Success 2.0

Chicago-area native, Aaron Levy (@RaiseBarCo) is the Founder and CEO of Raise The Bar, a consulting firm that focuses on creating systems that help companies attract and retain millennial talent in the increasingly competitive workforce.

"Before you ask 'Does this person have the skills to be a manager?,' you should ask 'Does this person want to be a manager?'" - Aaron Levy

What We Discuss with Aaron Levy:

• Aaron's love of hockey and studying filmmaking at University of Texas.

• The health & well-being coaching company he started with his brother while in college.

• Why knowledge does not cause movement to taking action toward change.

• Why upper management believe millennials are entitled, impatient and hard-to-please.

• How the philosophy of work and paying for hours worked is a byproduct of the Industrial Revolution.

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The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how.

More About the Show Before Aaron Levy even started his career, he was asking himself what causes people to do what they do, or not do. Fascinated by understanding what goes through people's head, he and his brother, a physician in Chicago, started a health & wellness coaching business. The goal? To help people address and create habits that lead to positive change in their lives. For the better part of the next decade, Aaron, his brother and their team would try every approach possible to give people the the information the needed to make the changes they wanted in their lives. But for some reason, only a small percentage of the people would make lasting behavior change. As they spoke with others in the industry, these results were not uncommon. Leaning Into Purpose Aaron took what learned about human behavior from being in the heath & wellness industry, and began applying his teaching to the world of management in business. ​ It was a if a lightbulb went on signaling that his next frontier would involve helping to reform the relationship between nature of work and the people that perform it. ​ In 2016, Aaron founded Raise The Bar Consulting, LLC with the mission to transform the manager role by empowering managers with the tools, skills and training to be better leaders of people. ​ Disrupting the Status Quo

Since founding Raise The Bar, Aaron has made it his goal to connect with as many people in the biggest way he can.

Aaron is involved in mentoring for the Heartland Alliance, helping refugee children acclimate to their new environment, and 1871, a Chicago organization at the crossroads on technology and entrepreneurship.​

In addition, Aaron is the Founder of Startup Grind Chicago, a Google-backed entrepreneur community. He's a committee member with the American Heart Association and advisor for the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Aaron writes for Forbes, Entrepreneur and the Harvard Business Review, a member of the Forbes Coaches Council, and is a contributing writing for Thrive Global.​

THANKS, Aaron Levy!

If you enjoyed this show with management change leader Aaron Levy, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Click here to connect with Aaron on LinkedIn

Thank Aaron on Twitter!

Connect with Raise The Bar on Facebook!

Follow Raise The Bar on Instagram!

Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode!

If you'd like to ask a question with a chance of having me answer it on the show, please leave me a voicemail by clicking below:

This is a great way to cross-promote your blog or website because if I use your question on the show, I will link to it in the show notes!​

Mentioned in This Episode:

• ​Texas Ice Hockey
• Why Behavior Change Is So Hard via Harvard Medical School
• The RSA
• Why Most Managers Are Lousy via Medium
• Age Discrimination Is Not Only A Problem For Older Professionals via ComplianceX
• Raise the Bar Consulting
• Startup Grind Chicago
• 1871 Mentors
• Forbes Coaches Council
• Thrive Global

Ray Hilbert (@RayHilbert) is the Co-Founder of Truth At Work,​​​​​​​​ one of America's leading and fastest growing marketplace ministries and the host of the faith-based business podcast Bottom Line Faith.

"Part of being created in God's image is being a worker, being a creator - so part of the answer of how this works together is there is no separation between growth and faith in business." – Ray Hilbert

What We Discuss with Ray Hilbert:

• Ray's career trajectory from family-run small business to international conglomerate to becoming an entrepreneur and co-founding a faith-based business.

• Why Ray was forced to liquidate his businesses in his late 20s.

• His experience leading a hyper-growth men's ministry.

• What lead Ray to starting a workplace ministry.

• Ray's understanding of work as a trait from God.

• How to get involved in Round Tables for professionals of faith.

• His book coming out in 2019.

Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

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​​​​​​Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources!

The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how.

