Pitching the Truth

On this episode, Greg unveils his life story, how he failed his businesses, his life in prison and the impact of his actions on his family as he was interviewed by Niki Lee of This America, Nurse Niki. Learn from him how he rebuilds his life and gives back to society as a better person.

"The minute that hit me, I completely realize I had to change. So the first thing I did was start writing anybody I could to forgive, much forgive. To ask for forgiveness and kinda tell them I am sorry about what I've done and why it happens."

- Greg Kotsaftis

Topics Covered:

03:00 - Greg talks about his life experiences especially when he lost his moral compass

04:40 - He shared how his life in prison changed him

07:05-  The effects of losing his freedom and how he copes with it

10:50 - How his actions affect his family and friends emotionally

12:55 - Greg's takes us back to his childhood and upbringing

15:35 - The fascinating fact about some head trauma do our brain function

17:40 - Greg's word of advice to help you deal in this kind of situation

Quotable Takeaways:

"The biggest issue right now that I see the world is people are accepting dishonesty as something allowable and people are not paying attention to. But at the end of the day it really can sneak up on you, kinda like what happened to me.  "- Greg Kotsaftis

 "Before you can start to healing is accepting what's happening to yourself. Facing the truth head on and just moving forward from it." -Nurse Niki

"It is so much easier and so much clarity in your mind, so much more ability to think and be happy when you say the gross truth. You can sleep better at night." - Greg Kotsaftis

Connect with Niki Lee:

• [email protected] 

Connect with Greg Kotsaftis:

• veracitygp.com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pitching the Truth Podcast
• The Truth about Lies Book

Jeff Johnson used to be a juvenile delinquent. At the age of 17, he got associated with a kid just like him, and one thing led to another which brought him to prison. He was incarcerated for 24 years for a crime he did not commit.

Listen up to this episode as Jeff relates his story from the time he first serves prison up to the time he turned his life around. He was a victim of injustice, as he would relate later, but no amount of that can compare to what he's done to help the community inside prison and outside after he was released. The amount of positive impact he's done to society is impressive.

"My Grandma told me, 'Everybody got a life sentence. We're just going to do it in different places.' That statement of her made me have that paradigm shift where I realized like even though I'm going to die in prison, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to have a bad life. Like I can create a good life out of this." 

-Jeff Johnson

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Topics Covered

02:26 – Jeff relating the whole story that led him to prison

03:13 – The injustice he faced going through the trial of a crime he did not commit

07:31 – Recounting  his hardest time in prison and how he overcame it

09:27 – His realization and the positive impact he made inside the prison

13:04 – Jeff's wife relating how they met, the odds along the way and how they held on to each other strongly

16:23 – Jeff and Greg sharing experiences and realizations from prison days

22:25 – Jeff discussing solutions and his mission in helping kids stay out of crimes

28:39 – Talking about his upcoming guesting in TEDX

31:13 – His beautiful thoughts about life and the good things he can do more for others

Resources

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Franklin Covey
• Jeff Johnson's Story: Sentenced to life without parole as a teen in 1994, Colorado man gets new chance after SCOTUS ruling

Connect with Jeff Johnson

• Email: [email protected]
• Email: [email protected]

Connect with Gregory Paul

• www.veracitygp.com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pitching the Truth Podcast

In this weeks episode Greg shares why it is so important to say no to opportunities and sometimes to helping others to achieve your own personal goals.

"Take a look and listen and try to figure out what it is that you maybe should be saying no to in order to gain a better perspective of what makes you happy and what you should be saying yes to."

- Greg Paul Kotsaftis

What do you want to hear from the Pitching the Truth podcast?

Tell us here!

Love the Podcast? Subscribe on iTunes for updates

Resources

• The Truth About Lies: How Admitting Nothing Can Cost You Everything

Connect with Gregory Paul

• veracitygp.com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pitching the Truth Podcast

G.Brian Benson is an award-winning and #1 best-selling author, life coach, radio host, actor, filmmaker, and TEDx speaker. He knows the value of trusting intuition and wants to share his journey of self-growth, discovery, and accomplishment to help others reconnect with their truths to live an authentic and fulfilling life. As a 4x Ironman triathlete and cross-country bicyclist, Brian knows the value of hard work and never giving up on his dreams, a message he shares with audiences through each of his creative expressions.

His mission is to wake up the world with intelligent, thought-provoking media that inspires. In 2008, Brian followed a hunch and left his family's business, stepping into the unknown. Ever since inspiration has followed. Letting intuition be his guide, he began to step out of his comfort zone, and unexpected paths and talents started to emerge such as writing, acting, and crafting stories. Tapping into this emerging creativity, Brian began his own hero's journey of self-realization and growth, which continues to influence his empowering and inspiring books, films, and presentations.

"Balance is huge for me as much as maintaining my creativity."

