For deeper reflections on work, resilience, and redefining the way we live, subscribe to the Success, Rewritten newsletter.

Mental health and mental strength are not the same thing.

Amy is a psychotherapist, host of the Mentally Stronger podcast, and the author of 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do. Her TEDx Talk has been viewed over 24 million times. But the part of her story most people skip is where that list actually came from.

She wrote it after losing both her mother and her husband by age 26. The viral article started as a letter to herself on one of her worst days. “I didn’t write this from the top of the mountain,” she told me. “I wrote it from the bottom of the valley”.

What struck me most was that she almost let the world believe she had mastered the list. Instead, she decided to tell the truth about struggling with every single thing she wrote.

We talked about why mental health and mental strength are not the same thing, why emotions aren’t positive or negative, and how your brain consistently underestimates what you can handle.

This episode felt like an honest conversation about what helps when life breaks your heart.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[05:59] Only three days of bereavement leave, and America wonders why we can't grieve

[10:08] What Amy’s coworkers did right when she came back to work as a widow

[14:25] The absence of tears is not a sign of strength

[17:05] The physical toll of grief that nobody warns you about

[21:46] From a $15 internet article to seven books: how the mental strength franchise was built

[29:58] Why mindfulness alone isn't enough, and what to do instead

[35:15] Name it to tame it, the labels keeping you stuck

[37:52] The two-minute gratitude flash that can turn your entire day around

[41:46] Most executives can only name five feeling words, and that's a problem

[46:09] Mental health and mental strength are not the same thing

Check out Amy's books here.

Find more from Amy:

Amy Morin, LCSW | Website | LinkedIn | Instagram

Mentally Stronger Podcast | YouTube

Find more from Emily:

Success, Rewritten | Website | Instagram

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | LinkedIn | Instagram

Bipolar Brought Balance | Website | Instagram

Pre-Order Totally Nachrageous here.

If you're sitting on a creative idea waiting for permission, this episode is about the person who stopped waiting.

Today’s guest, Alex P. Taylor, sent his cookbook proposal to ten publishers on April 2nd, 2025. Typically, it would have taken 6 months to 2 years to receive a response from publishing companies. He heard back in a week, and by Easter, he had a signed deal with Quarto Books US.

Alex is the self-proclaimed Nacho King of Connecticut, a media personality, and the author of Totally Nachrageous, a cookbook releasing August 25th, 2026. His path runs through nonprofit youth work, a Yelp community manager role during COVID, local TV segments on Great Day Connecticut, and reality TV appearances on Below Deck and Hell's Kitchen.

We discuss what he calls "mandatory pivoting", why he sent his proposal directly to publishers instead of waiting for an agent, and the mantra that's shaped his decisions: success is struggle adjacent.

He also tells me why pre-orders make or break a book launch and what most creators get wrong about social media engagement in the first 30 minutes after posting.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[02:58] How a pizza kitchen job shaped Alex’s approach to flavor

[03:56] What leading forums for 350 students at a time taught him

[08:08] The mandatory pivot that ended a 10-year nonprofit career

[12:37] Why his first Zoom nacho tutorial changed everything

[30:45] What being on Below Deck taught him about reality TV agendas

[37:11] Meeting Gordon Ramsay the night before filming Hell's Kitchen

[40:12] The 80-page proposal that landed a publishing deal in a week

[45:28] Why pre-orders decide whether a book becomes a bestseller or not

Resources Mentioned:

Quarto Publishing | Website

Desperately Seeking Susan (Movie) | IMDb

Find more from Alex:

Alex P. Taylor | Website | Instagram | TikTok | LinkedIn

Find more from Emily:

Success, Rewritten | Website | Instagram

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | LinkedIn | Instagram

Bipolar Brought Balance | Website | Instagram

If this conversation gave you a clearer way to think about your next move, you’ll find more episodes and insights at Success, Rewritten. It’s all there to help you keep moving forward and build something that actually works for your life.

What happens when getting fired forces you to figure it out fast with no backup plan?

Getting fired forced Ramon Ray to make things work. Ramon is a serial entrepreneur who worked at the United Nations before starting multiple businesses and selling several of them.

In this episode, we get into how he started building on the side while working a full-time job, installing modems and learning technology, and how that drive came with real pressure to keep providing… especially after having a child young and needing stability before he felt ready.

When his contract ended, he leaned on his network and existing relationships to rebuild income from scratch. He shares how he navigated those early financial decisions, what he learned in hindsight after selling his businesses, and why he believes smaller, more intentional rooms create deeper connection than chasing big stages.

Ramon is also the author of Celebrity CEO, and we talk through his personal branding framework for entrepreneurs who want to build a recognizable, trusted name in their space.