More About the Show​

Ray Hilbert started his career working for a small family-run business in his early 20's, but he quickly learn there was not much of a career ladder. After a few years, Ray moved into the corporate world, taking a sales and business development position at one of the largest companies in the world at the time. Though he was never asked to do anything illegal, but he was asked to entertain his clients in ways that pushed him well beyond his comfort zone and morals. Going from a place very Biblical in nature, concerned with people to a large, internationally-traded public firm was a very different experience. After a few years there, Ray decided to scratch an entrepreneurial itch. He started a business and had immediate success. That is... until he was approached about a partnership and investing in a second company. He asked his wife, his family, friends and his pastor. They all warned him against it. He was doing so well. Against his better judgment, Ray went into the second business, and both businesses failed. Devastated and deep in debt, Ray was forced to liquidate both companies to pay his creditors. At just 28 years old, he was broke, with a wife and children, and he didn't know what he was going to do. Not long after, however, he got a phone call from in a small start-up ministry called Promise Keepers that was looking to expand from its team of a dozen members. After 18 months after Ray was hired, Promise Keepers was holding conferences with over 60,000+ in attendance, and employed over 600 full-time staff. After having thousands of conversations, many of which resulted in questioning what God wants for His people in their businesses and careers. In 1998, Ray founded Truth At Work which helps business leaders build and lead their companies and organizations on proven biblical principles and practices. If you're looking to get involved with a faith-based business leaders, consider joining or starting a Round Table through Truth at Work.

THANKS, Ray Hilbert!

If you enjoyed this show with Christian business leader Ray Hilbert, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

Click here to conn​​ect with Ray on LinkedIn

Thank Rayon Twitter!

Connect with Truth at Work on Facebook!

Follow Truth at Work on Instagram!

Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode!

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Anderson University

• Taylor University

• Promise Keepers

• Truth at Work

• Genesis 1:1

• What is Faith?

• Homes of Hope International

• YWAM San Diego/Baja

• Youth With A Mission International

• Bottom Line Faith podcast

CJ McClanahan (@cjmccoach) and Logan Brown (@realloganbrown) field your questions and comments for Mentor Minutes! If you want us to answer your question, register your feedback, or tell your story on one of our upcoming Mentor Minutes episodes, drop us a line at [email protected]. Now, let's dive in!

On This Week's Mentor Minutes, We Discuss:

• What should you consider when deciding whether or not to start a business with your significant other?
• How can you be a better entrepreneur and business person when you are a perfectionist?

• How should a CEO of a non-profit approach stepping down and appointing a successor?
• How do you get introverted employee to open up and express their "why?

• What challenges have CJ and his wife faced in working together, and what has been the most rewarding part of working together?

• How can you try to limit the impact of social media has on your children?

• What can managers or supervisors do to engage and motivate millennial employees?

• Recommendations of the Week: Give Yourself a Break and Irresistible.

• Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at [email protected]!

• Connect with CJ on Twitter at @CJMcCoach and LinkedIn

• Connect with Logan on Instagram at @logand.brown and on LinkedIn, and check out his blog: The Realationship Project.

Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

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The Two Rule Foundation is on a mission to helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how.

Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, and online video training program for professionals. 100% of the proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation.

Bryan Falchuk (@BryanFalchuk) has been an overachiever his whole life. When his life started to crumble, he took a step back, put on his consultant's hat and examined what was holding him back.

No long after, Bryan drop a lot of weight, reorganized his daily routine, became a vegan, and developed a life-transformation system he calls "Do A Day."

"I felt like an idiot every single day, and that was exactly what I wanted. I grew a lot at Tuck, but the amount of growth I went through during those two years at McKinsey was on a whole other level." - Bryan Falchuk

What We Discuss with Bryan Falchuk:

• How Bryan escaped the Dot Com bubble just as he was starting his career.
• Working at McKinsey & Co. as a 20-something who knows nothing.
• His wife's battle with chronic lyme disease.
• How Bryan has kept off 100 lbs. of excess weight.
• The 'Do-A-Day' framework.
• His current role in the c-suite.

Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

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(Can 3 Simple Numbers Rescue Troubled Relationships? from Bryan Falchuk via TEDxTalks)

​​​​​​Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources!

The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how.

Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, an online video program for professionals. 100% of proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation.

