Darren Joe is an entrepreneur, writer, and podcast host. In 2012, he started Touch MBA, which has helped thousands of applicants worldwide get into the world’s top business schools. He hosts the Touch MBA Admissions Podcast, one of the top-ranked MBA podcasts. As well as ASE, a podcast which explores how self-employed creators and entrepreneurs manage their well-being and do their best work. In April 2021, he published his first book, The Fail-Safe Solopreneur: 6 Essential practices to manage your well-being working for yourself.

A graduate of Princeton University, he resides in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. A former Division 1 tennis player, Darren enjoys salsa dancing and playing Cataan to relax.

I had a great time talking to Darren and really appreciate how genuine he is and the perspective he brings to entrepreneurship and life.

Some of the topics we discussed:
* The power of mastermind groups and importance of how they’re facilitated
* The power of small groups vs. large ones
* The importance of connecting with others on a similar path
* The importance and power of ranking your day
* The concept of the perfect day & what makes a perfect day
* The importance of looking both at the ups and the downs / the light and the dark side of business
* The danger (and opportunity) in comparison
* How Darren's parents responded to his book
* Darren’s big challenge going forward

Connect with Darren:
Web - https://upstartist.tv
Podcast -  https://upstartist.tv/ase
Instagram - https://instagram.com/freeyourinnerguru
The Fail-Safe Solopreneur: https://upstartist.tv/the-fail-safe-solopreneur/
Amazon/Audible link for The Fail-Safe Solopreneur: https://amzn.to/3ghY6bf

Connect with Steve:
Email - [email protected]
Web - https://sensitiverebel.com
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk7zd5kba1SQZOyM5sKKiVA
Instagram - https://instagram.com/thesensitiverebel

P.S. One note I want to make is that this interview was recorded a couple of months prior to publication, so Darren’s comments about the COVID-related restrictions in Vietnam do not reflect the current environment there.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com

Laura Tucker is a writer, photographer, podcaster, and recovering coach. She and I connected a while back, and in discussing our ideas about personal growth, coaching, gurus, and more, came up with the idea of a podcast swap … and then took it to another level by swapping the guest & host roles. So, in this episode, Laura took the host chair and interviewed me!

Here’s some of what we talked about: 

• How I accidentally became a professional artist
• My journey from IT to therapy and coaching 
• Differences between therapy and coaching
• What I’m rebelling against 
• The ‘big why’ behind my coaching work 
• What’s a Sensitive rebel, anyway?
• What’s an HSP?
• How sensitivity can be a strength. 
• My Instagram ‘strategy’
• Why I started a podcast, and some of my favorite ones to listen to
• The power of music, and some of my favorite music. 
• The importance of one’s physical environment

Definitely check out Laura’s Free Your Inner Guru podcast … a good place to start would be the ‘companion’ interview to this one - my interview of her, which is episode 93 of the Free Your Inner Guru podcast. We had a great conversation about her story, her experience with James Arthur Ray, and how the Sedona sweat lodge incident in 2009 which she was a part of affected her and informed her journey.

Connect with Laura:
Web - https://lauratucker.com
Podcast- https://freeyourinnerguru.com
Instagram -  https://instagram.com/freeyourinnerguru (podcast)
Instagram - https://instagram.com/thatlauratucker (photography)

Connect with Steve:
Email - [email protected]
Web - https://sensitiverebel.com
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk7zd5kba1SQZOyM5sKKiVA
Instagram - https://instagram.com/thesensitiverebel

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com

Daniel Arthur Smith is a USA Today & Wall Street Journal best selling author, who’s titles include Spectral Shift, Hugh Howey Lives, The Cathari Treasure and The Somali Deception, among others.

He also curates the short fiction series Tales From The Canyons of The Damned.

Daniel was raised in Michigan and graduated from Western Michigan University where he studied philosophy. Along his career journey he’s worked as a bartender, barista, poetry house proprietor, teacher, and technologist for Fortune 100 companies across America & Europe.

Whether or not you’ve read one of Daniel’s works, you probably have made use of a technology he helped develop during his IT career, which is one of the many subjects we cover in our conversation.

Here’s some of the other topics we discussed:

• The role of books in Daniel’s childhood
• The power and importance of perspective
• The unique experience of growing up in Michigan in the 80’s and how  it shaped Daniel and his career path
• The problems with ‘settling’
• How Daniel got stuck in his IT career for longer than he wanted to
• The important role writing plays in his life beyond a career

Connect with Daniel:
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanielArthurSmith
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danielsmi

Connect with Steve:
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesensitiverebel

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com

Dr. Joyce Mikal-Flynn is a Professor in the School of Nursing at California State University, Sacramento (CSUS). She received her Doctor of Education from St. Mary’s College and Masters of Science in Nursing at CSUS, focusing on trauma-informed care with an emphasis on building resilience and post-traumatic growth (PTG).

