Rise To More

Former Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton joins Jasna Burza on Rise to More for a candid interview about his memoir, Perseverance, his political legacy, and finding purpose after leaving public office.

Minnesota’s 40th governor and a former U.S. senator reflects on choosing public service over the family business behind Dayton’s department stores and Target, the advice Ted Kennedy gave him after an election defeat, and what it takes to keep going when others count you out.But this conversation goes beyond Minnesota politics.

Governor Dayton opens up about a difficult childhood, fatherhood, spirituality, and the sudden loss of political power, daily structure, and purpose when his time as governor ended.His new book is out now: https://tinyurl.com/3z86ms66

We discuss:

• Perseverance and the lessons behind Mark Dayton’s memoir

• Why he chose public service over a comfortable life

• Minnesota’s all-day kindergarten and early childhood education

• Raising taxes on the wealthiest 2% and addressing state budget deficits

• Marriage equality and his vote against the Iraq War resolution

• Honesty, integrity, and rebuilding trust in government

• Handling criticism and developing resilience in public life

• Finding meaning, faith, and identity after a major life transition

• Artificial intelligence and his concerns for future generations

• His advice for Minnesota’s next governor

For anyone navigating a career change, questioning their purpose, or wondering how to lead with integrity, this interview offers a deeply personal perspective on success, service, and what makes a meaningful life.

AI is changing the way we work. But I’ve been thinking about what happens to us when the things we’ve spent years becoming good at begin to change.

What happens when you’ve spent twenty years becoming exceptional at something, and suddenly a machine can do a good portion of it in seconds? What happens to the designer, the writer, the lawyer, the business owner who has built an entire identity around being needed for a particular skill?

And because I work as a coach, I couldn’t help turning the question toward myself. This episode addresses that.

What if some of the sleep advice you’ve been following isn’t actually right for your body?

Neurologist and sleep specialist Dr. Michael Howell joins Jasna Burza for a fascinating conversation about what we’re getting wrong about sleep—and why understanding your own biology may matter more than following the latest sleep rules.

They explore the biggest sleep lie Dr. Howell sees, why your chronotype matters, whether you really need eight uninterrupted hours, why you can sleep all night and still wake up exhausted, and what chronic poor sleep may be doing to your brain and long-term health.

Dr. Howell also breaks down sleep apnea, blue light and screens, sleep trackers like Oura Ring, catching up on lost sleep, snoring, cold plunges before bed, sleeping separately from your partner, and how elite athletes use sleep as a tool for performance.

And perhaps most reassuringly: better sleep doesn’t require perfect sleep.

This conversation may completely change the way you think about the thing you spend nearly a third of your life doing.

What if the thing you think is helping you get ahead is actually keeping you stuck?

After spending time with two extraordinary women recently, I started noticing a pattern I couldn’t stop thinking about. It made me question how we create, where our best ideas actually come from, and whether some of our most useful modern tools might have an unexpected downside.

In this solo episode, I’m sharing what I noticed, why I think it matters more than ever right now, and one question I believe every person trying to build, create or do something meaningful should be asking themselves.

This one might change the way you approach your next idea.

Are travel sports, elite teams and expensive training actually helping our kids succeed—or are parents being sold a version of youth sports they don’t need?

In this episode of Rise to More, recorded at Grand Casino Arena, home of the Minnesota Wild, Jasna Burza sits down with Mike Snee, Vice President of Foundation and Community Relations for the Minnesota Wild and creator of Skate It Forward, for an important conversation about youth sports, youth hockey and the growing commercialization of kids’ athletics.

Mike shares what makes Minnesota hockey different, why community-based sports are worth protecting, and what happens when fear of missing out convinces parents that their kids need elite teams, year-round training and expensive travel programs just to keep up.

We also talk about Skate It Forward, the Minnesota Wild’s initiative to strengthen community hockey and help make the sport accessible to more kids.

