RISE TO LEAD

Your Freakin' Amazing Life Map — built for you, free, from one thirty-minute conversation: what your body already knows, the script you've been running, and the one move that would light you up. Nothing to buy. → https://reginahuber.com/map

Most leaders don’t fail from lack of success — they reach a point where everything they once worked for still looks correct on the outside, but no longer creates meaning on the inside. In this episode, Bella St. John describes a defining moment after achieving what many would label “arrival” — private jets, visible milestones, external validation — and the sudden internal silence that followed. The question wasn’t how to get more. It was why nothing about it felt like anything anymore. That moment exposes a deeper structural issue in how success is defined: it works until it doesn’t, and when it stops working, there is often nothing underneath it.
We go into what shifts when that external framework collapses — from hustle and grind to inspired action, from output-driven identity to human-centered leadership. Bella speaks into how AI and modern work environments are forcing a re-evaluation of what meaningful contribution actually is, and why repetitive effort without alignment slowly disconnects people from themselves. The conversation ultimately reframes success away from escalation and accumulation, toward alignment, intention, and inner clarity — where leadership is no longer something you perform, but something that emerges when your actions finally match your internal state.

About Bella St. John: 
For decades, Ms Bella St John has worked with leaders, entrepreneurs, high-profile clients, and organizations to help them see what is already strong, uncover new possibilities, and create success in a way that feels meaningful, human, and aligned.
Her work brings together executive coaching, personal and professional development, branding, buyer psychology, leadership, and human-centered AI. After briefly retiring at 50 and leaving America, she spent a decade as a luxurious nomad, traveling solo through Europe and exploring success, freedom, creativity, and reinvention from a deeply personal perspective. She now lives in an historic building in the UNESCO area of Prague and has returned to the work she loves.
A professional artist, author, coach, and thoughtful observer of human potential, Ms Bella St John helps others redefine success in a way that feels practical, personal, and genuinely worth pursuing.
www.BellaStJohn.com
youtube.com/@MsBellaStJohn
https://amzn.to/4fyyMhd 
 

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Your Freakin' Amazing Life Map — built for you, free, from one thirty-minute conversation: what your body already knows, the script you've been running, and the one move that would light you up. Nothing to buy. → https://reginahuber.com/map

Tania Asimionesei reflects on leading distributed teams across 7 countries and what layoffs, reorgs, and rapid growth taught her about staying human-first as a leader. She talks about the shift from individual contributor to leader, why a fresh, unconditioned mindset is an advantage rather than a gap, and how AI is reshaping delegation — not replacing the human judgment behind it. She also unpacks why leaders now need to think more like entrepreneurs as execution increasingly shifts to AI agents.
The conversation then turns to founders: the biggest misconceptions first-timers have about speed and pivots, the gap between the founder highlight reel and reality, and the hiring mistakes that trip up even experienced operators — including why the first five hires are rarely the right ones. Tania shares her 30-60-90 day onboarding framework, how to tell the difference between real progress and busy-but-directionless chaos, and closes with advice for anyone building something new: experiment freely, get close to the actual problem, and be kind to yourself when you fail

About Tania Asimionesei:
Tania Asimionesei – based in the UAE – was Engineer #1 at Checkout.com in Dubai office, joining pre-Series A and helping scale the company to a $40B valuation. She led distributed teams across 7 countries through hypergrowth, layoffs, and multiple reorgs. She's since served on the Customer Advisory Board for Vercel and is now a 3x founder building The Casual Leader, Ulpi.io, and Ploon.ai. She's a Women in FinTech Excellence Award winner, part of Women in FinTech Powerlist 2020 and speaks on leadership, founder struggles, and what it actually takes to build something that lasts with an engineering lens.
www.thecasualleader.com 
www.youtube.com/@TheCasualLeader 
open.spotify.com/show/57e5ggqj77yVEDAwlrgHgT 
www.substack.com/@thecasualleader 
www.instagram.com/thecasualleader 
www.tiktok.com/@thecasualleader 
x.com/theCasuaLeader 
 

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Damon Flowers shares how being fired early in his career for asking too many questions set him on a path toward entrepreneurship and a deep focus on what actually makes companies work. He explains how this led to his concept of modern operations — a unified approach that connects marketing, sales, product, and fulfillment into a single operational system that prevents breakdown as companies grow. Drawing on experience scaling businesses from zero to $12M and from $3.5M to $30M, he shows how structure, not pressure, is what allows growth to hold.

