Think Fast is a mini-episode featuring 10 rapid-fire questions.

What is your favorite podcast?

The Marketing Book Podcast

Bring one character to life.

Gandalf

If you could download one person’s (dead or alive) entire knowledge, wisdom, and memories to add to your own, whose would it be?

Charles Spurgeon

What industry or career path do you think has the most promising future or potential?

I think it's being a communicator because no matter what happens. Always, somebody has to communicate skillfully and whether it's in marketing or sales or consulting or writing or whatever, there's always going to be a need for someone to take ideas and package them skillfully.

If you could have any one superpower, what would it be?

Easily talk to people and feel sympathetic, feel empathy, just naturally feel.

What is a lesson that you wish that you'd learned earlier in your life?

I really wish that I had learned that I was a consultant sometime before my mid forties, because that would have shaped the course I took.

What negative experience in your life are you most happy happened to you?

one of the biggest negative experiences in my life has been, I've lived with undiagnosed clinical depression for almost all my adult life until sometime in my forties. And the only thing I'm thankful about with that is that I can relate to other people who've struggled with it.

But I had an internal battle from my teens all the way through my forties, which just sapped the daylights out of me. And I'm still trying to be grateful for it. I'm very thankful to be out of it and to have medication has really helped and I've learned how to get ahold. And this is one reason I brought up the book soundtracks by John Acuff, which is controlling your thought life.

The biggest challenge of my life has been controlling my own head. So maybe I'll be more grateful at some point in the future. But it's a hard, lonely battle, and I will say this, I'm glad it's basically over with.

What is your definition of success, and has it changed over time?

My definition of success is twofold. One is, we've talked about finding your purpose and running in it, whatever that means. The other definition of success for me is my five kids. And I have five grown boys. They're all going in directions. They're all , very good human beings. And despite the thousands of ways I've beat myself up over being a bad parent or, every parent goes through the agony of feeling like you're just the worst human on the planet.

And you're going to break these kids. To now be able to talk to these adults and have them as friends and then now two of them, one of them just had a child, my first grandchild and other ones coming in February. To me, I've always wanted grandchildren. And so this is going to be one of my biggest successes is grandkids.

What's one thing everybody listening to this episode should go do today?

My goal, when you talk about clarity and communications and all that, on your very next email, bring the point up to the subject line. People are scanning their inboxes, they're scanning the subject lines, and the lowest hanging fruit, the visual real estate that matters, is the subject line in the first sentence.

So whatever your point is, bring it right up In a way that's vivid and interesting because then you got to win the inbox battle, but you got to do it fast. And so it's always starts with email emails, your lowest hanging fruit.

The Infinity Gauntlet gives the holder the ability to snap their fingers and make anything their mind can imagine into reality. Here's the catch though: it generally costs the wearer who snaps their fingers their lives. I have this gauntlet, and I'm offering it to you. What would you want to happen?

I would change to where all that blocks our view of God fall out of our eyes and we would see clearly and we would see infinite glory and love all of us. I'd give my life in a second, in a millisecond.

Steve Woodruff is known as the King of Clarity. Thirty-seven years in the front lines of sales, marketing, consulting, and entrepreneurship has uniquely equipped Steve to guide others in the principles and practices of clear and effective communication.

He has deep experience in corporate training and workshop facilitation for a wide variety of companies, from startups to Top Five pharma.

Steve is the author of the business book Clarity Wins (2018), and the ground-breaking new book The Point (October 2023). He is the father of 5 grown men and lives in Franklin TN with his wife of 42 years.

It is mission-critical that every communicator get to the point quickly - or the opportunity for engagement is lost.

Soundtracks: The Surprising Solution to Overthinking (Overcome Toxic Thought Patterns and Take Control of Your Mindset) by Jon Acuff

Your Brain: Perception Deception - Season 50 Episode 9

The fact that the human brain processes 11 million bits of information PER SECOND (from all 5 senses). This is the "competition" every communicator is up against.

Think Fast is a mini-episode featuring 10 rapid-fire questions.

What is your favorite podcast?

The Mel Robbins Podcast

Bring one fictional character to life.

Judy Jetson from The Jetsons

If you could download one person’s (dead or alive) entire knowledge, wisdom, and memories to add to your own, whose would it be?

Shawn Achor

If you had a superhero name, what would it be?

