By a miracle, Jenna Phillips Ballard is alive today. After a horrific brain injury and coma, she re-arrived in life as a visionary leader, transformational coach, artist. She is now the founder of I•▲M—a global movement dedicated to helping people embody their highest selves and live in alignment with purpose, prosperity, and love. 

She began her career in 2006 as a certified personal trainer and mindset coach, working with A-list clients including Ben Stiller, Blink-182, and Saudi Arabian royalty. Quickly becoming one of Los Angeles’s most sought-after fitness experts, she was featured on Dr. Phil, The Doctors, KTLA, and Good Morning LaLa Land, with editorial spotlights in Harper’s Bazaar, Lucky, Allure, and Madame Figaro.

 In 2011, Jenna discovered emotional intelligence and somatic healing, igniting a deeper mission to awaken the leaders of the new era. She immersed herself in leadership trainings and transformational coaching, helping top executives and influencers access their highest potential and create legacies rooted in integrity and impact. In 2016, Jenna and her husband, Brad Ballard, co-founded Ascension Leadership Academy (ALA)—a premier emotional intelligence training company that has transformed thousands of lives, helped businesses 10x their growth, and raised over $4MM for charity. Now based in Austin, Jenna continues to mentor high-level leaders, founders, and creators while expanding her I•▲M ecosystem—which includes her transformational book I•▲M Her Now, the I•▲M with Jenna Phillips Ballard podcast, her signature affirmation deck, and a line of intentional lifestyle products. In 2024, Jenna stepped into a lifelong dream and launched her career as a recording artist. Through her pop-EDM fusion of coaching and music, she brings empowerment to every beat—proving that it’s never too late to say yes to your biggest calling. Her proudest title, however, is boy mom to Jax and Jett—raising the next generation of conscious, heart-centered men.

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Today's conversation is about the debut of Kent Blazy's latest album Tulsa Sessions. 

What makes Kent Blazy Truly Significant?

1. Kent turned ordinary human feelings into extraordinary songs. Blazy's gift is making universal emotions feel personal. His first collaboration with a then-emerging Garth Brooks, “If Tomorrow Never Comes,” became Brooks' first No. 1 song and was named the NSAI Song of the Year in 1989. Their partnership produced additional Top 5 songs including “Ain't Goin' Down,” “Somewhere Other Than the Night,” “It's Midnight Cinderella,” and “She's Gonna Make It.” That's significant because the songwriter isn't merely entertaining people. He is helping people articulate what they feel but cannot always say.
2.  His greatest work may be measured in lives touched, not records sold There is a wonderful Truly Significant paradox in Kent's story: The songwriter often becomes invisible while the song becomes immortal. Millions of people may know the words to a song without knowing the person who helped write them. That makes Blazy a particularly interesting Truly Significant subject. His legacy is embedded in other people's memories, relationships, weddings, heartbreaks, hopes and milestones.
3. He helped launch an important chapter of Garth Brooks' story Blazy and Brooks began writing together in 1987. Their first collaboration became Brooks' first No. 1. But the relationship went considerably deeper than songwriting. At Blazy's Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame induction, Brooks said that Blazy's friendship and love changed his life—and specifically credited Kent with introducing him to Trisha Yearwood. Brooks described that introduction as profoundly consequential to his life. That is classic Truly Significant territory: Sometimes your greatest contribution isn't what you create. It's what you make possible for someone else. 
4. He represents the Side Quest becoming the calling Kent started playing guitar and singing in bands in Lexington, Kentucky, toured with Ian Tyson, won a national songwriting competition and eventually moved to Nashville. His early professional breakthrough came when Gary Morris recorded “Headed for a Heartache,” which reached No. 5 on the country chart. The fascinating Side Quest question is: What happens when something you love doing quietly becomes the work you were called to do? For Blazy, songwriting wasn't simply a career strategy. Music was something he was drawn toward from an early age. His own current work continues to explore those musical roots—including albums inspired by The Byrds and The Beatles.
5. His legacy extends well beyond Garth Brooks Blazy's catalog includes songs recorded by Gary Morris, Diamond Rio, Patty Loveless, Chris Young, Crystal Shawanda, Danny Gokey and others. His co-writing on Chris Young's “Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)” produced another No. 1. And in 2020, he was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, an honor the Hall describes as the highest honor bestowed by Nashville's songwriting community.
6. Kent is a beautiful example of "success vs. significance" distinction. It's never about how many hits did you write.  Significance asks: How many lives did those songs become part of? A hit has a chart position. A significant song has a life after the chart. 