This is an honest look at building out of necessity, working through entrepreneurial depression, and learning to keep moving without losing yourself.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[04:24] The UN years and the side hustle that got Ramon fired

[13:16] Rebuilding income without a safety net

[19:04] What Ramon learned from selling three companies

[23:48] Why 20 people in a room beats 300

[25:40] How to recover when you fail a client

[28:11] Experimentation as a strategy, and its limits

[30:33] Genius Talks, Bitdefender, and the Celebrity CEO framework

[34:16] How Ramon works on entrepreneurial depression

Resources Mentioned:

The Celebrity CEO (Ramon Ray’s book) 

Bitdefender | Website

If you want practical ideas and resources built for entrepreneurs in the middle of figuring things out, head over to Zone of Genius. It’s a place to learn, stay informed, and find support as you grow your business.

Find more from Ramon:

Ramon Ray | Website

Ramon Ray | LinkedIn

Ramon Ray | Instagram

Zone of Genius | Website

Zone of Genius | YouTube

Find more from Emily:

Success, Rewritten | Website

Success, Rewritten | Instagram

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | LinkedIn

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | Instagram

Bipolar Brought Balance | Website

Bipolar Brought Balance | Instagram

Explore SuccessRewrittenShow.com and Jay's top locations: tequilareport.com and jaybaer.com

When Jay Baer was 30, his best friend called to say he had brain cancer. Jay quit his job the next day.

That call, and the list he made afterward of what he was actually afraid of, set off a 28-year career of building, selling, writing, and starting again. Jay is a sixth-generation entrepreneur, a seven-time author, and one of the most recognizable names in customer experience. He's also taking a sabbatical from speaking after 18 years on the road to focus on his newest venture, Tequila Report.

This conversation moves through parts of his story he doesn't usually tell. He explains why he sells his companies and what he chooses to build next. He breaks down why his books are built from audience stories rather than the usual Starbucks-style case studies, and why he continues to choose collaboration in industries built on competition.

He also explains why responsiveness is finally a competitive advantage, a decade after he predicted it would be. It's a conversation about timing, decisions, and what actually holds up over the long run.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[02:03] Selling Budweiser.com for 50 cases of beer

[04:05] The phone call that made him quit the next day

[07:37] Why doing it all yourself is the trap

[14:35] Where the stories in his books actually come from

[18:29] The idea he was a decade early on

[22:33] Selling a company is like giving it up for adoption

[29:41] How a tequila hobby became Tequila Report

[36:53] Walking away from 60 keynotes a year (for now)

[44:37] Which parent the kids call, and why it matters

Resources Mentioned:

The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber | Book or Audiobook

Behind the Review episode on Jay Baer’s Playbook for Customer Loyalty | YouTube

Find more from Jay:

Jay Baer | LinkedIn | YouTube | Instagram

Jay Baer’s Books | Website

The Tequila Report | YouTube | Instagram

Find more from Emily:

Success, Rewritten | Website

Success, Rewritten | Instagram

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | LinkedIn

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | Instagram

Bipolar Brought Balance | Website

Bipolar Brought Balance | Instagram

If this helped you think more clearly about what you’re building and who it’s for, there’s more waiting for you at Success, Rewritten.

The same drive that made her successful is the thing she had to unlearn to protect her health.

Zanade Mann is the founder of Zanade Enterprises, a full-service marketing and communications agency she built from a single client into a collaborative team of strategists and creatives. Her work focuses on helping brands, nonprofits, and public figures connect with their audiences through clarity and storytelling rather than hype.

A former New York City public school teacher and single mom, Zanade later earned Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top 100 Women of Impact recognition… but the hustle that got her there came with a real impact on her mental and physical well-being. 

She talks honestly about what it took to slow down without losing momentum, and the intentional wellness practices that helped her rebuild her nervous system, from yoga and hiking to learning how to truly rest and reset. 

She also shares practical insights on small business marketing, including how to define your target customer, why your origin story matters, and a simple AI exercise you can try today. Zanade then introduces what she’s building next: a creator ecosystem for experienced professionals, ready to step into influencer marketing with real expertise.

Whether you’re building, pivoting, or starting fresh, this episode offers both practical tools and a more sustainable way to think about success.

You’ll Learn:



[00:00] Introduction

[02:20] How to tell your brand story and stop marketing to the wrong people

[04:02] The unexpected moment that sparked Zanade’s career shift into marketing

[07:02] Why not knowing your ideal customer creates unnecessary stress and wasted effort

[09:30] Zanade’s simple AI exercise to pressure-test your target audience

[14:55] What a seventh-grade teacher's pay stub did to her childhood dream

[26:37] What it actually took to defy every stereotype working against her

[37:58] How the constant hustle took a toll on her mental and physical health

[44:18] The small shifts that helped her regulate, rest, and rebuild her energy

[01:00:48] Creating new opportunities that align with your life, not just your ambition

Subscribe to Zanade's mailing list for the Millennial Creator Economy Movement. Subscribers will receive a free guide with insights on the creator economy and how they can leverage their professional and lived experience to participate in this $500B industry.