In this conversation, we talk about:

When youth sports became big business

Travel sports, elite teams and the pressure parents feel to keep up

Whether kids really need elite training to succeed

The risks of specializing too young

Why Minnesota’s community hockey model is different

The rising cost of youth sports and who gets left behind

Why local, community-owned ice rinks matter

Making hockey accessible to more families through Skate It Forward

What sports teach kids beyond winning

The role of fun, failure, resilience and simply playing

What parents should remember when deciding how much is enough

The future of community hockey in Minnesota

Mike also shares one of the simplest lessons hockey teaches children: everyone falls. You learn how to get back up.

This conversation is for parents of young athletes, hockey families, coaches and anyone wondering whether youth sports have become too expensive, too competitive and too focused on getting to the “next level.”

ABOUT MIKE SNEE

Mike Snee is Vice President of Foundation and Community Relations for the Minnesota Wild and creator of Skate It Forward, an initiative of the Minnesota Wild Foundation focused on preserving, strengthening and celebrating community hockey throughout Minnesota.

Rise to More with Jasna Burza explores the people, ideas and conversations shaping how we live, lead and make an impact. Jasna sits down with leaders, founders, athletes, executives and changemakers to uncover the lessons behind meaningful success.Subscribe for conversations about leadership, personal growth, business, community, purpose and what we can learn from people doing extraordinary work.

To hire Jasna as life and business advisor, go to www.jasnaburza.com

What if the thing people keep telling you to soften is actually one of the reasons you’re so good at what you do?

I kept thinking about that while reading Bobbi Brown’s Still Bobbi. Throughout her career, there were plenty of people with bigger titles and more traditional credentials telling her what she should change. Sometimes she listened. But often, she trusted herself—and some of the things others wanted her to change were the very things that made what she built extraordinary.

It made me think about how often capable women are told they’re too demanding, too particular, too intense or too difficult to please. And sometimes we are. But I think we’re so quick to correct those qualities that we forget to ask: What if she actually does know better?

There’s a difference between arrogance and earned judgment. When you’ve spent years doing something, made thousands of decisions, developed an eye and lived with the consequences, your instincts contain information. Constantly overriding them because someone else has a better résumé isn’t always humility.

I am particular. I notice language, positioning, how something looks and how it feels. I could absolutely make my life easier by caring less about some of those things. But I also know some of my best work exists because I care so much.

The question I’m learning to ask is whether my standard is creating excellence or simply creating unnecessary friction. Sometimes I need to communicate better, loosen my grip or listen more carefully. And sometimes I need to trust that I know what I’m doing.

Become a better leader. Listen to smart people. Own it when you’re wrong. But don’t spend years sanding down the very qualities that made you exceptional just because they make someone else uncomfortable.

They will call you bossy. Build it anyway.

What does it look like when one of the most recognizable sports organizations in the country uses its influence for something bigger than football?

In this episode of Rise to More, Jasna Burza sits down at TCO Performance Center with Brett Taber, Vice President of Social Impact for the Minnesota Vikings, for a conversation about leadership, service, community, and what it really means to use your platform well.

Brett has spent nearly two decades with the Vikings, beginning his career in an unexpected place: inside the mascot costume. Today, he leads work designed to create measurable change in the lives of young people and families across Minnesota.

Jasna and Brett talk about why sports may be one of the “last great unifiers,” how the Vikings think differently about community impact, and why doing good should be about changing outcomes—not simply generating headlines.

They also explore the extraordinary growth of girls flag football in Minnesota, the story behind Vikings Table and its 100,000th meal, and how players including Justin Jefferson, J.J. McCarthy, Brian O’Neill, and Aaron Jones use their platforms to support causes that genuinely matter to them.

But some of the most powerful moments in the conversation have nothing to do with football.

Brett shares the story of Bob Jensen, his middle-school teacher in rural Iowa whose lessons about integrity, service, and “we, not me” continue to influence the way Brett leads decades later. It becomes a reminder that we rarely know how far one act of kindness, mentorship, or belief in another person will travel.

