More Than Work

This week’s guest is Josh Young, Chief of Staff at New Story Charity.

New Story is focused on looking for innovative ways to solve the global housing crisis and homelessness. New Story Charity is the first such organisation to be part of Y Combinator. In 2018, they built their first 3D printed home and since then have built over 3000 homes in 4 countries. Looking for a place to give? 100% of donations go to the actual building of homes.

During college, Josh was a two sport Division 1 athlete and double-majored. He went to work on Wall Street right after graduating and you’ll hear why he moved on from that career and went to work on the State Senate campaign for Barry Finegold before getting accepted to Harvard for grad school and eventually taking his role at New Story Charity.

Losing his dad at a young age affected how Josh has lived his life and the role he has played in his family. We talk a bit about that too. He shares advice that I think a lot of people need to hear during what has been a time of transition. Listen up! 

Note from Rabiah (Host): 

Josh is one of the kindest and most centred guests I have had on the podcast so far. I have so much respect for the discipline and though he has about how he lives his life and how he has pursued his path. Let me know what you think and if you feel like it, send a donation to New Story Charity. I did. 

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Find Josh

New Story Charity: https://newstorycharity.org/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joshua_lc_young

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/joshua_lc_young

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Mentioned in this episode:

Y Combinator: https://www.ycombinator.com/ 

Barry Finegold: https://www.barryfinegold.com/ 

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More than Work Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @morethanworkpod Please review and follow anywhere you get podcasts. Thank you for listening. Have feedback? Email morethanworkpod(at)gmail.com!

This week’s guest is Cathy Nesbitt, Worm Advocate and Laugher Ambassador based in Ontario, Canada. 

What is a Worm Advocate? Someone who sees worms as useful in the fight against climate change for one! Cathy is actually the founder Cathy's Crawly Composters which is a worm-based composting business. In fact, she is celebrating the 20th anniversary of her company. 

New to composting or not sure what it is? Listen up because we talk about that in the first 5 minutes.

Did you know worms have no eyes? Cathy mentions this and other interesting facts about them. 

Before starting her business, Cathy was a social worker, focused on adults living with challenges. She continues to serve that community through education as part of her business.

Cathy also does laughter yoga. It is part of her personal wellness practice but also something she shares. She holds her own online group you can join, and she teaches a special needs class. Laughter yoga is intentional laughing. We chat about the origin of the practice in 1995 and how Cathy has incorporated this into her life and work. In 2016, she got trained as a teacher.

Have a listen and get to know Cathy!

Note from Rabiah (Host): 

I was skeptical about laughter yoga before this chat but in hearing about it from Cathy, I get it. Admittedly, I haven’t practiced it yet though I think I do a form of it when I rewatch old Robin Williams clips…

This chat reminded me that I am often skeptical of things I hear about but when I dig deeper and remove my own ignorance, people are doing really cool things that work for them. It’s not much different than the sentiment of the adage, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” In editing, I always reflect on my conversations even more and Cathy made me think a lot about living with intention and purpose and being brave enough to pivot to fulfil that purpose when what we’re doing initially is no longer service us. I hope you get something out of the chat too.

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Find Cathy

Website

Facebook

LinkedIn

Twitter

YouTube

TedX Talk

Cathy's Laughter Yoga Club 

Cathy's Sprouts 

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Mentioned in this episode:

Laughter Yoga

Dr. Norman Cousins 

Greta Thunberg

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More than Work Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @morethanworkpod Please review and follow anywhere you get podcasts. Thank you for listening. Have feedback? Email morethanworkpod(at)gmail.com!

This week’s guest is Kevin G. Chapman, Assistant General Counsel at Dow Jones and Company, and crime fiction author. 

Kevin is a labor and employment lawyer who started out in law firms. But, for the last 27 years he has been in-house counsel having started out at The Wall Street Journal. He has resided in Central New Jersey for that long too. 

As a lawyer, Kevin writes a LOT. But it was when he got laid off from a firm 5 years after finishing law school that he started writing his first fiction novel, Identity Crisis which he published via a small publishing house. His next book took 10 years to complete and was self-published.  

We get into how he approached writing differently when he decided to write for the purpose of selling his work starting with his first crime fiction novel, Righteous Assassin. Also, how he went about learning to market his novels and the business of self-publishing. Kevin has written an entire crime fiction series focused around the main character he created, NYPD Detective Mike Stoneman. One of those novels, Lethal Voyage, was even a Kindle Book Award finalist in 2021!

