Speaking Podcast

In this episode, Roy sits down with Mike Swigunski, entrepreneur, investor, and #1 bestselling author on a mission to help millions of people Earn From Anywhere. Mike traces his path from a small Missouri suburb where he didn't take his first flight until 18, through running a university study-abroad program at 20, to a devastating turning point at 22 — losing his mother to breast cancer just a month before graduation — that pushed him to book a one-way flight to Europe rather than take a safe corporate job. He shares how he became employee #4 at Empire Flippers, helping scale it into a 100-person remote team and the world's largest curated marketplace for online businesses, and the "POWER" framework he built from watching thousands of acquisitions to identify what actually makes a business valuable. They dig into the platform risks of Amazon FBA and affiliate businesses, the coming shift toward advertising inside AI chat tools, the real craft behind his TEDx talk and the hero's journey structure behind it, his NOMAD framework for choosing where to live abroad, and his new venture, Dividends — a platform letting everyday investors put as little as $100 into fractional ownership of cash-flowing online businesses.

Timestamps

0:02 – Introducing Mike Swigunski

About Mike Swigunski

Mike Swigunski is an entrepreneur, investor, and #1 bestselling author on a mission to help millions of people Earn From Anywhere by building location-independent careers, online businesses, and scalable income streams. As employee #4 at Empire Flippers, he helped scale the company into a 100-person remote team and the world's largest curated marketplace for buying and selling online businesses, playing a key role in facilitating more than $120 million in acquisitions. He is the founder of Global Career and Dividends and has built multiple six-, seven-, and eight-figure remote companies while traveling to more than 100 countries. Mike is also a TEDx speaker and a recognized voice in remote work, online business, entrepreneurship, and modern investing.

Connect with Mike:

🔗 About Your Host (Roy Coughlan)

#RemoteWork #DigitalNomad #OnlineBusiness #Investing #Entrepreneurship #TEDx #SpeakingPodcast #PassiveIncome #BusinessAcquisitions #LocationIndependence #GlobalCareer #Dividends

In this episode, Roy sits down with Brian D. Ridgway, "The Spellbreaker" and founder of Level 5 Mentoring, alongside Abigail Morgan, CEO of Level 5 Mentoring and a 27-year veteran of the coaching world. Brian shares the extraordinary story of January 3rd, 2011 — the day he hit total rock bottom, about to be homeless with his pregnant wife and two kids, and experienced an awakening that instantly transformed his life. He unpacks where the "Spellbreaker" name actually came from, walks through his Five Paradigms that he says govern how every person on the planet experiences life, and lays out his "Five Spells from Hell" framework in detail. Abigail shares her own turning point — 27 years deep in the coaching industry, including 8 years running Martha Beck's practitioner training program, and how a decades-long physical pain vanished in a single 10-minute session with Brian after nothing else had touched it. They also get into applying this work to parenting and even to trauma in animals, and close out with where people can start if a four-day trip to Hawaii isn't in the cards.

Timestamps

0:02 – Introducing Brian D. Ridgway and Abigail Morgan

About Brian D. Ridgway

Brian D. Ridgway, known as "The Spellbreaker," is the founder of Level 5 Mentoring and author of the #1 international bestseller Break Your Self-Help Addiction. After 17 years of childhood abuse and decades of financial disaster, relationship trauma, and a suicide attempt, Brian experienced a life-changing awakening on January 3rd, 2011. Since then, his method — called Spellbreaking — has helped over 265,000 people across 84 countries.

About Abigail Morgan

Abigail Morgan is CEO of Level 5 Mentoring and a 27-year veteran of the self-help and coaching world. After investing over $750,000 in her own healing journey, training extensively under Martha Beck (Oprah's coach), and running Martha Beck's practitioner training program for over 8 years, Abigail found that even the most advanced coaching modalities left her deepest issues untouched. She discovered Brian's work a year and a half ago, closed her own company to take over Level 5's practitioner program, and became CEO nine months ago.

