Playing to Win, LLC - Love, Leadership, and the Courage to Begin Again with Melanie Kennemann

Most people think success starts with talent, money, or connections. Ben Kinney proves it starts with something far more powerful: learning how to turn hard circumstances into an unfair advantage.Melanie Kennemann sits down with the real estate legend and entrepreneur for a raw, practical conversation about growing up in a cabin with no electricity, working his way through cable installs and commission-only jobs, and building the mindset that later helped him scale companies, create opportunity for others, and stay grounded while doing it.

• How Ben learned the difference between being busy and being effective
• The duplex story that changed everything and sparked his move into real estate
• The “four fields” framework Ben uses to think about relationships, hiring, and long-term trust
• Why he believes the fastest path to growth is not doing everything yourself, but helping other people win
• The doubling mindset that shaped Place, Brivity, and the businesses he keeps building

Ben also opens up about the family lessons that shaped him, the leadership mistakes that made him wiser, and why generosity only becomes real when giving actually costs you something. Ben's message is simple but hard to ignore: focus on what you can control, double one thing, and keep moving. If you need a reset on money, leadership, growth, or courage, this conversation delivers it.Melanie brings out the stories, the frameworks, and the heart behind the builder, while Ben offers the kind of no-excuses wisdom that turns inspiration into action.

Clarissa Lopez has built brands, raised a family, raised a quarter-million dollars for Make-A-Wish, had a long career in fitness and now she's in the most powerful transformation of her life.On this episode of Playing to Win LLC, host Melanie Kennemann sits down with Clarissa for an unfiltered conversation about the thread connecting every chapter of her life: fierce determination, radical resilience, and the refusal to stay stuck. From becoming the only freshman on varsity drill team to launching a clothing line that reached 155+ stores, Clarissa shares how she learned to trust her instincts, recover from costly business mistakes, and keep moving when life gets hard.

Most people think a successful life has to look conventional, yet Mallory Mundy built the opposite on purpose. From waiting tables and launching a real estate career to co-owning a pizza shop with her husband in remote West Texas, working across multiple businesses, and walking 500 miles across Spain, Mallory shares the mindset that turned risk into a life she loves. Host Melanie Kennemann sits down with her longtime chosen sister for a heartfelt conversation about reinvention, faith, sobriety, leadership, and building a life by design. If you’ve ever felt drawn to a path that doesn’t fit the usual script, this episode is for you.

Mallory also shares how sobriety, time outdoors, and the quiet of the West Texas landscape helped her find clarity—and how the 500-mile walk across Spain became one of the most challenging and meaningful experiences of her life. Mallory’s story is a reminder that you can shape a life around what matters to you—and that you’re worth going after it.

In this episode, host Melanie Kennemann talks with longtime friend and leader Marybeth Olive about developing people, serving others, and building a legacy that reaches far beyond business.Marybeth shares how leadership showed up early in her life, why authenticity and accountability matter, and what she looks for in people ready to grow. The conversation also explores the story behind Sheltered Hearts, the nonprofit Marybeth founded to provide food, shelter, and hope. She recounts how cooking alongside her father grew into a community effort serving thousands of meals, and shares the experiences that shaped her work supporting people in need, including a lasting connection to children and families in Tanzania.Together, Melanie and Marybeth discuss leading with love and courage, finding purpose in the season you’re in, and taking the first step even when the path feels uncertain. Marybeth’s reminder is simple: show up, know your why, and believe that you can make a difference.

Most people wait for a breakthrough. Jesse Coleman shows why it usually starts with a breakdown, a small decision, and the courage to stop proving the wrong people right. In this powerful conversation, Melanie Kennemann sits down with Jesse, a 19-year real estate veteran, vice president of career development at KW1 Chicago, keynote speaker, trainer, and host of the Breakthrough Blueprint Podcast, to unpack the mindset shifts that turn pain into purpose and potential into action. Jesse shares how growing up on Chicago’s South Side shaped his instinct to protect the underdog, why a single step-in moment as a trainer changed the course of his career, and how losing 110 pounds taught him the same lesson he now teaches others: consistency beats hype every time. From real estate coaching to personal transformation, he reveals the difference between knowing what to do and actually changing, and why the best coaches don’t give answers—they help people discover their own.

He also opens up about Quantum Leap for Young Adults, the program he’s taught for seven years to help young people define their mission, rethink their future, and stop shrinking to fit other people’s expectations. Along the way, he shares the unforgettable moments that remind him why this work matters, including helping a young person through a dark mental health struggle and seeing an athlete in one of his trainings go on to win silver at the 2024 Olympics. If you need a reminder that authenticity, action, and self-belief can change your entire trajectory, this conversation delivers it!

Sherree Patrice, the voice behind dozens of iconic records and a career spanning more than 30 years, reveals why reinvention gets easier when you stop tying your identity to applause, labels, or the music industry’s approval.