Jubilee or Joy Drift

What advice would you give to someone who is feeling stuck or unsure about their career path?

First, give yourself grace. Everybody feels stuck or unsure at some point. Second, I would say start to redefine what success looks like for you right now. It changes constantly. And often we're trying to go with a version of success that is outdated. Like we're trying to live in chapter eight as if it's still chapter one.

And so I think it's redefining what does this look like and mean to me right now and craft around that. And sometimes when we're stuck, it's because we need to redefine and recalibrate.

What is a lesson that you wish that you'd learned earlier in your life?

To really listen to your intuition. I think sometimes our intuition screams at us and we do, what we should, what we think we should. And a lot of us are ruled by shoulds, right? And I call it, we should all over ourselves. And I think there's this idea of really tuning into your intuition because I feel like when you really tune in, it's always right and really check in with that.

What negative experience in your life are you most happy happened to you?

When my very serious high school boyfriend cheated on me. It allowed me to open myself up to what a, a real beautiful loving relationship would look like, and I have that in my marriage.

What is your definition of success, and has it changed over time?

I think my definition of success now is still has a lot to do with achievement. I think that's always going to be ingrained in who I am, but I think the infusion of joy is a huge part of it now, that feeling joyful and fulfilled and community.

And success, I think, is a really key part that has shifted over time. And success also means to me how I'm showing up for my kids just as much as how I'm showing up for my clients. And that's a part where I've recalibrated success in my home life and at me as a human, not just me at work.

What's one thing everybody listening to this episode should go do today?

I think what everybody should start today is we didn't, we've never talked about this, but flipping from the golden rule to the platinum rule, golden rule is treat others the way we wish to be treated.

Platinum rule treat others the way they wish to be treated. And I think what everybody can start doing today is figuring out somebody you care about platinum, which means. Asking them questions to find out how they want to be treated. How do you want to feel valued? How can I best support you? How can I best give you feedback in a way that lands for you?

What does help look like to you? What does happiness feel like to you? Just starting to ask these questions of people you love. So you can be more meaningful in that relationship.

The Infinity Gauntlet gives the holder the ability to snap their fingers and make anything their mind can imagine into reality. Here's the catch though: it generally costs the wearer who snaps their fingers their lives. I have this gauntlet, and I'm offering it to you. What would you want to happen?

Yes. I guess I would put it on and I would cure cancer. All cancers. All cancers.

About Mic Swap

The Mic Swap is an original Shareable idea where the guest becomes the host of the show, and Jeff becomes the guest. This gives my guest the opportunity to ask questions from their domain of expertise and gives my audience the chance to learn about me from a variety of angles.

Jackie has an exceptional track record of sparking brilliant leaders and turning soft skills into hard results. Combining relatability and humor with her data-driven, results-focused approach, Jackie will captivate any audience and inspire immediate action.

For two decades she has focused on her life mission of developing Spark Brilliance, a revolutionary approach to leadership and team dynamics that will transform your team’s performance, results, and fulfillment.

She leverages the latest research in neuroscience and positive psychology to design simple, actionable strategies that individuals can use right away to spark their team’s brilliance.

With degrees from Duke and Harvard, and a certification in Neuroscience for Business from MIT, Jackie’s ideas have been a game-changer for thousands of people and businesses worldwide. She has coached leaders from companies such as Nestle, Microsoft, San Francisco 49ers, and Etsy. Her new book, Spark Brilliance, hit #1 on eight national bestseller lists and was featured in Forbes, Inc., CEO World, and Fast Company. Entrepreneur Magazine named it as one of the Top 8 Leadership Books for Entrepreneurs.

However, these accomplishments pale in comparison to her greatest life’s achievement….

Growing up in Miami, Jackie won the breakdance championship for her 4th grade breakdance team.

The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor

Ted Lasso

We believe happiness is on the other side of success .... "I will be happy when I achieve _____" and the opposite is true. Happiness creates success. So, let's be happy first! The happier we are the more successful we will be.

Also, the number one predictor of a long and happy life is the quality of our relationships. Proven by over 80+ years of research.

Think Fast is a mini-episode featuring 10 rapid-fire questions.

What is your favorite podcast?

Neurodiversity with Theo Smith

If you could download one person’s (dead or alive) entire knowledge, wisdom, and memories to add to your own, whose would it be?

Bill Walsh

If you could have any one superpower, what would it be?