Enjoy Any Given Day and the entire album Tulsa Sessions.   Visit www.kentblazy.com. 

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Visit Hotel Giles in Comfort, Texas and stay for a while. Meet their owner and avid Side Quester Ernie Slatinsky. Such a character. 

Enjoy the October 24th event at Newsom Vineyards as Ernie and Central Texas celebrate Texas Wine Month with tastings, fine food and the music of The Truly Significant Band. 

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Bobby Kelly has owned a gym for over 35 years, first in DC, then in Phoenix. He noticed our show that asks a question I've been answering with clients for decades: what lies beyond success once you're already standing on top of it? 

That's not a hypothetical for Bobby, it's the whole premise of my book, The Next Chapter Starts Now, which is for the high-functioning person who built a successful life and can't figure out why none of it feels like enough.

Does your mission align with Bobby's? —moving ordinary lives to extraordinary through the wisdom of people who've actually lived it. Bobby shares the actual mechanics of execution once the next chapter shows up uninvited.


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Tom Jasper is truly significant. His career on Wall Street led him to a pioneering role in the $800 TRILLION derivative market. 

Tom is debuting his book Wall Street Maverick: Musings on a Career of Innovation, Derivatives, Credit, and Risk.

Finding your mentor is a central message from Tom along with knowing when to take risk and challenge the establishment. 

More about Tom....he is a Risk Magazine "Risk Pioneer" and 2002 Risk Hall of Fame inductee for his profound contributions to the field of risk management. He was instrumental in creating the foundations for today's $800+ trillion derivatives market, among other successes, during his 40+ year career on Wall Street. A business creator and innovator throughout his career, Jasper was a managing director at Salomon Brothers, where he established and led its interest rate swap business. While at Salomon, he founded and co-chaired the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). Jasper went on to become chief executive of Primus Guaranty Ltd., a highly innovative credit default swap business. He is currently a managing partner of Manursing Partners, LLC, serves on several Blackstone Credit and Insurance (BXCI) Fund boards, and continues to give back to his community. He and his wife reside in Connecticut.






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Truly Significant celebrates Terry Young, author of Possibilities Science. He's a former Omnicom exec and thought leader from McKinsey. 

His concepts are so forward, so relevant and important to the future of small and large companies across the world. We think his narrative belongs with leaders that are seeking the NEXT culture that can scale for all the right reasons. 

Buy the book Possibilities Science beginning November 11, 2026. 

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Cara Truitt's story is worth listening to and embracing. According to Cara-"The only thing you can count on is that everyone is going through something."Thus, the power of community is increasingly important .

Imagine, losing your sister, marriage and your business within one week. Cara redefines resiliency and how a network, best known as net-weaving, becomes an intentional life-line.

What stands out in the conversation is Cara's superpower to make your ideas impossible to ignore. 
Inside that, pay attention to micro moments that matter. Hear about rituals as "sacred play" bringing real meaning that could lead to community. 

Community building is Cara's tapestry. It's inescable. 

That includes creating a TedX talk for and with you.

To learn more, email [email protected]. 

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What an honor to celebrate the significant work of Nancy Griffin. We shared P&G as a training ground and then Nancy became a wealth advisor in Canada. 

She spent decades helping women understand both health and wealth, but importantly WORTHINESS. 

Consider Nancy a pioneer, along with luminaries like Melinda French Gates and Dr. Cindy Gordan (The AI Precipice) She talks of generosity as a currency and "a whole new level of kindness." 

She has a particular message to women who have spent their entire lives taking care of everyone else but themselves. 

Enjoy Nancy Griffin, one "misbehaving, outspoken character." 

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We are in our essence, imperfect. 

On this show, we explore perfectionism and the dis-ease that follows. 

Be grateful for a perfect kiss, perfect goodbye or even a perfect cookie.  Recognize that no single person is perfect...but maybe a chocolate chip cookie.

Aim high and start tapping into your next Side Quests- your purposeful pursuit through a meaningful activity that awakens part of you that your career alone never could. 

Who are you becoming? 

Once again, thanks for signing up for our Substack newsletter where you will get exclusive stories and receive a customized Side Quest flywheel.  https://sidequesttosignificance.substack.com/

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Enjoy this Ted Talk from Rick Tocquigny, the Sherpa of Side Quests. Yes, Rick is BECOMING more through Side Quests. 

What is life whispering to you to bring you closer to deep joy? Name a Side Quest and email to [email protected] with your ideas. 

Join our Substack newsletter and get exclusive stories, podcasts and a personal, customized Side Quest flywheel that notes your passion and what brings you joy.  

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