Resources Mentioned:

Blue Cross Blue Shield | Website

NYC Teaching Fellows | Website

The Rise of the Corporate Influencer by Zanade Mann | Article

Find more from Zanade:

Zanade Mann | Website

Zanade Mann | LinkedIn

Zanade Mann | Instagram

Find more from Emily:

Success, Rewritten | Website

Success, Rewritten | Instagram

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | LinkedIn

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | Instagram

Bipolar Brought Balance | Website

Bipolar Brought Balance | Instagram

End stigma together, one story at a time, with The WISE Approach.

How long can you run away from trauma before it catches up to you?

Dr. Ricardo Anderson was a principal making six figures and finishing his doctorate, all while silently struggling with his mental health. At 32, he quit everything and moved to start addressing it for the first time.

His story shows what happens when trauma goes unprocessed for decades. His mother died when he was 11. He was unhoused at 13. He started to put himself through Marquette University at 16. He spent years inside a cult. And through it all, he built a career in education while carrying experiences he hadn’t yet made sense of.

This conversation walks through his recovery journey as a Black man navigating mental health, childhood trauma, stigma, and a hearing loss he didn’t talk about for years. We get into what it means to suppress those experiences, why stigma keeps people silent, and what begins to change when you finally start addressing it.

Dr. Ricardo now works as a Mental Health Recovery Support Specialist for the Illinois Division of Behavioral Health and Recovery, and serves on the executive committee of WISE. He shares how he supports others in their recovery, including how to validate your own experiences and make sense of what you’ve been through.

If you've ever questioned your own memories or been told your experiences didn’t happen the way you remember them, this episode will resonate.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[04:51] What being unhoused at 13 in Milwaukee actually looked like

[09:06] Signing himself up for university at 16 and adulting with no roadmap

[15:02] Finding identity as a young Black man at Marquette

[18:20] Chasing degrees inside a cult while teaching Milwaukee's kids

[26:51] The student who held up a mirror to his own unaddressed childhood

[29:59] Leaving the cult, the marriage, and the identity tied to both

[38:23] What rebuilding looked like after walking away from everything

[47:03] Supporting people who don't yet have words for what they went through

[52:13] Why group dialogue heals, and where it can go wrong

[55:09] WISE's mission to end stigma and what good crisis support actually looks like

Resources Mentioned:

Marquette University | Website

Boys & Girls Clubs | Website

Urban Learning Collaborative (formerly MTEC) | Website

Find more from Dr. Ricardo:

Dr. Ricardo Anderson | LinkedIn

Find more from Emily:

Success, Rewritten | Website

Success, Rewritten | Instagram

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | LinkedIn

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | Instagram

Bipolar Brought Balance | Website

Bipolar Brought Balance | Instagram

If you’re thinking more about what’s really important in life, you can get the newsletter at Success, Rewritten.

What if success isn't about retiring someday, but funding the life you actually get to live?

This week on Success, Rewritten, I sat down with Xerxes Nabong, a wealth advisor with twenty years in the business and his own firm, Wealth Avenue. Xerxes was nine years into his career when his dad passed away at 58. His dad served thirty years in the U.S. military and never got to retire. That loss rewrote the why behind his work and changed how he talks to clients about time, money, and what they're actually building toward.

We also get into what he learned on a municipal golf course at fourteen, the Yelp job that doubled as a social life, the $80,000 he lost on a cafe investment, and how he ran a $2 million escape room business on three hours a month. Plus naps, phone boundaries, and what it means to build a business that can run without you for two weeks.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[05:32] Why losing his dad rewrote the purpose behind his wealth advisory work

[09:28] From Yelp event planner to escape room owner, what sparked the leap

[15:08] How he built a $2M escape room on three hours a month and launched Kristen's career

[29:04] From 60-hour weeks to a schedule that works; how his relationship with time evolved

[32:22] Whether work helped or hurt after losing his dad, and how grief shifted his perspective

[37:13] How Xerxes protects his time off the clock: phone boundaries, naps, and workouts

[46:22] Why people hire the advisor they like, not just the one with the best returns

Find more from Xerxes:

Wealth Avenue | Website

Xerxes Nabong | LinkedIn

Xerxes Nabong | Instagram

Xerxes Nabong | Facebook

Find more from Emily:

Success, Rewritten | Website

Success, Rewritten | Instagram

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | LinkedIn

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | Instagram

Bipolar Brought Balance | Website

Bipolar Brought Balance | Instagram

If you’re in the middle of your own shift, get the newsletter at Success, Rewritten.