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Your Freakin' Amazing Life Map — built for you, free, from one thirty-minute conversation: what your body already knows, the script you've been running, and the one move that would light you up. Nothing to buy. → https://reginahuber.com/map

Stefan Verra has spent over 20 years studying body language — or, as he prefers to call it, everyday human behavior — and this conversation makes clear why his scientific, no-nonsense approach has made him one of Europe's most sought-after experts on the topic. Stefan and Regina trace his fascination back to growing up around his sculptor father and later realizing, while working in the music industry, that audiences respond far more to a performer's physical expression than to the music itself. That insight becomes the foundation for a wide-ranging discussion connecting body language to leadership, dance, and even romantic attraction, including Stefan's take on the often-misquoted Mehrabian research and why words alone can convey facts but never emotion.
The back half of the episode turns practical, with Stefan walking through concrete tools leaders can use immediately: the "NN rule" for delivering important information with your nose and navel turned fully toward the person you're addressing, the selfie test for discovering how rarely you actually smile, and how to read a team's trust in you by watching where people glance during a meeting. He also breaks down the difference between symmetry and asymmetry in gesture, why varying your body language attracts a wider range of people to follow you, and how something as small as where you stand in a room can shift how included your team feels. It's a hands-on masterclass in a subject most leaders underestimate — and a reminder that presence is built moment by moment, long before anyone speaks.

About Stefan Verra:
Stefan Verra, based in Germany, is one of Europe’s most sought-after experts in body language. The Austrian native, who lives in Munich, has been studying human body language intensively for more than 20 years.
A bestselling author, he serves as a guest lecturer at several universities and university hospitals. He advises government organizations (including NATO and the U.S. Navy), research institutions, and companies around the world, speaking to more than 10,000 people annually.
His analyses are regularly featured in the media, and more than 150,000 people follow his body language insights and tips on social media.
www.stefanverra.com 
www.facebook.com/stefanverra 
www.instagram.com/stefanverra 
www.linkedin.com/in/stefanverra 
www.youtube.com/user/StefanVerra
 

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Your Freakin' Amazing Life Map — built for you, free, from one thirty-minute conversation: what your body already knows, the script you've been running, and the one move that would light you up. Nothing to buy. → https://reginahuber.com/map

What do you do when the system you’re in quietly tells you your time is up? Margaux didn’t wait for permission—or for the “right moment.” She built her own. In this conversation, she shares how stepping beyond acting into creating and producing her own films became the turning point—not just for visibility, but for longevity. What started as a strategic move evolved into something far more powerful: a way to shape narratives, open doors for others, and create work that actually reflects the world we live in. From launching a short film that reached Cannes to building a production company grounded in purpose, she walks us through what it really takes to move from idea to execution.
But this goes beyond filmmaking. We talk about resilience shaped through rejection, why understanding the business side changes everything, and how a strong vision holds when collaboration, setbacks, and unexpected realities enter the picture. Margaux also opens up about the personal experiences that influence her storytelling—from loss to mental health to the pressure of continuing forward when life doesn’t pause. At the core of it all is a simple truth: things rarely line up perfectly. So the question becomes—do you wait, or do you move anyway?

About Margaux Amie:
Margaux Amie from California is the founder of True Self Films, a woman- and Black-owned production company dedicated to creating bold, socially impactful stories that elevate underrepresented voices. An actress and producer, she is currently developing the feature film Therein Lies Darkness, a psychological drama exploring family dynamics, grief, and generational trauma.
Margaux’s work is driven by a commitment to authenticity and emotional truth, with a focus on stories that resonate deeply and spark conversation. Her award-winning short film Let Go has been recognized across multiple film festivals, building momentum for her growing slate of projects.
Through her work, she aims to bridge storytelling and social impact, creating films that are both meaningful and culturally relevant.
www.trueselffilms.com
[email protected] 
[email protected] 
[email protected] 
https://ko-fi.com/trueselffilms
 

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Vanhishikha Bhargava, Founder of Contensify, shares how her journey from engineering student to global content strategist began with a single LinkedIn post that unexpectedly reshaped her career path. She reflects on rebuilding her life while also creating her unique coaching and business approach, choosing for years to prioritize depth of work over visibility. Regina and Vanhishikha explore how consistency and execution shaped her leadership identity long before personal branding became part of the equation. The conversation opens up the tension between structure and creativity, and how early startup experiences influenced her decision to eventually build a business on her own terms.

https://vanhishikha.com/

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Toni Will never planned to work in professional hockey — she stumbled into it after a job at a high-end boutique fell through, landing instead at the Kalamazoo Wings, a team she knew nothing about. That accidental entry became a defining advantage: with no attachment to the sport itself, she led with culture, community, and people first, eventually becoming the first woman in franchise history to serve as General Manager and Governor in the ECHL. In this conversation, Toni and Regina trace the throughline from that unlikely start to Toni's book, Rebellious Success — including the moment a promised board promotion was pulled out from under her, and why she chose to see it as cracking the ceiling for the next woman rather than a personal defeat.

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Braydan Young shares what it really takes to build and scale companies when growth moves faster than expected. From watching his parents run small businesses to co-founding and scaling Sendoso, he talks openly about the chaos, uncertainty, and blind confidence that often come with entrepreneurship. He also breaks down why rapid growth can quietly damage culture, how leadership roles must evolve as teams expand, and why founders often underestimate the importance of structure, communication, and hiring systems until they are already scaling fast.

Braydan also reveals the management mistakes that changed how he leads today, why many leaders avoid admitting they hired the wrong people, and how peer-to-peer conversations are reshaping B2B buying through his new company, SlashExperts. He shares his perspective on AI’s real impact on teams, why selling is an underrated leadership skill, and why founders should stop waiting for perfection before bringing ideas to market. This conversation is packed with honest insights on leadership, scaling, hiring, culture, innovation, and building companies in fast-changing environments.