Host Melanie Owen Kennemann sits down with the songwriter, vocalist, arranger, mentor, and recording artist to explore Sherree’s journey—from growing up on the South Side of Chicago and finding music as a refuge to working with artists including Jamie Foxx, Brandy, Babyface, Queen Latifah, Whitney Houston, Usher, Pink, Celine Dion, and Toni Braxton just to name a few.

Sherree opens up about the difference between being gifted and understanding the business, the role family and faith played in shaping her success, and how healing helped her reclaim her voice and break generational patterns. Together, Melanie and Sherree discuss identity, purpose, protecting your peace, and the courage to begin again—including Sherree’s new song, “Love Has.”

If you’ve ever felt overlooked, underestimated, or ready for a reset, this conversation will remind you that your best years are not behind you. Stay free, trust your assignment, and move forward without waiting for permission. Join in on he conversation!

In this episode, Melanie Kennemann talks with Tony Caliendo about the power of subtraction, simplicity, and making room for a more intentional life. Tony shares how a health scare and a career that looked successful from the outside led him to rethink what “more” really means.They explore the hidden cost of overloading your life with constant input, pressure, and expectations, and why removing the wrong things can create space for clarity, peace, and purpose.

• Why doing less can actually help you live more fully
• How to tell when your life feels full versus overfull
• The subtraction exercise Tony uses with clients
• How saying no creates room for better opportunities
• Why scarcity-based beliefs can shape your choices over time

• Redefining success
• Health and life reset
• Alignment and clarity
• Boundaries and intention
• Reinvention and purpose

“Sometimes the most powerful move is making room.”

Tony Caliendo

Melanie Kennemann

Less Over More

What if the courage to begin again is really the courage to stay curious through out an extraordinary career in film, tv, music and more? Melanie Kennemann sits down with longtime friend and beloved German actor and singer Uwe Ochsenknecht for a conversation about reinvention, resilience, and trusting the life you are building - even when it looks nothing like the life you started with. Uwe opens up about growing up in a simple, difficult home, discovering theater as a second family, and why the stage became the first place he ever felt seen. From his early choir days in Mannheim to the roles, awards, and audience connection that followed, he shares how passion lasted because he never stopped treating each project like the first one. You’ll hear how he learned to trust his gut over fear, why fame never changed his values, and how he stays grounded while moving between film, theater, and music. Melanie and Uwe also get into the power of manifestation, the importance of reflection, and why “don’t grow up, it’s a trap” may be one of the wisest life philosophies of all. If you need a reminder that reinvention is possible, that your past does not get the final say, and that trust can change everything, this conversation will stay with you long after it ends. Perfect for anyone craving a dose of courage, perspective, and the reminder that winning is not perfection - it’s living authentically and beginning again while having a whole lot of fun along the way!

What if the fastest way to change a child’s future is not more resources, but one healthy adult who refuses to look away? Susan Ramirez, founder of Austin Angels and National Angels, reveals how one yes grew into a nationwide movement serving foster children, families, and communities through relationship, consistency, and bold faith.Host Melanie Kennemann sits down with Susan for a powerful conversation about the hidden pipeline from foster care to homelessness, incarceration, trafficking, and hopelessness, and why changing outcomes starts upstream. Susan shares how Austin Angels began as an idea rooted in community and grew into 17 chapters, a first-of-its-kind foster care community center, and a vision to support every child in foster care by 2050.You’ll discover:

• Why 74% of Americans feel their life is insignificant, and how service can restore purpose
• The difference between one-time volunteerism and the long-term power of walking with a child and family
• Why backpacks, school supplies, and resources matter, but relationships change graduation rates and life trajectories
• How Susan left corporate America, embraced the unknown, and found her true calling in foster care advocacy
• What it really means to “play to win” when the mission is bigger than comfort, fear, or convenience

Susan also opens up about trade-offs as a mother and leader, the refinement that comes from hard seasons, and the kind of legacy she hopes her sons and every child in care will remember. Her vision is not small, and neither is her belief that ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they choose to show up.Essential listening if you care about foster care, leadership, purpose, or simply want to be reminded that your life can matter far more than you think. If you’ve ever wondered whether you have enough time, enough money, or enough experience to make a difference, this episode will change the way you see your role in the world.

Learn more and get involved:

• Austin: AustinAngels.com
• Outside Austin: NationalAngels.org

Susan Ramirez is the founder of Austin Angels and National Angels, a relationship-based foster care advocacy movement that has expanded into a national affiliate model. She is known for building trauma-informed volunteer programs that help children and families experience foster care differently.

Episode 2 | The Journey Starts Here

Before there was a book, there was a question:

What does it really mean to play to win?

In this deeply personal conversation, one of my best friends, Mimi Bond, and I interview each other about the heart behind Playing to Win. LLC—the movement, the book, and the podcast.

Together, we unpack why this journey began, the experiences that shaped it, and why we believe the greatest victories aren't found in achievements, but in having the courage to become your most authentic self.

We talk about love. We talk about leadership. We talk about loss, healing, and the courage to begin again that made us who we are today.

If you've ever felt like there has to be more... if you've ever wondered whether it's too late to rewrite your story... this episode is where it all begins.

Welcome to Playing to Win.

The journey starts here.