– G. Brian Benson

What do you want to hear from the Pitching the Truth podcast?

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Topics Covered

06:23 – His fear of public speaking and how he overcame talking in front of people

07:45 – TEDx talk as an authentic way to share your story even if you are not a professional speaker

11:51 – G. Brian shares his author's journey, how from running their family business he pursued his life's mission in a different path, living through what he called 'heart filter'

17:01 – How he taps into his creativity and staying in balance

20:34 – How little steps of adversity can lead to a more open mind

21:41 – Filming 'The Guitar Man', how intuition lead his to make short films and how it gave him the passion for acting

Resources

• The Truth About Lies: How Admitting Nothing Can Cost You Everything
• Habits for Success – Inspired Ideas to Help You Soar

Connect with G. Brian Benson

• gbrianbenson.com
• Habits for Success Podcast
• Linkedin
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Books

Connect with Gregory Paul

• com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pitching the Truth Podcast

Teddy Moreno is a multi-hyphenate. Actor, Writer, Producer, Self-Published Author and Entrepreneur. Regardless of his felony history, he's not only always been able to hold down a 9 to 5 to pay his bills, but he was also always maintained a positive attitude and refused to let anything or anyone stop him from achieving a goal with 8 published books, the latest being the motivational book Felon 2 Fortune.

Teddy is always looking for ways to help others that have come through the correctional system to succeed. His core belief is "anything is possible with enough hard work and focus." His newest idea and endeavor is the website ThinkersThrive.Com which should be up and running before the end of 2018 and will allow an average person with zero connections to be able to have an idea, connect with others who may have similar ideas, flush them out together and eventually find a way to bring that new product or service to the world to help make it a better place. ThinkersThrive.Com, Where Collaboration is King.

This week on my podcast, I had the pleasure of having Teddy Moreno on the show. He's a former felon, and author, former actor and overall entrepreneur. Please enjoy his story as he shares his insights from what he learned through his mistakes and also what he's doing now in the future to help others and give back to society. It was a fascinating interview for me. His crime was something that to be honest is a little bit tough for me to put out there. But at the same time, I truly believe everybody deserves a second chance. This podcast is not about judging others. So I took it upon myself to make sure I got his message out there and shared it with other people because I found him to be a very interesting, honest, ethical, and upright forthright person and I greatly appreciated the fact that he reached out to me randomly in Linkedin for us to connect in order to do the show together. So please welcome Teddy Moreno. Listen to his story, and I hope you'll support him after the show.

"Forgiving ourselves is the toughest thing to do."

– Teddy Moreno

What do you want to hear from the Pitching the Truth podcast?

Tell us here!

Love the Podcast? Subscribe on iTunes for updates

Topics Covered

00:44 – Teddy's background and his backstory, his transition back to society after being incarcerated

08:50 – How joining Defy Ventures helped him

27:26 – How he overcame shame from what he did

34:45 – Talking about the process of forgiving yourself and holding yourself accountable for your actions

36:36 – The gift of reset as explained by Greg Paul

38:58 – Importance of being direct and honest for you to move forward with your life

Resources

• Defy Ventures
• Felon 2 Fortune
• The Truth About Lies: How Admitting Nothing Can Cost You Everything

Connect with Teddy Moreno

• thinkersthrive.com
• Linkedin

Connect with Gregory Paul

• com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pitching the Truth Podcast

Today's special guest is Brandon Peele. We had an in-depth conversation about your creating your own life's purpose mainly for this is for men trying to figure out how to figure out what they want to do with their life and what kind of big purpose or footprint they want to leave on this earth. And he had a lot of great insight and I was very blessed to have him as a guest and he also provided me with some great things to think about and I think you guys all enjoy it. So please take a listen and thank you again so much for listening to pitching the truth.

Brandon Peele serves Americans who feel betrayed by the American Dream, who have discovered that hard work, voting and luck are not enough to have a life, career, and country that work. He guides people to awaken their purpose-driven leadership. He is a Certified Purpose Guide (TM), author of Planet on Purpose (2018), co-author of Purpose Rising (2017) and The PURPOSE Activation Blueprint (2015). Brandon has worked with people from organizations such as Apple, The Smithsonian Institute, Tesla, Johnson & Johnson, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Illumina, Zeiss, Sapient, Morgan Stanley, Google, and the United States Marine Corps. As a leader of online purpose courses, Brandon has guided thousands of people from over 50 countries to awaken, embody and lead with their higher purpose. You can learn more about Brandon's work at BrandonPeele.com.

"A man's presence is indicative of his awareness."

– Brandon Peele

What do you want to hear from the Pitching the Truth podcast?

Tell us here!