She developed the word Metahabilitation, to describe a more optimistic and productive outcome in the aftermath of trauma, and her research provided a strengths-based clinical pathway guiding individuals toward PTG. Her post-doctoral research focused on how traumatic experiences also build resilience and bring forth Post-Traumatic Growth  in secondary and vicarious trauma survivors as well as communities.

Along with the course she created at CSUS, Traumatology. An Introduction to Post-traumatic Growth, she continues to research, lecture and directly apply Metahabilitation in a variety of rehabilitation and recovery settings.

Her second book on the subject, Anatomy of a Survivor. Building Resilience Grit and Growth After Trauma, was released in April 2021.

Topics discussed include:

• Dr. Mikal-Flynn’s own traumatic event and recovery from it
• What ‘Metahabilitation’ is and how it works
• The importance of support system in any recovery process
• Reframing challenges and struggles as starting points vs. end points 
• The power and importance of permission and control in recovery

Get in Touch with Dr. Joyce:
Web - https://metahab.com
Instagram - https://instagram.com/dr.jmf

Get in Touch with Steve:
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesensitiverebel

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com

Joe Perrone is an executive consultant who helps business owners and professionals find freedom from stress & overwhelm. He is an expert in creating free time and eliminating burnout.

Topics covered in this episode:
Joe’s professional journey and eventual burnout.
His recovery and pivot from auto repair to consulting & coaching.
The importance of coaches having coaches
Why a service mindset is critical for success
The power of a smile
Ripple effects
The concept of a ‘day-tight’ compartment for staying present and focused on now.
Using the past to create a better future
Keys to creating more time and time freedom in your life.

Books mentioned:
Stop Worrying & Start Living - Dale Carnegie
Atomic Habits - James Clear
The Power of Habit - Charles Duhigg
The Strangest Secret - Earl Nightingale
Start with Why - Simon Sinek
Essentialism - Greg McKeon

Get in Touch with Joe:
Web: https://joeperrone.biz
LInkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeon34/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/joeperrone.biz

Get in Touch with Steve:
Email: [email protected]
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesensitiverebel

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com

My guest today is Kim Chernecki, CEO and Founder of Freedom Street. Kim is Canada’s leading expert on helping high-performing freelance executives, consultants, coaches and other experts to land lucrative corporate contracts. She is the creator of the Land Corporate Contracts Fast-Track System, and is a top-rated sales performance executive, facilitator, coach, advisor, speaker and strategist.

She has worked 'shoulder-to-shoulder’ with over 1400 Executives and Small Business Owners to grow their businesses and close Millions of dollars in corporate contracts, started up and helped grow 10 businesses and business divisions ,and personally built 7-figure book of business with corporate clients with 40% year-over-year growth 6 years in a row.

Topics explored in our conversation include:
* Why working ‘for the man’ didn’t work for Kim.
* Her 'dark night of the soul' and how it changed things for her.
* The powerful reframe that was transformative in helping her respond differently to her challenges.
* How Kim deals with challenges and stresses in her work.
* Kim’s ‘Trojan Horse’ method of selling & serving her clients.
* The AI company Kim’s building and how she sees it changing the task of prospecting for business.

You can connect with Kim and learn more about her services at: https://www.freedomstreetinc.com/

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com

Frank Haberle's debut story collection, Shufflers, about minimum wage transients during the Reagan era, will be coming on September 1, 2021 from Flexible Press - https://www.flexiblepub.com/shufflers and can be pre-ordered now through www.indiebound.org and other outlets.

His short stories have won awards from Pen Parentis (2011), Beautiful Loser Magazine (2017) the Sustainable Arts Foundation (2013) and the Rose Warner Prize for Fiction (2021) and appeared in magazines including Stockholm Literary Review, Necessary Fiction, the Adirondack Review, Smokelong Quarterly and the Baltimore Review.

Frank works as a nonprofit administrator, volunteers as a workshop leader with the NY Writers Coalition and the Creative Center at University Settlement; he lives with his wife and three children in Brooklyn, New York.

In this episode, we talk about how Frank started writing, his adventures doing various jobs across the US in his younger years, how he came back to writing, and how he came to create his book. Frank's full of fun and interesting stories and I really enjoyed our conversation.

Frank can be reached via his website, https://frankhaberle.com, and via email at [email protected]. 

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com

Note:  This episode discusses a number of sensitive topics (sexual assault, substance abuse, suicide) and contains a lot of explicit language.

