Powerful Conversations: Insights from leaders, coaches, and entrepreneurs on living a life that matters

"Worldwide studies and science support exercise for relieving symptoms related to ADD, OCD, anxiety, depression, addiction and aging. Exercise unleashes a cascade of neurochemicals and growth factors that physically bolster the brain's infrastructure." ~Dr. John Ratey So then what keeps us from making it a necessary part of our day? Join us as we dive into the power of play and exercise through the work of Jill Vialet, Founder and CEO of PlayWorks and Dr. John Ratey, author of "Spark" and "Go Wild." About Dr. John Ratey John J. Ratey, MD, is an Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Research Synthesizer, Speaker, Author, and Clinical Psychiatrist maintaining a private practice in Cambridge, Mass. He has lectured and published 60 peer-reviewed articles on the topics of Aggression, Autism, ADHD, and other issues in neuropsychiatry, and has authored or co-authored seven books. His latest book, GO WILD explains the scientific evidence behind why maintaining a lifestyle more like that of our ancestors will restore our health and well-being. With his previous book, "Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and The Brain," Dr. Ratey established himself as a leading expert in the brain-fitness connection. A highly sought after speaker, he has embarked on a worldwide mission to re-engineer schools, corporations, and individual lifestyle practices by incorporating exercise to achieve peak performance and optimum mental health. About Jill Vialet Jill Vialet is the CEO and founder of Playworks, the leading national nonprofit leveraging the power of safe, fun, and healthy play at school every day. Playworks creates a place for every kid on the playground to feel included, be active, and build valuable social and emotional skills. Learn more at http://www.playworks.org/about/jill-vialet Vialet is the author of Recess Rules, a fictional book written for children from 8 to 13 years old. She has received numerous honors, including being selected as an Ashoka Fellow in 2004 and named to the Forbes Impact 30 as one of the 30 leading social entrepreneurs worldwide in 2011, as well as being asked to speak at TEDMED in 2014. She also is one of a small group of Californians honored with the 2013 James Irvine Foundation Leadership Award. Jill is a graduate of Harvard University. Links Dr. John Ratey Follow Dr. John Ratey on Facebook | YouTube | Twitter Go Wild Book Spark Book Playworks Follow Playworks on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | Pinterest | YouTube | Vimeo Check out the full episode page here Keep up to date with everything Powerful Conversations Follow Monica on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

What would it be like to have an international network of thousands of people championing you on your journey and sponsoring you as much as possible? Relationships are at the core of everything we do. We need people to build great experiences, to buy our services or products, to contribute to our endeavors. Join us for The Power of Global Communities and learn how to create value from the depth of your relationships. Hear from Aura Cotofan, Network EverAfter in Romania; Christine Lai, Delivering Happiness in San Francisco; and Nadine Bongaerts, Hello Tomorrow in Paris. With 7.3 billion people in the world, how do you connect meaningfully with the relationships that are important to you? What opportunities do you have to expand your perspectives in order to understand and contribute to a better world? How do you find the people who are going to help you on your journey? In this episode we hear from entrepreneurs building global communities from Romania, Paris, and San Francisco. About Aura Cotofan "A powerful network isn't made up of a social profile with thousands of connections you barely know. The real value comes from the depth of your relationships, because true friends will do anything to see you succeed—and what better way to make friends than to travel together and live unforgettable experiences." That is what Aura Cotofan is all about - building scalable communities. Mostly, start-up communities. Over the past two years, she has grown and managed a global community of 1,000 influencers from top networks in 360 cities. Her platform is connecting members when they travel so they can meet-up and build meaningful relationships. Now, she is focused on creating an invite-only platform/community for entrepreneurs, as well as setting up a global co-living system together with Caravanserai. From connections to friendships – learn more at http://www.networkeverafter.com and at http://www.thecaravanserai.co About Nadine Bongaerts Nadine Bongaerts is a Dutch synthetic biologist, entrepreneur, speaker who is actively bridging science and technology with business and society. She has a great passion for science education, entrepreneurship, and technological developments that change the world. In 2014, she joined the international board of Hello Tomorrow as Global Community Director. Hello Tomorrow connects scientists with entrepreneurs and investors to accelerate lab inventions to the market. Learn more at http://hello-tomorrow.org/blog/ She also joined the Kairos Society, a global community of young changemakers who combine entrepreneurship and innovation to advance the world. Learn more at http://www.kairossociety.com Her interest in synthetic biology was sparked in 2010, when she successfully participated in iGEM, a synthetic biology competition organized by MIT. Her team developed so-called biobricks to transform bacteria into oil digesting cells. The work was recognized nationally and internationally. About Christine Lai Christine Lai is the Chief of Staff at Delivering happiness—the organization founded by Tony Hsieh, to help people create great organizational cultures. She's at the core of this impactful movement. Learn more at http://deliveringhappiness.com She joined the team to cultivate relationships with organizations that are looking to align their profits, passion, and purpose. At her core, Christine loves identifying and maximizing the true potential of individuals and organizations. Fueled by her passion for uniting people and purpose, Christine blends her experience in the private and social sector to build and strengthen collaboration among impact communities. Drawing on her previous experiences, Christine truly believes in and values communities that challenge, inspire, and support one another to succeed. She continually strives to support individuals and organizations to create cultures focused on cultivating the maximum potential in people by doing amazing things together. Links Network Ever After The Caravanserai Hello Tomorrow Kairo Society Delivering Happiness Check out the full episode page here Keep up to date with everything Powerful Conversations Follow Monica on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Get ready to be inspired. This is the story of an incredible woman who found out that life wasn't always fair or happy after she was viciously attacked by a stranger, stabbed more than 37 times, and left for dead. After being stitched back together she decided she would not give up or give in and pushed forward with all of her enthusiasm and will to have the best life ever. She decided to surround herself with joyful people and celebrations so she started an event planning company in 1994. Jennifer Gilbert is the founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Save the Date, a $30 million event planning company she built starting at age 24 after being brutally attacked and left for dead. She is the author of "I Never Promised You A Goodie Bag," her memoir which details her story to reclaim her life after and to go on and create tremendous success. I laughed, cried, and felt inspired and empowered watching her on TEDx and the video interview with Joe De Sena on the SpartanUp! podcast series. Watch those videos here: Jennifer Gilbert Bounced Back from a Near-Fatal Attack to Find Massive Business Success Entrepreneurial Spirit: Jennifer Gilbert at TEDxBarnardCollege Check out the full episode page here Keep up to date with everything Powerful Conversations Follow Monica on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