Hear about what Kevin is working on next and the communities he is a part of both as an independent author and as in-house counsel. He also plays tournament poker! 

Note from Rabiah (Host): 

I have not read Kevin’s books yet but I’m very curious about Mike Stoneman so that’ll happen soon. I intended too but time just didn’t allow it. One thing that came up in our chat was that Kevin is a member of an author community. I have learned so much about how important community is and it is more prominent in my life than it used to be. It has been a theme of this podcast too. I’d love to hear what communities listeners are a part of.

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Find Kevin

Website: kevingchapman.com

Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/MikeStoneman/posts/865325540547293/ 

Mike Stoneman Box Set: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09SS8XL44 

Lethal Voyage, winner of the 2021 Kindle Book Award: http://getbook.at/lethal_voyage 

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Mentioned in this episode:

Dow Jones: https://www.dowjones.com/ 

Xlibris Publishing: https://www.xlibris.com/en 

Jencey Keeton Episode of More Than Work: https://www.rabiahsaid.com/podcast/s5e8-jencey-keeton 

Chanticleer Book Reviews: https://www.chantireviews.com/ 

In the intro:

Yard Act: https://yardactors.com/

Ann Liu Cannon: https://linktr.ee/annliu

True Strays: https://www.truestrays.com/

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More than Work Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @morethanworkpod Please review and follow anywhere you get podcasts. Thank you for listening. Have feedback? Email morethanworkpod(at)gmail.com!

This week’s guest is Manik Suri, founder and CEO of Therma. 

Manik studied Political Science as an undergrad at Harvard University and then earned his Master’s in international Relations at Cambridge University in England. 

After school, he ended up working in Finance at an investment firm and then pursued law school. During law school, he worked at an internship with the economic policy team in the first Obama Administration. There, he met the Deputy CTO of the US, Beth Noveck, and was introduced to the idea that tech, law and government intersected so moved into tech for good.

He went to The Governance Lab (The Gov Lab) at NYU where tech for government was in action. Hear about the exciting project that they did with the United Nations.

Manik co-founded Therma when was Inspired to move into private sector and entrepreneurship after seeing the opportunity to build and scale a company while also having a positive social impact. 

Therma is working to improve the cold chain which is the part of the supply chain that moves food and also medical supplies (like vaccines!). It is smart refrigeration technology for that seeks to reduce food waste, energy waste and refrigerant leakage. 

Note from Rabiah (Host): 

Manik has had a brilliant career as a student and post-college and in founding a company with the embedded value of social impact really resonated with me a lot. It was exciting to hear about his work in government and I did not know about Beth Noveck before but want to know more now! I often ask myself how I can contribute more, even on the podcast sometimes, and really found what Manik has done and is doing very invigorating. Enjoy the chat!

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Find Manik

Manik on Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/manikvsuri 

Therma: https://www.hellotherma.com/ 

Therma Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hellotherma/ 

Therma LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hellotherma/ 

Therma Twitter: https://twitter.com/HelloTherma 

Email: manik @ hellotherma (dot) com

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Mentioned in this episode:

Beth Noveck: https://twitter.com/bethnoveck 

The Governance Lab: https://twitter.com/TheGovLab 

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More than Work Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @morethanworkpod Please review and follow anywhere you get podcasts. Thank you for listening. Have feedback? Email morethanworkpod(at)gmail.com! 

This week’s guest is Corey Spiegel, Founder and CEO of Lighthouse. Lighthouse is a diverse community of smart women who support one another through various groups and classes.

Light House was born out of Corey reaching a crossroads in her own career and really wanting a “board of directors” for her life when she was making a major decision. After considering close friends and family to advise, she realized that there was value in getting advice. Light House began as a place for women only but has recently expanded to include topics that are designed for men.

We talk about:

• Corey leaving her 25 year career as an entertainment and digital marketing executive to start her own company
• The importance of conversation in current times and the need to take responsibility for our words and actions with grace and patience to understand others
• Setting boundaries
• Transitioning her business from in-person only to online during COVID

And more!

Note from Rabiah (Host):

Corey touched on something very important in this episode which was connection and sharing of our stories. Both resonated with me A LOT. She has created a space for both that is really unique. We have a lot in common when it comes to that and it has manifested itself in different ways for us. I’m become more and more careful about who I personally hold space with and for and think we all deserve to be discerning about that. I hope you enjoy this episode!