Connect with Brian, Abigail & Level 5 Mentoring:

🔗 About Your Host (Roy Coughlan)

#SpellBreaking #SelfHelp #PersonalTransformation #Trauma #Healing #Consciousness #Awakening #SpeakingPodcast #Coaching #Liberation #InnerWork #Mindset

In this episode, Roy sits down with award-winning actor, writer, and producer Niki J. Borger, creator and star of the upcoming sitcom NFTease. Niki traces her path from growing up in Germany with only 10% depth perception, to becoming a musical theatre performer, to transitioning into Hollywood film and eventually producing her own work — including a five-minute short film shot for $367 on two iPhones that went on to earn 20 festival selections, 7 nominations, and 4 awards. As a performer who's worked everything from musical theatre stages to documentary theatre in active conflict zones, Niki speaks candidly about the craft behind holding an audience, adapting to wildly different performance environments, and turning setbacks into her strongest material. They dig into NFTease itself: the premise of three insecure NFT-startup founders forced to partner with a group of "influencers" who turn out to be something else entirely, and the investor structure behind it. Niki also opens up about the realities of the acting industry — vanishing residuals, non-union commercial rates, and her strong stance on AI, consent, and protecting an artist's likeness — before closing with a full cast rundown for the show's eight core characters.

Timestamps

0:02 – Introducing Niki J. Borger and NFTease

About Niki J. Borger

Niki J. Borger is an award-winning actor, writer, and producer, known for her original performances in the Extravaganza One Act Fest in Los Angeles, her award-winning short films "Because I Could" and "A Portrayal of a Subtle Suicide," and her collection of original one-act plays "In-Between: Eight Gender-Neutral One-Act Plays Between Life and Death." Her work has been screened around the world, and she has performed in Europe, Russia, North America, and South America. Niki is fluent in four languages and currently travels the world before returning to her base in California to film NFTease — her upcoming sitcom series.

Connect with Niki & NFTease:

🔗 About Your Host (Roy Coughlan)

#PublicSpeaking #Storytelling #Acting #IndieFilm #Filmmaking #NFTease #Resilience #CreativeIndustry #Hollywood #ArtistRights #SpeakingPodcast #PerformanceCraft

Today's guest is Gene King, an Access Architect and founder of Atlas Strategic Access, based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. With over 50 years in business, Gene has founded, scaled, and successfully exited 10 companies and currently operates six active businesses, including Sequence Real Estate, Invest America (an EB-5 immigration investment firm), and Twist Elbow. Roy and Gene, friends of over 12 years since meeting at a Darren Hardy event, dig into the origin story of Gene's very first business at military school, the lesson that reshaped how he handles bullies and pressure for the rest of his life, and why being diagnosed with ADHD at 65 explained a career pattern of exiting companies too early. Gene shares his philosophy on partnerships, why he's never had a verbal argument with a business partner in 22 companies, how he handles conflict at home versus in business, and the mentor's advice that shaped his obsession with knowing his cash position at all times. The conversation closes with the role Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich has played in Gene's life since his early twenties, and his belief that the universe, not active pursuit, brings him his best opportunities.

⏱️ TIMESTAMP

0:02 - Welcome to the Speaking Podcast, intro to Gene King

About Gene King

Gene King is an Access Architect, founder of Atlas Strategic Access, and founder of Sequence Holdings, based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. With over 50 years in business, Gene has founded, scaled, and successfully exited 10 companies and currently operates six active businesses, including Sequence Real Estate, Invest America (an EB-5 immigration investment firm), and Twist Elbow. He specializes in engineering access, positioning companies into enterprise, government, and investor opportunities they couldn't reach on their own. Gene is also an Entrepreneur in Residence at the Harbor Entrepreneur Center in Mount Pleasant, home to over 100 early-stage businesses, and has extensive experience training sales teams and CPAs on structured deals.

Connect with Gene King

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