In this episode:

How Brett went from Vikings mascot to VP of Social Impact

Why sports can bring people together when almost nothing else can

The Minnesota Vikings’ approach to creating measurable community impact

Justin Jefferson and the power of showing up for one family

The rapid growth of girls flag football in Minnesota

Vikings Table and what 100,000 meals really represent

Why authenticity matters when athletes and organizations give back

The leadership lesson Brett still carries from his middle-school teacher

Why relationships matter as much as ambitious goals

What it means to build programs you hope the world eventually no longer needs

Brett’s answer to the question: What does it mean to Rise to More?

This conversation is ultimately about something much bigger than the Minnesota Vikings. It is about what each of us chooses to do with whatever influence we have.

You may not have a famous name, a massive organization, or millions of people watching you. But you have people in front of you. You have opportunities to open doors, give your time, make someone feel seen, and leave something better than you found it.

And you may never know how far that impact goes.

Connect with Rise to More:Subscribe to Rise to More wherever you listen to podcasts and on YouTube for more conversations with leaders, founders, changemakers, and people doing meaningful work in the world.

What if the life you’re supposed to want isn’t actually the life you want?

After spending nearly a month in Europe, I came home with a realization that surprised me: I couldn’t wait to work. I missed my clients, Rise to More, creating, building—and instead of questioning why I couldn’t simply relax longer, I realized how deeply I love the life I’ve built.

In this solo episode, I’m talking about what it means to finally know yourself well enough to stop apologizing for the way you’re wired. For the first time in thirteen years, all of my kids are on the same school schedule, and I suddenly have eight uninterrupted hours in my day. Rather than filling them with more, I’m choosing depth: my clients, the podcast and my body.

I also share why I’m stepping back into social media after years of delegating it, what it feels like to become a beginner again in my 40s, why I want Rise to More to reach millions of people, and the uncomfortable lesson I’m learning about asking for help.

This season isn’t about being busier. It’s about becoming more intentional with the life I already love.

My word for it is BUILD.

And the question I hope you leave with is this: If you stopped performing the life you think you’re supposed to want, what would you actually want to do with your days?

Subscribe to Rise to More wherever you listen to podcasts, and come find me on Instagram and YouTube as I learn, build, fail, adjust and keep going.

Recorded live at Target Field, this conversation goes far beyond baseball. Nancy O'Brien has spent more than two decades building the Minnesota Twins' community impact work — girls baseball teams, adaptive sports clinics, youth development programs, and a free community clinic tradition that started in 1961 and hasn't stopped since.

Jasna and Nancy talk about what real leadership looks like when no one's watching, the difference between performing professionalism and actually leading, and the small, quiet moments that remind you the work matters — including one afternoon when a young girl at an adaptive baseball clinic looked at her mom and said, "they all look like me."

What We Cover

Nancy's path from brand marketing to community impact leadership

The Twins Community Fund's three pillars: empowering youth, fostering belonging, sustainability

The purple marker story — and what it taught her about authentic leadership

Building the first Major League Baseball-affiliated girls national baseball team

How to measure impact you can feel but can't always quantify

Imposter syndrome, and what she does instead of ignoring it

What it takes to lead in rooms that weren't built for you

Building true corporate partnerships instead of transactional ones

Quotes Worth Sitting With

"There isn't one way to lead. There isn't one way a leader looks."

"If you're not finding your place, if it doesn't fit, don't stay."

"Mom, they all look like me."

I used to walk into every room and scan it first. What do they need from me? How do I come across as credible without coming across as too much?I built a real career that way. I was also exhausted in a way I couldn't name.In this episode I'm being honest about something I don't talk about enough - the performance. The softening. The slow, quiet habit of making yourself smaller so other people feel more comfortable. And what it actually costs you every single day you keep doing it.I share the specific moment it started to crack for me, what I found on the other side, and three questions that might change something for you if you sit with them long enough.This one is for you if you're building something real and you know - somewhere deep down — that you're still not showing up as your full self.In this episode:— Why softening yourself doesn't make you more likable, it makes you trust yourself less— The difference between humility and hiding— What changed for me when I stopped performing: in my clients, my energy, and my income— Three questions to find out where you're still playing small🎙 Rise to More is a weekly podcast for founders, executives, and anyone building a life that actually means something. New episodes every Tuesday.