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Find Corey

Website: https://www.findyourlighthouse.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/findyour_lighthouse and https://www.instagram.com/findyourlhlite

Email: [email protected]

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More than Work Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @morethanworkpod Please review and follow anywhere you get podcasts. Thank you for listening. Have feedback? Email morethanworkpod(at)gmail.com!

This week’s guest is photographer Julie Campbell. She is based near Ventura County in Southern California. Her focus is mostly on family and newborn photography but she does corporate photography such as product for brands and headshots. Full disclosure, she took the host Rabiah’s family photos in December.

Julie actually started out as an elementary school teacher. When she had kids of her own she started photographing them and really enjoyed it. This hobby got more serious as she took online tutorials to build up her skillset. Getting a DSLR camera was a game changer. With this new equipment in hand, she taught herself Photoshop. She also got education around starting a photography business which she highly recommends anyone starting out take the time to do early on!

At the suggestion of her husband, Julie branched out from taking photos of her own family into taking photos for other families. At first, she did it free of charge but after a while, it was time to start getting paid for the work.

We talked about transitioning to charging what she was worth which is a struggle for a lot of creatives and entrepreneurs. We also discussed something that people often reveal to their photographer; everyone is self-conscious when having photo taken. If you are one of those people, you’ll want to hear this chat. You’re not alone.

Note from Rabiah (Host): 

Julie did an excellent job photographing my family near Malibu, CA. We all love our photos but we definitely all brought our own brand of “I hope I look ok” to the shoot. One thing that I love about this podcast is that I get to talk to people about what they do and how they ended up there and Julie really has a DIY story that I loved hearing. I am even more impressed with her than I was when we met or when I saw her work. If you’re in So Cal, I recommend you see her for your photos!

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Find Julie

Julie’s Website: https://www.juliecampbellphotography.com/ 

Julie’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juliegcampbell/

Julie’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JulieCampbellPhotography 

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Mentioned in this episode:

Steph Mathena episode: https://www.rabiahsaid.com/podcast/s2e11-steph-mathena 

Meg Loeks Photography: http://www.megloeks.com/

Meg Loeks Instagram: http://instagram.com/meg_nlo

Meg Loeks Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/megloeksphotography 

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More than Work Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @morethanworkpod Please review and follow anywhere you get podcasts. Thank you for listening. Have feedback? Email morethanworkpod(at)gmail.com!

This week’s guest is JJ Ramberg, entrepreneur, television host, podcast host, best selling author and mom.

She is the co-founder of Goodpods, a podcast player that is seeking to solve the podcast discovery problem by allowing users to follow friends and influencers. Shows they listen to display in follower’s feeds. The app has been awarded honors by both Fast Company and Inc.

JJ also founded two companies with a charity focus. Goodshop is a coupon site where users can find the best coupons online and choose to have a percentage of their purchase go to a cause or charity. And Dogdog.org is a search engine that donates money to dog shelters every time a visitor searches the site.

JJ became aware of companies giving back (The Body Shop and Ben and Jerry’s) when she was young. Her parents also were always giving back. It became a goal to start a socially responsible company.

Before Goodpods, JJ was a journalist hosting the MSNBC show “Your Business” which focused on the stories of entrepreneurs. She started out studying journalism and then went to business school. Throughout her career she went between working in journalism and startups even founding Goodshop just as she was starting her MSNBC show.

JJ is also the author of two books. It’s Your Business was written with producers from her MSNBC show and contains small business tips learned while making the the show. And, The Startup Club is a book for kids about entrepreneurship.

We also chatted about the impact JJ’s upbringing had on her as wet watched her parents both run their own companies. The ability to take a risk was engrained in her. Check out the episode for more!

Note from Rabiah (Host): This is a quick episode. JJ is super focused and it is no wonder why. She is a busy woman! It is impressive that she has built companies while pursuing a journalism career. One career is enough for a lot of people. But, also I loved talking to her for a moment about values and how hers to give back are part of her businesses. I’m also a user of her app and have felt the benefits of using it as it has helped me discover shows. Maybe you’ll listen to this episode on Goodpods!