Love the Podcast? Subscribe on iTunes for updates

Topics Covered

00:44 – Brandon's background and his backstory, the awakening to how he decided to find his life's purpose

17:26 – What it means to 'Be A Man' in today's world

17:26 – Brandon explained the different Archetypes, what men need to be

18:43 – #MeToo vs. walking your talk

19:51 – Difference it brings when good men stand up

21:22 – Importance of men's presence and awareness

25:01 – 5 years' projection of the Mankind Project

Resources

• List of Archetypes
• Mankind Project

Connect with Brandon Peele

• brandonpeele.com
• Facebook
• Linkedin
• Instagram

Connect with Gregory Paul

• com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pitching the Truth Podcast

Rocky Romanella continues to have a successful career as a leader and thought leader into what it takes to be successful in business and as a person. Take a listen to his insights on why you're reputation matters and what you need to do to protect it. He is a wise and knowledgeable man, and I think we can all learn from his experiences.

Rocky Romanella is the Founder and CEO of 3SIXTY Management Services, LLC, and a management consulting firm specializing in Keynote Speaking, Leadership Development, and Consulting Services. With over 40 years of "boots on the ground" leadership experience, Rocky creates excitement through his energy, passion, and knowledge. He will connect with your audience, regardless of size, in a one to one conversational style. Rocky will paint a picture through his unique storytelling as he delivers his Keynote Speech. Through his Balanced Leadership Model, there is a laser focus on customer needs, employee empowerment and the demands of shareholders.

"Do not let your highs get too high and your lows get too low."   - Rocky Romanella

  What do you want to hear from the Pitching the Truth podcast? Tell us here! Love the Podcast? Subscribe on iTunes for updates  

Topics Covered

07:13 – Importance of having individuals who will be your sounding board, people that are not afraid to be square with you, correct you without offense and resentment 

10:00 – The past is present: the impact of your childhood experiences on how you are as a leader 

12:40 – Leadership lessons from Wells Fargo, how the leaders took advantage of the employees' strength to commit fraud, and how these employees will rebuild their tarnished reputation

15:19 – Leadership is all about alignment, why should companies and employees have shared values?

 23:37 – Taking inventory of your life as an effective leader who creates a culture of excellence that manifests itself in the daily actions and ultimately defines the brand.

24:21 – The 'three times/phases in your career' and how to go through each phase according to Rocky Romanella

29:43 – Mistakes leaders do when giving sanctions

35:50 – Your leadership legacy statement and the benefits of creating a leadership legacy

41:46 –The legendary Joe Scafone plays an important role in helping Rocky explain the importance of not stopping at the first right answer and how we challenge people to push past the first right answer

Resources

• Tighten the Lug Nuts: The Principles of Balanced Leadership
• The Truth About Lies: How Admitting Nothing Can Cost You Everything

Connect with Rocky Romanella

• www.3sixtymanagementservices.com
• Facebook
• Youtube  

Connect with Gregory Paul

• veracitygp.com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pitching the Truth Podcast

Jennifer is an author, speaker, and prison consultant whose fervent desire is to bring an end to our country's mass incarceration problem. Her own arrest and incarceration in a federal prison camp affected her deeply when she saw the hundreds of women and mothers locked up on lengthy, non-violent drug sentences. She knew when she was released from prison she had to do something to give back.

In 2009, Jennifer founded LA Myers Consulting, a prison consulting business where she works with people affected by the criminal justice system. Her passion to be an advocate for women in prison led Jennifer to co-found R.I.S.E. to Empower, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering girls and women to make positive choices. Their work with At-risk, teen girls led to their program being accepted into San Diego U.S. Federal Probation's reentry initiative, where they facilitate high-risk women recently released from Federal Prison.

Jennifer's memoir, Trafficking the Good Life, was a finalist in the 2014 San Diego Book & Writing Awards. Her writing has received accolades in the PEN Prison Writing Contest and has been published in Salon Magazine, the anthology Razor Wire Women, and The Huffington Post. Jennifer has spoken extensively to teens about making good choices, was a 2017 TEDx speaker at TEDxWilmingtonWomen, and has appeared as a Prison Consultant on Inside Edition and Lifetime's special, Abby Tells All.

The last two years Jennifer has journeyed back to prison to help produce San Diego's first TEDx inside of a prison. As Co-organizer of TEDxDonnovanCorrection, Jennifer's desire to change the paradigm of our criminal justice system has intensified. She is deeply affected by the men she meets locked up on life sentences. Their big hearts, and willingness to transform continue to inspire Jennifer, weekly, and confirm to her that some of the most courageous people live behind bars. In this episode, Greg Paul and Jennifer talked about their life experiences as former felons, ways they did to overcome the shame, their struggle to transition back to the society and how they used those experiences to become advocates to reform the federal prison system.