The diffusion of ideas

What would you sacrifice to have that superpower?

Take away my ability to contribute on all other facets.

What will destroy humanity?

Selfishness

What will save humanity?

Really having a sense of this shared human experience because the flip side of the previous one is we all think about ourselves, our families, our friends, our nations. We all wanna put these barriers up. Actually, look, the big things we are facing today are shared around the world. Let's just appreciate that.

What is a lesson that you wish that you'd learned earlier in your life?

Saying no to things is a lesson I think you get as you get older.

What negative experience in your life are you most happy happened to you?

Four days into my career mentioned this on the podcast, I had a major car accident, broke three bones, major brain bruising. That was kind of baggage that I wore for a long time. But, you know, why am I grateful for it? I mean, look, I wouldn't be building this company if it wasn't for that as well. And in the end, you just have to embrace some of these kind of crazy tangents that, your life goes down and make the best of it.

What is your definition of success, and has it changed over time?

Success for me is, I think we talked about this a little bit as well, it's making a positive contribution to others. What's so great about that is it's so addicting. It's something that you realize once you're, once you're doing it, how happy that makes you as well. The basic level, my goals are to do my best for my family and then at a professional level for the world.

What's one thing everybody listening to this episode should go do today?

Pick up a book that's either by a neurodivergent author or about neurodiversity.

The Infinity Gauntlet gives the holder the ability to snap their fingers and make anything their mind can imagine into reality. Here's the catch though: it generally costs the wearer who snaps their fingers their lives. I have this gauntlet, and I'm offering it to you. What would you want to happen?

I take the glove and I think what happens is we have a cohesive, we get rid of nation states, we have a cohesive global identity, democratic global governance. Shared language, shared sense of humanity, and a shared drive to solve the big problems that I mentioned.

About Mic Swap

The Mic Swap is an original Shareable idea where the guest becomes the host of the show, and Jeff becomes the guest. This gives my guest the opportunity to ask questions from their domain of expertise and gives my audience the chance to learn about me from a variety of angles.

Ed Thompson is the founder and CEO of Uptimize, the leading neuroinclusion training company, whose mission is to help organizations embrace and leverage every type of thinker. Born and raised in London and educated at the University of Oxford, Ed founded Uptimize in 2016, recognizing the urgent need for greater understanding and appreciation of neurodiversity within the working world. His role with Uptimize has afforded him unique insights and connections with pioneers in the neurodiversity-at- work field across the world, and he is now a frequent speaker on the topic. He and Uptimize have been featured by outlets including LinkedIn, the BBC, People Management magazine, HR.com, and the Financial Times.

Explaining Humans: What Science Can Teach Us About Life, Love and Relationships by Dr. Camilla Pang

At Work in America (formerly the HR Happy Hour show)

The Bridge

56% of neurodivergent professionals have experienced communication barriers at work.

Think Fast is a mini-episode featuring 10 rapid-fire questions.

What is your favorite podcast?

Creator Science

Bring one fictional character to life.

Hermione Granger from Harry Potter

If you could download one person’s (dead or alive) entire knowledge, wisdom, and memories to add to your own, whose would it be?

Theodore Roosevelt

If you had a superhero name, what would it be?

The Unraveller

What part of the future are you most optimistic about?

People. The younger generation's generosity of life and of spirit.

What advice would you give to someone who is feeling stuck or unsure about their career path?

Take the leap.

What is a lesson that you wish that you'd learned earlier in your life?

Patience is how you make things go faster.

What negative experience in your life are you most happy happened to you?

I was in a basketball team that lost 51 straight games. That was four years of high school, and for three years, we didn't win a single game. I am thankful for the experience, because it taught me to keep going even when things seem impossible.

What's one thing everybody listening to this episode should go do today?

Track how you spend your time. Write it down somewhere and track it.

The Infinity Gauntlet gives the holder the ability to snap their fingers and make anything their mind can imagine into reality. Here's the catch though: it generally costs the wearer who snaps their fingers their lives. I have this gauntlet, and I'm offering it to you. What would you want to happen?

I don't want the gauntlet. I wouldn't snap my fingers.

About Mic Swap

The Mic Swap is an original Shareable idea where the guest becomes the host of the show, and Jeff becomes the guest. This gives my guest the opportunity to ask questions from their domain of expertise and gives my audience the chance to learn about me from a variety of angles.