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Find JJ Website: https://www.jjramberg.com/ Twitter: https://www.facebook.com/jjramberg/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jj.ramberg/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jj-ramberg-6b7976/

Goodpods: https://www.goodpods.com/

Goodshop: https://www.goodshop.com/

Dogdog: https://www.dogdog.org/

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Mentioned in this episode: The Body Shop: https://www.thebodyshop.com/

Ben and Jerry’s: https://www.benjerry.com/

Fast Company 10 most innovative social media companies of 2021: https://www.fastcompany.com/90600321/social-media-most-innovative-companies-2021 Inc magazine

Top 100 Female Founders 2020: https://www.inc.com/profile/jj-ramberg

Alyssa Milano: https://twitter.com/Alyssa_Milano

Kim Kardashian: https://twitter.com/KimKardashian

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More than Work Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @morethanworkpod Please review and follow anywhere you get podcasts. Thank you for listening. Have feedback? Email morethanworkpod(at)gmail.com!

This week’s guest is Veronika Didusenko, former Miss Ukraine. She was stripped of the title for also being a mother and is an activist for the #righttobeamother campaign. But, she is on More Than Work now to talk about the Russian war on Ukraine.

Veronika is one of 2 million people who has fled Ukraine. She left with her son. She talks about the experience of leaving, the people who are still at home and what we can do to help.


We spoke after she held a press conference in Los Angeles with Gloria Allred asking the US to take more action including issuing emergency Visas and status to those fleeing Ukraine. She could not bring her son with her to the United States because he did not have a Visa.

Actions to take:

If you know of Ukrainian refugees, help them by providing housing, clothing, food and anything else they may need. They left their homes with very little and don’t know that they will see them again.

Contact your government representatives and ask that US (or UK) immigration laws be adjusted to allow Ukrainian refugees of war to enter the country. Families should not be separated and people need to find the help they need.

Contact your representatives and encourage them to continue to send weapons, munitions, food, etc to Ukraine.

Note from Rabiah (Host): I wanted to talk to Veronika under different circumstances. She is an extraordinary woman. We will do so in the future. For now, it is important her voice and the voice of other Ukrainians is heard. One part of the conversation that we didn’t get in the recording was her recounting that a child died of dehydration while in shelter in Ukraine because there was no water. This is a humanitarian crisis. It is a tragedy. It is war. Thank you for listening.

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Find Veronika

Twitter: https://twitter.com/vdidusenko  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veronika_didusenko

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/veronika.didusenko.official

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Mentioned in this episode: The call to action is to help people in need and to contact government officials.

One resource for supporting Ukraine: https://ukrainianinstitute.org.uk/russias-war-against-ukraine-what-can-you-do-to-support-ukraine-ukrainians/ 

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More than Work Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @morethanworkpod Please review and follow anywhere you get podcasts. Thank you for listening. Have feedback? Email morethanworkpod(at)gmail.com!

This week’s guest is Jencey Keeton, Founder at Sweet Tooth Hotel. Sweet Tooth Hotel is an immersive art gallery in Dallas, Texas. It is a platform for local artists and also special installations with outside artists. On the day of recording, Jencey announced the they were opening a new location in downtown which was very exciting! Find a link below if you’re in Dallas and get to the Sweet Tooth Hotel!

What makes Sweet Tooth Hotel “immersive”? Guests can touch everything in the gallery. The art is accessible to everyone and local artists are celebrated there, even before they are big on the coasts. Jencey’s mom was an art teacher so she learned to appreciate and create art from her childhood. She is often involved in making the art at Sweet Tooth Hotel from cutting fabric and sewing to painting.

Before Sweet Tooth Hotel, Jencey was a working musician and then a digital marketer. Her marketing career took her to Fossil and then into commercial real estate. It happens that in learning about real estate and conscious capitalism, she saw an opportunity to rent a space in a construction office to create the first iteration of Sweet Tooth Hotel with her husband Cole. They drained their savings account and took a chance!

Sweet Tooth Hotel was a massive hit and they are expanding! The most recent exhibition was called Intangible which was an all-female exhibit of fiber art. What is fiber art? Think fabrics like crochet, pom poms and more! Also, Jencey offers some great advice to artists looking to get their work displayed.

We talked about what Jencey is doing outside of Sweet Tooth Hotel too delving into balance, health and music. She was in a touring folk pop band for 3 years. Then, her and her husband Cole formed French 75 and composed, recorded and performed together in collaboration with DJ Left/Right. Jencey is ready for her next music pursuit.

You’ll have to listen to learn more about all of this!