More About the Show

Bryan Falchuk had everything going for him in his career. He avoided the Dot Com bubble bursting by graduating a year early and taking a full-time internal strategy role at Liberty Mutual Insurance. A few years a couple job titles later, Bryan went back to school, earning his MBA in Business from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth University.

Afterwards, Bryan accepted a consulting position at the McKinsey & Company, where he stayed for nearly three years. Leaning on his experience in the insurance industry, Bryan took himself back into insurance and spent over six yers traveling the globe with UK-based Beazley Group.

However, while everything was looking up in his career, life at home wasn't so joyous. For decades, Bryan's wife had suffered terrible, seemingly-unprovoked 24-48hr illnesses. For a day or two at a time, she'd be a sick as she'd ever been, and then it would subside. And in 2011, she suffered another episode, only this time for weeks she wasn't getting better.

"It all came to a head on June 30th, when she was down to about 100 lbs. and losing two pounds a day," Falchuk says. "Her doctor called to tell me he was going on vacation for six weeks and he'd check in when he was back. If you do the math on that, she wasn't going to make it six weeks."

Bryan says this was his light bulb moment.

THANKS, Bryan Falchuk!

If you enjoyed this show with best-selling author, coach, speaker & consulting professional Bryan Falchuk, let him know by clicking on the links below and sending him a quick shout out on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.​

Click here to connect with Bryan on LinkedIn

Thank Bryan on Twitter!

Connect with Bryan on Facebook!

Follow Bryan on Instagram!

Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode!

If you'd like to ask a question with a chance of having me answer it on the show, please leave me a voicemail by clicking below:

This is a great way to cross-promote your blog or website because if I use your question on the show, I will link to it in the show notes!​

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Bowdoin College
• Internships at Liberty Mutual Insurance
• Tuck School of Business
• McKinsey & Company
• Undergraduate Development Program at Liberty Mutual
• Chronic Lyme Disease
• Do A Day Book use coupon code SUCCESS2 at checkout for an exclusive discount
• NewBodi.es
• Bryan Falchuk at TEDxSevilleSq

Before joining the faculty at Harvard University, Dr. Matthew T. Lee spent many years as a criminologist, studying and researching the dark side of the human mind and behavior.

Today, Dr. Lee studies concepts of love and is the Director of Empirical Research for the Program on Integrative Knowledge and Human Flourishing at Harvard University.

"Why would a missionary continue to go out into a dangerous circumstance, putting their life in jeopardy, contracting deadly diseases, when everyone else pulls out? What keeps them going, and what can the rest of us learn from these spiritual exemplars?"​ - Dr. Matthew T. Lee

What We Discuss with Dr. Matthew T. Lee:

• How Dr. Lee landed a position at Harvard University researching love, after spending many years studying the darkside of human nature.
• The correlation between altruistic service and personal gratification.
• Dr. Lee's work with kids in recovery from alcohol, drugs, and various forms of delinquencies.
• Systems for creating more 'loving' environments in the workplace.
• How compassionate company cultures help businesses to flourish.

​He is the co-author of The Heart of Religion: Spiritual Empowerment, Benevolence, and the Experience of God's Love, published by Oxford University Press, in addition to 50+ articles/book chapters and four other books.

In episode 110, Dr. Lee shares his insights around concepts of benevolence, compassion, volunteering and experiences of divine love in this riveting episode you'll want to listen to again.

Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

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(Connect with CJ) Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources!

The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how.

Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, an online video program for professionals. 100% of proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation.

