Perfect Aim with Rodney Mueller

Amit Kothari is one of those people I feel lucky to call a friend. He's the co-founder and CEO of Tallyfy, the workflow software company he's built over the past decade with his wife and co-founder, Pravina, and he's an Entrepreneur in Residence at WashU's Skandalaris Center, where he helps students and founders put AI to real use. Amit was born in Kenya, moved to London at 11, and found his way to St. Louis by way of Startup Chile, Silicon Valley's accelerators, and an Arch Grant. If you want to see what Arch Grants is doing for this city, Amit is it. These days he's also helping companies adopt AI the right way through his new advisory firm, Blue Sheen, and he's the smartest person I know in St. Louis when it comes to making AI useful in an actual business.

What I loved about this conversation was how clearly Amit has chosen the life he wants instead of the one he was told to want. He walked away from the VC treadmill, built Tallyfy profitably and quietly, and protected his marriage with a simple rule: no work talk after 7pm. He asked a question I haven't stopped thinking about. If you had all the money in the world, what would your Monday actually look like? When we got into AI, I really appreciated how grounded he was. AI won't fix a mess. You have to think in processes first, then turn what's repeatable into skills your whole team can share and improve. And when I asked what all of it is for, his answer was simple: sustained, calm joy. That's exactly what Perfect Aim is about.

Connect with Rodney: https://rodneymueller.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodneymueller/

Connect with the guest: https://amitkoth.com/ https://tallyfy.com/ https://bluesheen.com/

Achievement and fulfillment are not the same thing. Are you ready to experience the difference? Find out more about The Perfect Aim Method here: https://rodneymueller.com/what-is-perfect-aim/

My guest this week is Cal Riley — a dear friend, a fellow Army veteran, and one of the most thoughtful leaders I know. Cal is the author of Entrepreneurial Compassion, a book born out of losing his brother to suicide, with a mission to create a million compassionate leaders and prevent 100,000 suicides (all profits go to suicide prevention). He spent a decade in the Army, first as an infantry officer and Airborne Ranger leading troops through multiple combat deployments, then in Special Operations, and he carried every one of those lessons into the business world. Today he leads a second-generation medical construction company as its CEO, and he's also an EOS implementer in the Raleigh area, helping other entrepreneurs build businesses that run on vision instead of adrenaline.

What I loved about this conversation is how naturally Cal moves between the battlefield and the boardroom. We talked about his idea of entrepreneurial compassion, which isn't softness at all. It's the harder work of having real conversations and building a culture people actually thrive in. One thing that stuck with me was his tree analogy: protect the roots and the trunk with clear intent, and let your people learn out on the leaves. We recorded this the day after Memorial Day, which we didn't plan but felt exactly right. It left me thinking that presence, curiosity, and leading with intent might be the two-degree shifts that change everything.

Brad Burns, Founder & CEO of Burns Holdings LLC, is a six-time entrepreneur out of St. Louis, and honestly the kind of person this podcast exists to shine a light on. He owns and operates six businesses across wildly different sectors — commercial contracting, in-store graphics, hardscapes and pools, wholesale seafood with a direct-to-consumer arm, a quick-serve franchise, and a recently acquired contracting company — all tied together under a holding company with shared services he built so the whole thing can run without burying him in overhead. He grew up on a family farm in Troy, Missouri, never quite felt like he fit the mold out there, and turned that into a career built one leap of faith at a time. What struck me first wasn't the size of what he's built; it was how genuinely humble he is about all of it.

What I loved about this conversation is how Brad's humility turned out to be less of a personality trait and more of a superpower. Because he started out honest about what he didn't know, he got obsessed early on with two things: building tight systems — processes, procedures, transparent all-hands meetings, a real onboarding process — so his companies become plug-and-play, and then finding the right people to plug into them. We talked about competing for great employees by simply paying a little more and respecting the work, about knowing when to cut bait with the wrong partner, and about the delayed gratification he learned on the farm that let him go years without paying himself. But the part that stayed with me was his "why" — generational wealth for his family, workplaces people actually want to be part of, and the quiet joy of watching his partners grow into who he always believed they could be. And when I asked who in St. Louis deserves more recognition, he pointed straight at his wife. That tells you most of what you need to know about Brad.

Connect with Rodney: https://rodneymueller.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodneymueller/

Connect with the guest: https://bradwburns.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradwburns/

Achievement and fulfillment are not the same thing. Are you ready to experience the difference? Find out more about The Perfect Aim Method here: https://rodneymueller.com/what-is-perfect-aim/

James Maisel is the founder of Tri Tech Automation, a systems integration company helping manufacturers operate more safely, intelligently, and efficiently. James has built the business from his garage into a growing team serving manufacturers across multiple locations, but what matters most to him is the impact they create for their people, customers, and communities.