How often do you find that voice inside your head keeps you from going after what you really want? If you recognize it, that's a start, but then what if you don't even realize that your saboteur is holding you back? Join me for an interview with New York Times bestselling author, Stanford lecturer, and leading executive coach Shirzad Chamine, author of "Positive Intelligence: Why Only 20 percent of teams and individuals achieve their true potential and how you can achieve yours." Learn why building your PQ (positive intelligence quotient) is more important for your success than your IQ or your EQ (emotional quotient). Shirzad is the author of the New York Times bestselling Positive Intelligence. He has been the CEO of the largest coach training organization in the world, having trained faculty at Stanford and Yale business schools. Shirzad lectures on Positive Intelligence at Stanford University, where he guides graduate students through his popular six-week PQ training. A preeminent C-suite advisor, Shirzad has coached hundreds of CEOs and their executive teams. His background includes PhD studies in neuroscience in addition to a BA in psychology, an MS in electrical engineering, and an MBA from Stanford. Links: Learn More About Positive Intelligence Here Get the book, Positive Intelligence Check out the full episode page here Keep up to date with everything Powerful Conversations Follow Monica on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

Join me for a conversation with Clara Shih as we discuss insights from her latest book, The Social Business Imperative, as well as innovation, women in tech, and the gender gap. Clara is the CEO and founder of Hearsay Social and the author of the new release, The Social Business Imperative: Adapting Your Business Model to the Always-Connected Customer. A pioneer in the social media industry, Clara developed the first social business application in 2007 and subsequently authored the New York Times-featured bestseller, The Facebook Era. Links: Follow Clara on LinkedIn | Twitter Hearsay Social Follow Hearsay Social on Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube The Social Business Imperative The Facebook Era Check out the full episode page here Keep up to date with everything Powerful Conversations Follow Monica on LinkedIn | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook

In this episode, we are joined by James Kane, the leading researcher and authority on what makes someone truly loyal as he shares his research on what it means to be loyal, how and why it exists, and what organizations and individuals need to do to achieve it. James Kane is considered the leading researcher and authority on what makes someone truly loyal - to another person, to an organization, or to a cause. As a behavioral scientist and consultant who has helped some of the largest and most well-know organizations in the world, including Apple, Amazon, Zappos, the Cleveland Clinic, Marriott International, and Major League Baseball build nearly unbreakable relationships with not onlytheir clients and customers, but with members, fans, volunteers, vendors, sponsors and employees, as well, James reveals the science behind the real human emotion called loyalty, and what anyone can do to receive its benefits. James is one of the most quoted and profiled authorities on loyalty and has been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Business Week, the BBC, and numerous other global and industry publications. He is the author of two upcoming books, The Loyalty Switch and Virtually Loyal. Learn more at www.jameskane.com. *This episode was originally recorded on October 13, 2015.

In this episode, we talk about the power of sleep and what happens when we don't get enough of it. Join us as Dr. Michael Twery discusses the significance of sleep on our whole self including the effects on growth and stress hormones, our immune system, appetite, breathing, blood pressure, and cardiovascular health. Dr. Twery, Ph.D., is the director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's Division of Lung Diseases at the National Institutes of Health. He has led the NIH's sleep and respiratory neurobiology scientific research group since 1996, and has served as director of the NCSDR since January 2006. In these roles, Dr. Twery oversees the support of research and research training related to sleep disordered breathing, the fundamental functions of sleep and circadian rhythms, and sleep disorder epidemiology and clinical trials. Dr. Twery served as the program officer for the SleepAcademic Award program, the Specialized Centers of Research on sleep neurobiology effort, and initiatives to study the link between sleep disorders and short sleep duration with cardiovascular disease risk factors such as the metabolic syndrome, diabetes and obesity. Learn more about Dr. Twery.

Welcome to Powerful Conversations. This is a podcast where I interview best-selling authors, thought-leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs who are full of passion and will inspire you to live your best life. Powerful Conversations is about sharing the stories of incredible people and how they share their value with the universe.