More About Dr. Lee

​As an assistant professor researching the dark side of human nature, Matt made a comment to a colleague that he wished to teach a class on love, but because he wasn't tenured he wasn't comfortable exploring it with the administration. While he never gave up on his dream, it took him several years of just being grateful for the opportunities that came his way, he was introduced to Dr. Stephen Post, who requested Matt join him at the organization he formed called the Institute for Research on Unlimited Love, funded by the John Templeton Foundation. Without hesitation, Matt took the position as and served as Vice President and Project Director for a $2.3M grant called the Flame of Love aimed on fulfilling the "Great Commandment"—loving and knowing God's love and then reaching out to love others. "It's interesting that so many people have had experiences of divine love - real meaningful experiences," Lee says. "Roughly 80-percent of Americans have this experience that increases their compassion for others, makes them want to reach out to somebody in need, whether it's a friend, a stranger, or perhaps sometimes even an enemy." Going further into his research, an overwhelming pattern began to appear. Lee would discover scientific evidence that supported the hypothesis that serving others leads to greater levels of perceived happiness. "What people discover… is when they serve others, they begin to appreciate the sacred quality of life and the sacred quality of relationships that they didn't fully appreciate before," Lee says. In the recent years, Dr. Lee has been working with kids in recovery from substance abuse and delinquencies and saw that a lot of them came from adverse backgrounds -- they had been neglected or victimized in some way -- and many of them adapted by becoming depressed, self-centered or narcissistic. However, when these same kids are in recovery and start getting involved in the twin virtues of Love and Service, the world shifts for them. "There's a difference between work that's interesting and rewarding, and work that is truly significant," Lee says. "It may be that the work is truly significant is not the work we do for a paycheck, it's not what we do for the most of our waking hours that give us meaning."

THANKS, Dr. Matthew T. Lee!

If you enjoyed this show with Harvard University Director of Empirical Research Dr. Matthew T. Lee, let CJ know by clicking on the link below.

Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode!

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Program on Integrative Knowledge and Human Flourishing
• The Institute for Research on Unlimited Love
• The Hidden Gifts of Helping by Dr. Stephen G. Post
• The Heart of Religion by Dr. Matthew T. Lee, Margaret Paloma, and Dr. Stephen G. Post​​
• Compassion and Healing in Medicine and Society by Dr. Gregory Fricchione​​
• The Philosophy and Life of Søren Kierkegaard
• Man's Search For Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl
• Benson-Henry Institute For Mind Body Medicine
• The Compassion Lab
• Heart to Heart
• On the Promotion of Human Flourish by Harvard School of Public Health

Unlike her siblings, Isabel Hundt (@IsabelKHundt) has always seen things differently, both in the figurative sense, and literally. Isabel has a rare quality called synesthesia. What this means for Isabel is sounds, number and emotions appear to have colors. If you are sad, and are feeling 'blue', she can actually see a blue aura around you.

Isabel grew up in East Germany during the Cold War, the oldest of five children. As a twelve-year old, she had a vision of speaking on stage in front of thousands of people. However, she wasn't speaking German -- in her vision she was speaking English.

​"Everything I've done after the age of 18 was always with the goal of coming to the U.S." - Isabel Hundt

What We Discuss with Isabel Hundt:

• How Isabel became enraptured with the English language and the United States.
• Isabel's battle with depression as a student at the University of Stuttgart.
• Her experiences working as an au pair during her late teens and twenties.
• How she became a life coach, then a business coach, then a spiritual coach.
• What it means to be an empath and how to recognize the signs.

Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

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(Connect with CJ)

Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources!

The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how.

Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, an online video program for professionals. 100% of proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation.

More About This Show

After switching universities and changing majors from studying economics to sociology & psychology, Isabel thought she knew exactly how life was supposed to look like.

In her mid-twenties, and still without her degree, Isabel was determined to have a normal life. She condensed her studies from four years to three so she could get her career started and make her way back to America.

Shortly after graduating, she discovered the whole time she was in school her boyfriend had been cheating on her the whole time they were together, and some of those women harass her and say terrible things.

However she didn't let that stop her. Instead, she dug her heels, asking herself "what is normal?", and resolving that she would have her own path.

Not long after, immigration laws changed in the U.S. and Isabel was once again able to return to work as an au pair. But her struggles didn't stop there.

By this time she was in her late twenties, and she'd be subjected to prejudice from her host families, be kicked out on the street with all her belongings, and forced to move across country to retain her visa.

It was only then that a good friend would say something that would change her life forever.

"Isabel, when you just look at people, people know that you know something about them that they don't want you to know. They trust you easily, but they are afraid that you see the real them."

Low and behold, she'd make her way to Indianapolis, Indiana studying to get her master's in counseling at IUPUI.

While at IUPUI she would meet her future husband, get her master's degree. Later, she would discover her calling as a life transformation coach and learn that she's an empath.