What I loved about this conversation was how naturally we moved from manufacturing and entrepreneurship into faith, service, and what leadership is really supposed to look like. James believes leadership is not about authority or recognition—it is about loving people, accepting responsibility, and helping others reach their fullest potential. I really appreciated his openness about his journey through alcoholism, sobriety, and faith, and the way those experiences have shaped the husband, father, business owner, and leader he is today.

Connect with Rodney: https://rodneymueller.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodneymueller/

Connect with the guest: https://www.tritechamerica.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-maisel-27a04570

Achievement and fulfillment are not the same thing. Are you ready to experience the difference? Find out more about The Perfect Aim Method here: https://rodneymueller.com/what-is-perfect-aim/

CEO & Owner of Lage Real Estate Management and StayLage. Jeffrey Lage is the CEO and owner of Lage Real Estate Management and StayLage, a vacation rental property management company based out of St. Charles, Missouri. Jeffrey has built his business from his own real estate investing journey, starting with long-term rentals and growing into short-term rental management, coaching, rehab, design, and helping owners think more clearly about why they are investing in the first place.

What I loved about this conversation was how honest Jeffrey was about the path. We talked about real estate strategy, risk, hiring, ADHD, fatherhood, failure, and what it feels like to keep building when you do not have all the answers yet. One thing that stood out to me was the way Jeffrey described trusting "future you" to solve the problems that show up later. I really appreciated that because so much of leadership, entrepreneurship, and fulfillment comes down to taking the next right step, learning from the bruises, and remembering that achievement is never meant to replace the relationships that matter most. Connect with Rodney: https://rodneymueller.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodneymueller/

Connect with the guest: https://staylage.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreylage/ https://www.instagram.com/staylage/ https://www.instagram.com/jeffreylage/

Achievement and fulfillment are not the same thing.

Are you ready to experience the difference?

Find out more about The Perfect Aim Method here:

https://rodneymueller.com/what-is-perfect-aim/

Financial Advisor & Chief Compliance Officer at Bridgewater Advisory Group. In this episode I sat down with Ethan Bridgewater, co-founder and partner at Bridgewater Advisory Group, a financial advising and tax planning firm in Crystal City, Missouri. Ethan is a CFP® and ChFC® who brings a values-first approach to financial planning, helping people connect their money decisions to the life they actually want to live.

What I loved about this conversation was how much Ethan's work connects with the heart of Perfect Aim. We talked about redefining winning, creating "joy moments," navigating family business, stepping up during hard seasons, and learning how to make the next right decision when life and business feel overwhelming.

Connect with Rodney:

https://rodneymueller.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/rodneymueller/

Connect with the guest:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ethanbridgewater/

https://bridgewater-ag.com/

Achievement and fulfillment are not the same thing.

Are you ready to experience the difference?

Find out more about The Perfect Aim Method here:

https://rodneymueller.com/what-is-perfect-aim/ Ethan Bridgewater is an investment adviser representative of Bridgewater Advisory Group LLC. The firm is a registered investment adviser and only conducts business in jurisdictions where it is properly registered, or is excluded or exempted from registration requirements. Registration as an investment adviser is not an endorsement of the firm by securities regulators and does not mean the adviser has achieved a specific level of skill or ability.

Traditional goal setting, which almost all of us use in our personal and professional lives kills inspiration and possibility. In this episode, Rodney Mueller breaks down the key distinctions between the old way and Perfect Aim Method™ and how you can begin to implement this method in your business, with your teams and in your own life to create breakthrough success.

Traditional goal setting leaves us, our teams and our organizations bored, uninspired and way less effective. In this episode, I break down why CEO's are ditching old models of goal setting and applying The Perfect Aim Method™ to scale their businesses rapidly and effectively with less time and energy.

When you tap into Perfect Aim, you unlock an entirely new level of power and possibility. Learn how to ditch traditional logic, and use a new technology of achievement to dig deep into the purpose and true aim of any goal or desire for exponential growth. Making this shift creates speed and precision that can outpace competition and build momentum.

Are you missing the mark? You might find yourself good at traditional goal achievement, but blind to the fulfillment Perfect Aim brings. When you become hyper focused on the ultimate outcome that you seek and the strategic realignment of your life, you get what you truly desire at the deepest level. Learn how to stop leaving your future to chance and step onto a path of long term genuine success where you get to hit all of the targets.