic and informative.  Her pragmatic approach to fitness and diet make her easy to relate to and easy to learn from.  Pam is regularly featured in newspapers, magazines and on television.  She has also authored 7 books about healthy living, nutrition and fitness.  Check Pam out at:

Her website: https://www.theperfectbalance.guru/

Her YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=the+perfect+balance

Her Instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/perfectbalanceguru/

My conversation with Melanie Perkins: Last week we met Max Perkins, a native of Nantucket, Massachusetts a beautiful tourist destination located 30 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.  Max has the good fortune of living where he loves and making a career doing jobs that he loves.  I call this Happy Place Living!  

Max's wife Melanie grew up in suburban Connecticut, a far cry from living at a tourist destination like Nantucket.  Melanie was living in the Boston area and practicing nursing full-time when she met and married Max.  This lifestyle grew increasingly stressful, especially in 2020 during the COVID pandemic.

When Max and Melanie decided to move to Nantucket, they made a decision to make their happy place their home.  That move also gave Melanie an opportunity to re-evaluate her work-life balance.  Melanie is now a thriving entrepreneur.  And, while she still takes occasional nursing shifts at the local hospital, she spends most of her time nurturing the two businesses she launched in 2020.  Fleurish Nantucket is a florist business and Glistn Nantucket is a mobile wellness and beauty business.  In launching these businesses and living on the beautiful island of Nantucket, Melanie has found the perfect way to make her happy place her home.

Find out more about Melanie's businesses on her websites and on social media:

Her florist business: https://www.fleurishnantucket.com/ AND @fleurishnantucket on Instagram and Facebook

Her mobile wellness and beauty business: https://www.glistnnantucket.com/ AND @glistnnantucket on Instagram and Facebook

My conversation with Max Perkins: This podcast introduces a Meet Mediocrity series on “finding your happy place”.  This podcast episode is part one of two episodes that can be listened to together or separately.  You can also check out the Meet Mediocrity YouTube channel to watch our VLOG #5 about “finding your happy place”

This week’s and next week’s podcast episodes feature Max and Melanie Perkins.  An amazing couple that come from very different backgrounds who agreed as a couple on Max’s “home town”, Nantucket, Massachusetts as their “happy place”.  Both Max and Mel have evolved their careers and their lives to make the most of living in a very seasonal and beautiful community.

In this episode, we meet Max, an impressive and versatile businessperson who was born and raised on the island of Nantucket.  He is a residential real estate broker who has sold property on Nantucket and in the greater Boston area.  He is a licensed USCG maritime captain who helps run his family's local business, Shearwater Excursions. He is a trained soccer and ice hockey official and he is an ice hockey coach.

Max has truly found a way to blend his love of Nantucket, his entrepreneurial mindset and his personal passions to create a thriving life at his happy place!

You can find more about Max at:

My conversation with Laetitia Vitaud: An acclaimed expert on "the future of work", and a self-proclaimed feminist, Laetitia shares her observations and insights about how women and families have addressed their careers, their finances, their families and their futures in light of the current pandemic.

She approaches this conversation with an interesting perspective - as women and families react to immediate needs, they are potentially putting their future financial needs and personal growth at risk. And, by reacting quickly, they are potentially upsetting an ecosystem that relies on people helping people become their very best selves.

In today's conversation we address some common reactions to the pandemic and we also explore the future of work as the pandemic progresses and ultimately subsides.  This episode is sure to leave you with plenty of food for thought as you ponder your next steps in today's world.

Laetitia is a well known writer, book author and speaker.

Find Laetitia at:

Her website - https://laetitiavitaud.com/

Her blog/newsletter (which I LOVE) - https://laetitiaatwork.substack.com/

Her podcast - https://buildingbridges.substack.com/