For nearly a decade now, Isabel has been living out her childhood dream, and has been speaking onstage (in English!) and helping highly-sensitive people navigate their inner worlds and become the best version of themselves.

Isabel is the author The Power of Faith-Driven Success, creator of The Empath Warrior Program, has appeared on 70+ podcasts including Entrepreneur on Fire with John Lee Dumas, and is an accomplished motivational speaker.

Catch her on social media and check out her Youtube channel.

THANKS, Isabel Hundt!

If you enjoyed this session with life transformation coach, speaker, & author Isabel Hundt let her know by clicking on the links below and sending her a quick shout out on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.

Click here to thank Isabel on Twitter!

Connect with Isabel on Facebook!

Follow Isabel on Instagram!

Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode!

And if you want us to answer your questions on one of our upcoming episodes, drop us a line at [email protected].

Mentioned in This Episode:

• Find Out If You Have Synesthesia via Business Insider
• University of Stuttgart
• Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
• ActionCOACH - business coaching
• ​The Differences Between Highly Sensitive People and Empaths via Psychology Today
• Four Signs You May Be an Empath-Warrior via HuffPost
• The Empath-Warrior Coaching Program taught by Isabel Hundt
• The Power of Faith-Driven Success book by Isabel Hundt
• The Empowered Warrior ebook by Isabel Hundt
• Isabel on Entrepreneur On Fire Episode 1823

No matter how much more you do today, you'll never get everything you need to do done. Let's face it, ever since we could take home with our laptops and fast wi-fi connections, we work more than ever. This hasn't lead to getting more things done; rather more things to do and an unhealthy expectation of getting it all done.

On this episode, we'll look at ways to take back our freedom from the distractions caused by the very technology we expect to helps us get more done.

Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

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​(Connect with CJ on Linkedin)

Have any questions, comments, or stories you'd like to share with us? Drop us a line at [email protected]!

Connect with CJ on Twitter at @CJMcCoach and on Linkedin

On This Week's Episode, We Discuss: Reducing Distractions as a Result of Technology

• What work-life balance was like before the modern age of the computer and internet.
• How the printer cut the time it took CJ to do his very first job as a payroll clerk by 90%...
• How CJ developed a habit of continuing to work at home on nights and weekends.
• The steps CJ took to overcome an unhealthy obsession with piling more on his plate, so he could find more people to compare himself to.
• What you can do to reduce amount of noise in your life and its impact.

Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources!

The Two Rule Foundation is on a mission to helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how.

Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, and online video training program for professionals. 100% of the proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation.

More About This Show

At the start of his career with Arthur Anderson, his was given a laptop. It was his first, and completely useless by today's standards; nonetheless, that evening, the routine of work would change forever.

Later that night, he would pull out his new gadget, wait for the strange noise and a flashy cursor-thingy.

He'd fumble through a clunky user-interface, and with luck, be able to find the 'file' he was supposed to 'open' on his 'hard drive'. At the time, these were all very new terms.

And as time passed, CJ's career grew, and the power and breadth of devices to help his work become less location-bound, CJ would find himself stealing time from other important areas of his life to 'get caught up' or 'get ahead' with work.

While this allowed his career to seemingly progress faster, when he became a business owner and a father all at the same time, it would take him 4 or 5 years to understand how devastating his obsession with work was becoming.

CJ's since learned to practice a much more balance life with firm boundaries between work and everything else.