"I want to express to people that come out after being incarcerated to move forward and be honest anyway and just see the magic that can happen when you own it."   - Jennifer Myers

What do you want to hear from the Pitching the Truth podcast? Tell us here! Love the Podcast? Subscribe on iTunes for updates  

Topics Covered

02:51 – Jennifer's backstory from being a dancer, falling for a Marijuana Kingpin, being involved in marijuana trafficking, her arrest, and incarceration 03:03 – Serving 17-months because of a drug-related offense, spending three years on probation. 03:40– Her experience and disheartening stories of women inside the prison that inspired Jennifer to be a prison reform advocate 07:51 – How she rebuild and restart her reputation, overcoming the shame and the stigma of being a felon 08:42 – Her struggles transitioning back to the society 09:50 – The work that is involved in the journey that once you've been incarcerated, there's no way to avoid taking that journey of dissolving the shame 13:30 – Having integrity and owning your story through honesty and perseverance 14:04 – Jennifer sharing their aftercare programs for prisoners 17:10 – Importance to keep the inspiration, hope, and support from the community to hold the candle of light for felons 18:04 – Impact of community and collaboration to people inside prison and how they find hope, support and family through them 20:10 – Transformation inside the prison that feeds Jenifer's heart and life   People Mentioned The Tariq Foundation Azim Khamisa Speaker Adventure Resources The Truth About Lies: How Admitting Nothing Can Cost You Everything

Project Angel Heart Trafficking the Good life

Connect with Jennifer Myers

risetoempower.org

jennifermyers.co   Connect with Gregory Paul veracitygp.com

Twitter

Instagram

Pitching the Truth Podcast

Why does reputation matter? Because once you lose it you may never get it back.

Listen to Greg's insight on rebuilding his own reputation and why people need to pay attention to how they are seen and perceived by all of the people in their lives.

"You have to pay attention to the people you are with. You have to pay attention to the actions of the people that you're around because all it takes is one major mistake by them and you can get sucked into their hole and you can be dragged to the bottom just like some of the people that were affected by my actions."

-Greg Paul

What do you want to hear from the Pitching the Truth podcast?

Tell us here!

Love the Podcast? Subscribe on iTunes for updates

Topics Covered

01:09 – Insights and thoughts about how people undervalue building their reputation.

03:01 – The repercussions from not maintaining a good reputation reputation

04:31 – Greg's pain and the sting of having to start all over again, find new friends, new people that can trust him having to rebuild his reputation after all his mistakes

05:25 – Greg's unwritten rule of letting other people know that he is on a short leash

07:07 – Why you need to pay attention to build your reputation

08:05 – Are you a good dad or the bad dad? The image you are portraying can damage how your children see you as a person

12:42 – How you manage your reputation and you manage your ego

15:38 – The time it takes for you to rebuild your reputation after a major damage and taint

16:15 – How the internet and social media can hurt and taint your reputation

18:30 Greg's rant about the importance of protecting and building your reputation

People Mentioned

• Walden Long

Resources

• The Truth About Lies: How Admitting Nothing Can Cost You Everything

Connect with Gregory Paul

• com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pitching the Truth Podcast

Greg has been through changes or pivots in his life and every time new doors and opportunities have opened up for him.

In today's episode, Greg will share those experiences and hope to inspire you to take some risks and reap the rewards of a life well lived. 

"When your hair stands up and kind of like, Oh, what I just said made me kind of uncomfortable. That's the good shit right there. That's the stuff that makes you realize that, Okay you're challenging yourself. You are not sitting back and pretending that everything is okay. You're really putting some thought into this to try to understand how it is you can become a better person. How you can grow and become more interesting."

-Greg Paul

What do you want to hear from the Pitching the Truth podcast?

Tell us here!

Love the Podcast? Subscribe on iTunes for updates

Topics Covered

01:35 – Deciding to move from Boston to Colorado, change in lifestyle, the change in atmosphere, the change in environments, really had an influence on me in a very positive way.

03:23 – Choosing to become an entrepreneur, the opportunity of selling cars brought to his life, [00:04:36] realizing all the challenges and the things that I'd overcome in order to succeed

05:14 – from project management works renovating jobs transitioning and focusing more on the more enjoyable, fulfilling ventures of Greg's career

06:34 – doing hard shit as Jocko Willing says is really, really, what's important. It is really what fulfilled and makes Greg happy

08:04 – taking risks, right? What are we going to do to take risks to make our lives better

08:17 –  Greg's fiancée taking a huge risk on him despite his past, a great relationship that spawned from the fact that it wasn't easy

10:25 – Start focusing a little more energy on other things this podcast, writing, public speaking, and sharing his message and helping others

11:13 – Early New Year's resolution implementation from Greg

12:17 – More changes and plans to come for Greg

Connect with Gregory Paul

• veracitygp.com
• Twitter
• Instagram
• Pitching the Truth Podcast