About Braydan Young:

Braydan Young is a California-based entrepreneur and investor, best known as the co-founder and former Chief Alliances Officer of Sendoso, a leading corporate gifting platform. He is currently the Co-Founder and CEO of SlashExperts, a peer-conversation platform designed to help B2B companies accelerate revenue.

www.linkedin.com/in/braydanyoung

www.slashexperts.com

https://sendoso.com/sendoso-express/

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At the core of everything Dr. Jairo Borja does—whether in education, entrepreneurship, or capital raising—is one principle: relationships that are built on trust, reciprocity, and real value exchange. In this conversation, he breaks down why “taking” without contribution rarely leads anywhere meaningful, and how true networking only works when it becomes a two-way street. Regina and Jairo explore how intentional, strategic connections—both in-person and through LinkedIn—can open doors to opportunities that never come from casual networking alone.

He also unpacks common misconceptions around accessing capital, including the mistake of thinking only business metrics matter while personal financial standing is often equally critical. From there, Jairo shares how he structures his Elevation 90 Day Mastery Program to move founders from ideas to execution with clarity, accountability, and systems that scale. The conversation expands into transformational leadership, real estate syndications, and what it actually takes to grow from small deals to large-scale assets—while staying grounded in due diligence, timing, and the strength of the team behind every decision.

About Jairo Borja:

Dr. Jairo Borja from New Jersey is the President of Borja Consulting Group, LLC and serves as Vice President of Corporate & Entrepreneurial Programs at the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey. With over 20 years of experience in higher education, financial services, and entrepreneurship, he specializes in helping founders, investors, and business owners access and raise capital to grow and scale.

He is the creator of the Elevation 90-Day Mastery program, where he teaches entrepreneurs how to build strategic networks and raise capital with confidence. In addition, Dr. Borja works as a capital connector, helping businesses secure funding through debt-based financing solutions such as lines of credit, term loans, and other capital access strategies.

Dr. Borja is also a real estate investor involved in over 500 multifamily units and multiple hotel assets, and a two-time Amazon best-selling author of Dealmaker! and Networking Your Way to Success.

www.borjaconsultinggroup.com

www.linkedin.com/in/dr-jairo-borja

www.youtube.com/channel/UCHyXKPIEqzwVVZN1Ple4Rmg

Book: https://www.amazon.com/Dealmakers-Raise-Unlimited-Capital-Deals/dp/B0F6K9WXZ8

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James Hayden explores how AI is reshaping B2B sales, revenue leadership, and the speed at which modern organizations build and qualify pipelines. He explains how AI-driven sales intelligence is changing prospecting, personalization, and decision-making before the first human interaction. While the technology accelerates performance, he is clear it doesn’t replace salespeople but amplifies those who use it well. He highlights adaptability as a core leadership skill in an environment moving at exponential speed. At the center of his approach is still human trust, built through real interaction and non-verbal communication. Even with advanced tools, he argues that relationships remain the deciding factor in complex sales. His view: sales is evolving fast, but still grounded in human connection.

He also discusses when companies need external revenue leadership, often stepping in like a “firefighter” to stabilize and rebuild sales systems. His focus is on creating clarity, structure, and repeatable processes so teams can scale independently. Leadership, he says, requires strong communication, consistency, and willingness to repeat messages during change. He stresses vulnerability as a strength when guiding teams through uncertainty and AI transformation. He challenges common sales myths, including the idea of “natural-born salespeople,” and emphasizes process and behavior over personality. Curiosity and continuous learning have kept him evolving through decades of change. For him, success today is about freedom, service, and staying engaged with constant transformation.

About James Hayden:

James Hayden is a sales strategist, fractional GTM/CRO, and host of the Adapt or Die podcast. Over a 35+ year career he has built and scaled B2B sales organizations at Cendant, TravelClick, LodgIQ, Uniken and others, and has led international market entry across the U.S., Mexico, and Guatemala. Today James works with B2B companies that have strong potential but inconsistent growth, fuzzy positioning, or a broken sales engine — combining market definition, real-world selling, partnerships, and AI-era growth strategy to build revenue systems that hold up in the field. He is the author of Real World Selling Strategies and a sought-after voice on adaptive leadership, revenue acceleration, and the human side of selling. James is based in the Pacific Northwest and works with founders and revenue leaders worldwide.

www.jamesbhayden.com

www.linkedin.com/in/jimhayden/

www.youtube.com/@jamesbhayden

www.x.com/chasmcrosser

www.instagram.com/chasmcrosser1

www.facebook.com/jimhayden

Podcast: Adapt or Die

https://open.spotify.com/show/6HFJQ3uchJsAAMAFdxdDxU

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/adapt-or-die/id1888076804

https://iheart.com/podcast/329448079

"Real World Selling Strategies" on Amazon:

Kindle – https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CR6P6LQ

Paperback – https://www.amazon.com/dp/061560353X

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