5 Annoying Things that Keep You From Being Really Productive (And How to Begin Addressing Them)

• Notifications - Keep them off by default.
  • Emails, texts, pushes, payments, reminders, deals, coupons, alerts...
  • this goes for your Apple watch or smart watch as well
  • SOLUTION: Turn them off, get a separate alarm clock. Make regular times of checking what is most important to you, rather than to the email list you are on.
• Time Vampires - one quick question can turn into 10-20 minutes or more, plus another 7-20 minutes to get back in the groove.
  • Two or three questions and you've lost a huge part of your day.
  • SOLUTION: Close your door, turn on and be visibly in 'Do Not Disturb' mode. Schedule regular time for employees to meet with you for anything not absolutely urgent.
• Leave your laptop at the office - If your office is a table at Starbucks, maybe this isn't for you, but if you have a coworkers you trust, non-sensitive information and otherwise no reason to worry about security issues, you take advantage of the opportunity to free yourself from being shackled to your computer. No computer, not as much work.
  • SOLUTION: Even if you can't physically keep yourself away from your computer, you can turn it off, keep it stashed somewhere inconvenient. But whatever you do, keep it as far away from your bed as possible.
• Short charging cables - Charging cords for smartphones are just long enough to read your bedside table. And since our phone is the last thing we check before we got to bed, for most of us, it's the very first thing we do in the morning... even before throwing off the covers.
  • SOLUTION: Plug your charger into an outlet in another room. Make a pledge to not check your phone after a specific time and stick with it. Train the aforementioned Time Vampires not to expect an immediate response or any response during times you've set aside.
• Digital tasks and note pads - When we think of something, but don't write it down, we create a feedback loop that throws our momentum off. We think that by analyze the thought right then and there, we can determine whether or not it could be beneficial to our present situation to pursue further. However most the time these aren't good ideas or the timing isn't right, so we can't do anything with it. We have no choice but the continue to entertain the ideation process though because some of our ideas are really good and can be capitalized upon.
  • SOLUTION: Get a tiny notepad or journal from the 99¢ store, keep it with you at all times, and jot down the ideas you have. You'll then be able to go back and revisit the idea when you are refreshed and avoid creating a feedback loop that drives you crazy and unfocused.

Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode!

And if you want us to answer your questions on one of our upcoming episodes, drop us a line at [email protected].

After more than 40 years in TV broadcasting, Indianapolis NBC nightly news legend John Stehr (@JohnWTHR) announced his retirement. Now pushing 60, John has had some time to reflect on the events in his career & personal life, and how they have shape his entire existence.

"There I was sitting in the newsroom and the General Manager came in and said 'well, how about that kid?' I was 21 years old. I would NEVER give a 21 year old that kind of responsibility, but, thankfully, he did." – John Stehr, WTHR Lead Anchor

Like this show? Please leave us a review here — even one sentence helps! Consider leaving your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!

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(Anchor John Stehr announces retirement from WTHR via Youtube)

What We Discuss with John:

• How John got into television broadcasting as a 21 year old in Erie, PA.
• The development of John's career
• Creating a #1 show for more than two decades straight.
• John's strategy for connecting with viewers on a one-to-one level.
• Advice for the 25 year old looking to get into journalism & broadcasting.
• How the loss of his first born has shaped John's perspective in life.
• What is John going to do with his newfound time in his retirement?

Please Scroll Down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources!

The Two Rule Foundation helps inspire professionals to live gratefully and commit more of their resources to help those in need. The foundation can help you determine who you should give your money to and how.

Looking to get more out of all your hard work? Enroll in ThriveMap University, an online video program for professionals. 100% of proceeds are donated to the Two Rule Foundation.

More About This Show

John Stehr knew from an early age that he was going to be a TV journalist. Now nearing 60, John has had some time to reflect on the events in his career and personal life and how they have helped shape his entire existence.

"The News was very important to my family when I was a kid. We made sure to have dinner before 6 o'clock so we could watch the local news from 6 to 6:30. Then at 6:30 it was Walter Cronkite with the CBS Night News... I knew from 5 years old that that was what I going to do," John says.

As a student at Gannon University in Erie, Pennsylvania, John studied Communications, and by the time he graduated, he was the 6 and 11 o'clock anchor for the local CBS affiliate.

From there, John would go on to work for several other stations throughout the country, eventually settling in at the Indianapolis NBC-affiliate WTHR.

At the time, the station struggled with viewership. However, John saw that as an opportunity rather than a challenge. Before long, WTHR's Eyewitness News would become the top-rated program, and held the spot for over 20 years!

While his career has been a shining example of what it looks like to do it right, John and his family have not been without trials and have faced some of the most gut-wrenching situations imaginable, including the death of their first born child at the age of 4.

Up until recently, John was under close monitoring for an aneurysm in his aorta. After having emergency open-heart surgery in summer 2017, John has made a full recovery, and is excited to enter a new chapter.