Note from Rabiah (Host): It is SO cool to see people you know grow and do amazing things. Jencey and I worked together tangentially at Fossil and what struck with me about her was that she was one of the few people that was really kind who wasn’t in my direct department but she was also clearly talented and creative. I always enjoyed our interactions and have been following her path on LinkedIn for a while. It was really a pleasure to finally get to talk. I can’t wait to visit Sweet Tooth Hotel sometime! Check out the link below exclusively for More Than Work listeners.

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Find Jencey Sweet Tooth Hotel: https://www.sweettoothhotel.com

Tickets to Sweet Tooth Hotel: https://www.showclix.com/event/rewind-watters-creek/tag/morethanwork

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sweettoothhotel/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sweettoothhotel/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/sweettoothhotel/

TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLA9ex75/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKbwHBsZGCEMlXp5r4GYwkg

French 75: https://www.facebook.com/French75music

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Mentioned in this episode:

Built By Bender https://builtbybender.com/

Refinery 29 https://www.refinery29.com/

Trademark Property https://trademarkproperty.com/

Kendra Scott https://www.kendrascott.com/

Leatherology https://www.leatherology.com/

Craft Yarn Council https://www.craftyarncouncil.com/

London Kaye https://www.londonkaye.com/

Meow Wolf https://meowwolf.com/visit/las-vegas

Museum of Ice Cream: https://www.museumoficecream.com/

David Sinclair https://sinclair.hms.harvard.edu/people/david-sinclair

You Us We Them https://soundcloud.com/youuswethem

Left/Right https://linktr.ee/leftrightmusic

Calirosa Tequila https://www.calirosatequila.com/

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More than Work Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @morethanworkpod Please review and follow anywhere you get podcasts. Thank you for listening. Have feedback? Email morethanworkpod(at)gmail.com!

This week’s guest is Rock Felder, Co-founder and CFO of SquadCast. This is the second interview with a SquadCast founder. Zach Moreno was on the podcast previously so check that out too. Rock grew up in a family that included entrepreneurs. And, when it was time for him to go to college and go to work, he knew he had to be self-sufficient so he chose accounting as a career knowing it was a job that paid well and was always needed. Being a CPA allowed him to work in many industries (agriculture, construction, banking) and laid the foundation for him understanding business from the views of various departments.

Having always wanted to do his own thing and start a business, it was a no-brainer when he was approached by Zach regarding the idea for SquadCast. A wonderful business partnership was born. Anyone who has started a business or is thinking of starting a business will want to hear Rock’s decision to commit to doing that himself as well as how he works with his partner.

Rock is very passionate about his work and helping people solving their problems. In addition to caring about customers, he also cares about those he works with. Trust is a key value of his and we chatted about how that looks at SquadCast. We also chatted about hiring new people onto a team and what happiness at work means.

Rock isn’t all work and no play. For him, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is an activity he enjoys for physical fitness. But it also has the benefit of mentally giving him a chance to escape from the work and personal things for a while. He can just focus on the activity. We talk through what a typical class looks like too!

Note from Rabiah (Host): Firstly, I’m so glad I chose SquadCast as my recording platform when I started the podcast. There is an amazing community of podcasters that they have created with their community manager Arielle Nissenblatt at the helm. This chat with Rock was a lot of fun. I say fun a lot with the podcast but I do have fun and learn a ton. I’m so happy to bring this to listeners as he is so positive but also real and I appreciate people who are both. I also am now intrigued by jiu jitsu though honestly sometimes I feel like walking down the street is enough of a physical challenge! What I hope people get out of this episode is what Rock says about trust at work and happiness at work. But also, anything else they get is great too! Don’t forget to leave a review and share if you know someone who will want to hear this too! +++++ Find Rock Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/rockwellfelder  LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rockwell-felder-cpa/  Squadcast: https://squadcast.fm/?ref=rabiahcoon  
Between Two Mics: https://pod.link/1450592076 

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Mentioned in this episode: Zach Moreno Episode: https://www.rabiahsaid.com/podcast/s5e4-zach-moreno  Freakonmics podcast: https://freakonomics.com/podcasts/ Huberman Lab: https://hubermanlab.com/ Acquired podcast: https://www.acquired.fm/  Arielle Nissenblatt on Twitter: https://twitter.com/arithisandthat 

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More than Work Facebook, Instagram, Twitter: @morethanworkpod Please review and follow anywhere you get podcasts. Thank you for listening. Have feedback? Email morethanworkpod(at)gmail.com!