My guest on this episode is Adam M. Lamb. Adam is a speaker, author, coach, and consultant to the hospitality industry as an expert in mental health and wellness, addiction, organizational culture, and mentorship. Known as “The Quantum Chef”, Adam has been a professional chef for over thirty years and is also the producer and host of the podcast Chef Life Radio, dedicated to inspiring professional chefs working towards a more equitable and sustainable culinary culture.

Adam's published works include: Getting Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable, Profanity & Its Proper Use, and An Initiated Man, Finally. His newest book, Circle Jerk – Lessons of Manhood My Father Never Taught Me, is due in summer 2022. He lives with his wife, Jennifer, In the Blue Ridge Mountains, where he produces a line of Pepper Sauces and makes goat cheese in his spare time.

Topics discussed include:

• Adam’s first restaurant job and the surprising driver that led Adam to pursue a career in hospitality
• Adam's childhood and the tragic event that re-shaped his family
• Why community & connection is so important for Adam
• The prevalance of substance abuse & suicide in the restaurant industry
• Adam’s take on the current crisis facing the restaurant industry
• The origin and re-boot of Adam's podcast
• The importance of self-care and Adam’s regular routine

Connect w/Adam:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 828-515-1020
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com

As the chief learning officer of Summit Success International, Doug Brown manages the learning programs for Summit Success and also coaches lawyers, entrepreneurs and C-Level executives who are determined to make more money in less time so they can live the life they want and deserve.

Initially inspired to pursue an entrepreneurial path from witnessing his mother sell Tupperware, Doug has spent the last 25 years working as an attorney, MBA professor, and entrepreneur who’s helped create and turn-around multiple 7 and 8 figure businesses.

One of the ways that some sensitive rebels deal with the challenges of their professional lives is by turning out their feelings. While you can do it for a time, it comes with a price, as you’ll hear in our conversation. You’ll also learn about how Doug’s adjusted his approach to find a way that allows him to  make a powerful impact in the world while doing meaningful work and finding time and energy for things beyond work.

Topics covered include:

• Acceptance of our limitations and creating a sustainable approach to work
• The importance and value of community to support you on your professional journey
• The power of 'yes and' vs. 'either-or' 
• Using your experiences, both good and bad, to more powerfully serve others. 

Connect with Doug:
Email: [email protected]
Web: summit-success.com

Connect with Steve:
Email:  [email protected]
Web:  sensitiverebel.com
YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk7zd5kba1SQZOyM5sKKiVA
Instagram: https://instagram.com/thesensitiverebel

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com

My guest for this episode is Tzeli Triantafillou. Tzeli is a Toxicologist and a Stress Resilience and Wellness Speaker and Coach. Using the same critical thinking that allowed her to synthesize cancer drugs in the laboratory, she founded MyndZen.com to be the bridge from stress and burnout to your most healthy, whole, powerful self. She helps clients use science and neurobiology to conquer toxic stress, defeat burnout, and live their best life.

As a speaker, trainer, and integrative wellness coach, Tzeli brings science to life by reacquainting audiences with their own amazing internal neurobiology. She teaches practical ways and strategies that empower you to thrive in a stressful world without burning out. Her Brain Reboot: From Burnout to Peak Performance program is a client favorite for changing minds, brains, and lives for the better. You can learn more about it and join the waitlist to be the notified when enrollment opens for the next one here:
myndzen.teachable.com/p/the-myndzen-peak-performance-lab2

You can join her community at  [http://bit.ly/JoinMyndZen](http://bit.ly/JoinMyndZen)  for Tzeli’s free weekly stress reducing tools, tips, and resources delivered directly in your inbox.

Topics we discussed include:
* The life mission Tzeli decided on in childhood and how she got diverted from it.
* The one thing she wishes was different about her life journey.
* Painful events as motivators for transformation
* How she got off course and why it took her a long time to course correct
* Greek culture and how it’s been influenced by their history
* The impact of social media on self-image
* The power of pausing
* Defining success (related quote: “Success consists of going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm” - we weren’t sure who said it, but turns out it was Winston Churchill)

Links:
Epigenetics (CDC) - https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm
Dan Siegel / Mindsight Institute - https://www.mindsightinstitute.com

Connect with Tzeli:
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 916-212-3042
Website:  http://www.myndzen.com
Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/tzelismyndzen
Linkedin:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/tzeli-triantafillou/

Connect with Steve:
Email - [email protected]
Web - https://sensitiverebel.com
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCk7zd5kba1SQZOyM5sKKiVA
Instagram - https://instagram.com/thesensitiverebel

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stevemccready.substack.com