THANKS, John Stehr!

If you enjoyed this session with TV journalist John Stehr, let him know by clicking on the link below and sending him a quick shout out on Twitter:

Click here to thank John on Twitter!

Click here to connect with John on Facebook!

Click here to let CJ know about your number one takeaway from this episode!

And if you want us to answer your questions on one of our upcoming episodes, drop us a line at [email protected].

Mentioned in This Episode:

• WTHR Channel 13, NBC affiliate in Indianapolis
• Walter Cronkite
• Gannon University
• Aortic Aneurysm

Shelley Hunter began working with College Mentors For Kids (@CollegeMentors) as a volunteer. Fast forward 20+ years later and Shelley is the CEO. She's not the only one in the organization that started at the very bottom rung. COO Amanda Koushyar also started on with College Mentors as a volunteer. With their leadership, College Mentors For Kids has impacted more than 25,000 students on 30+ campuses in 9 states around the U.S.

"When they [little buddies] are on campus, they are learning about different careers they can have, what it's like to be in college; and they get to really experience those firsthand." – Amanda Koushyar, COO of College Mentors For Kids

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(College Mentors For Kids Mini Documentary from College Mentors For Kids on Youtube.)

What We Discuss with Shelley & Amanda:

• How Shelley Hunter was drawn away from her job as a grant writer to volunteer at a tiny non-profit from central Indiana.
• The statistics that support that mentoring students about creating visions for their future from young ages.
• What it means to be a College Mentor and how the organization chooses campuses and other organizations to partner with.
• What goes into creating an impactful experience for both Little Buddies and their Mentors, as well as the parents and the effects on the community.
• The future vision of College Mentors For Kids, how to become a Mentor, and how to start a chapter.

Please Scroll down for Full Show Notes and Featured Resources!

Interested in partnering with College Mentors For Kids, becoming a Mentor, or starting a chapter at your university? Head over to the websites to find out everything you need to know about getting involved.

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More About This Show

courtesy of collegementors.org

College Mentors For Kids was started over 20 years ago by two college student friends at Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. They imagined a community in which young, underserved children would be given the same educational opportunities and experiences as their peers.

Believing college students to be a valuable yet untapped resource for children, the friends set out to design a program that would harness the energy, idealism, and resources that college students and a university campus could offer children.

By providing children with positive opportunities they might make healthier life choices and achieve: 1) enhanced understanding of new opportunities they would not have otherwise had; 2) a future in which they are financially independent; and 3) a passion for giving back to their communities that lasts into adulthood.College Mentors applied for non-profit status in 1996 and opened its doors as an official 501(c)3 in 1997. Pilot programs at Indiana University and Butler University paired mentors with 33 local children in the fall and spring of 1996. The following summer, College Mentors opened state-wide headquarters in Indiana. In the next few years, the friends, along with other state staff, established four additional chapters, and helped lay the groundwork for two other chapters before their departure in 2000. Today, College Mentors for Kids serves over 2,500 children across the United States through the volunteer efforts of over 2,800 college students with a national office in Indianapolis, Indiana.

College Mentors For Kids has partnered with SMARI to conduct research and understand just how big an impact the program has made in the the community and the lives of it's little buddies and mentors over the years.

According to the findings,

• 81% Of kids in College Mentors report working harder in school.
• 95% Of former College Mentors participants successfully avoided the justice system...and are more likely to go on to higher education.
• 80% Of former little buddies graduated high school; 85% did so in 4 years.
• 75% Of former little buddies followed the path to college or trade school.
• 84% of college mentors are likely to participate in additional community service programs after college as a result of being in College Mentors for Kids.

THANKS, Shelley Hunter and Amanda Koushyar!

If you enjoyed this session with Shelley Hunter, CEO and Amanda Koushyar, COO of College Mentors For Kids, let her know by clicking on the link below and sending her a quick shout out on Twitter:

Click here to thank Shelley & Amanda on Twitter!

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Mentioned in This Episode:

• College Mentors For Kids
• Wabash College
• Depauw University
• Indiana University
• Purdue University
• College Mentors on Facebook
• College Mentors on Instagram
• College Mentors on Twitter