What happens when the person who taught you to work hard is the one who makes you question it?

Jenny Dempsey, also known as San Diego Furniture Flipper, started by rescuing discarded furniture and found herself rebuilding her own confidence and career path in the process. That idea of restoration, finding potential and giving things a second chance, runs through everything she does.

We get into what it feels like when your identity is tied to your work, and suddenly that’s gone. There’s a moment where she describes seeing herself in a piece of furniture someone else had written off, and how that shifted the way she approached both creativity and her own life.

She also shares how the loss of her dad and the words he left her with forced her to rethink what she was chasing in the first place, adding a deeper layer to how she defines success now.

The conversation moves through the emotional weight of job loss, the reality of rejection when you’re trying to return to what’s familiar, and the clarity that can come from asking what you actually need instead of what you’ve been taught to chase.

If you’ve ever questioned your career identity, navigated a layoff, or felt pulled toward something more creative, this episode explores redefining success, career reinvention, and life transitions in a way that feels grounded and real.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[03:16] The origin of San Diego Furniture Flipper: Seeing herself in a junky table

[08:30] His last words changed everything she thought she knew about work

[10:17] The grief she kept running from finally caught up with her

[13:32] A layoff mindset shift that neither of them was prepared for

[19:00] The "good enough" job strategy that lets her build her real dream

[27:22] Learning furniture flipping from scratch with zero experience

[33:04] The local and online community Jenny built from the ground up

[39:16] Her real daily strategy of staying intentional without burning out

[44:00] Giving yourself permission to not push through

[48:05] Your "thing" might already be in the trash

Find more from Jenny:

San Diego Furniture Flipper | Website

San Diego Furniture Flipper | Instagram

San Diego Furniture Flipper | YouTube

Jenny Dempsey | LinkedIn

Find more from Emily:

Success, Rewritten | Website

Success, Rewritten | Instagram

Bipolar Brought Balance | Website

Bipolar Brought Balance | Instagram

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | LinkedIn

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | Instagram

Order Of Course, I’m Here Right Now, your compassionate, practical guide to comforting someone who’s grieving.

You don’t need better intentions to support someone who’s grieving; you need better words.

Grief isn’t just about death. It shows up in divorce, diagnosis, job loss, and the moments that reshape your life.

Shelby Forsythia is a grief coach, author, and founder of Life After Loss Academy, a community helping people navigate life after major loss. After her mother died in 2013, she became what she calls a “student of grief”, building her work around one core focus: helping people find language for what feels impossible to explain.

What we say to grieving people often creates more distance than support.

What’s actually happening beneath the surface is often misunderstood. Shelby breaks down the three core stories many people tell themselves in grief, and how simple, grounded language can shift the entire experience.

Grounded in her own losses, Shelby shows why permission matters more than advice and how to support someone without trying to fix something that can’t be fixed.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[01:28] How Shelby accidentally became a grief practitioner

[08:10] The four grief support styles and what your clients will eventually tell you

[16:18] The unexpected pivot point that changed everything

[26:09] What a medical crisis revealed about her audience and her hustle

[29:55] Learning to grieve out loud after losing her best friend

[40:47] Words are the most powerful grief support tool you already have

[47:54] The three stories every grieving person is telling themselves

Resources Mentioned:

Permission to Grieve: Creating Grace, Space, & Room to Breathe in the Aftermath of Loss by Shelby Forsythia | Book

Your Grief, Your Way: A Year of Practical Guidance and Comfort After Loss by Shelby Forsythia | Book

My Stroke of Insight by Jill Bolte Taylor | Book or Audiobook

Hero on a Mission: A Path to a Meaningful Life by Donald Miller | Book or Audiobook

Coming Back | Podcast

What’s Your Grief Support Style? | Quiz

Check out Shelby’s Free Workshop to help you cope with grief and find your way again.

Find more from Shelby:

Grief Grower | Podcast

Life After Loss Academy | Website

Shelby Forsythia | Website

Shelby Forsythia | YouTube

Shelby Forsythia | Instagram

Shelby Forsythia | Facebook

Shelby Forsythia | TikTok

Shelby Forsythia | LinkedIn

Find more from Emily:

Success, Rewritten | Website

Success, Rewritten | Instagram

Bipolar Brought Balance | Website

Bipolar Brought Balance | Instagram

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | LinkedIn

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | Instagram

What if the hardest part of success is not starting, but continuing?

Today’s guest, Cate Luzio, is the Founder and CEO of Luminary, a global professional networking platform designed to support women and allies across every stage of their careers. After two decades in corporate banking leadership, she left to build a self-funded startup with no external capital and no backup plan.

Networking opened doors in her career, but building her own company meant taking full responsibility for every outcome. Every decision carried weight. Every challenge became personal. Even years in, she still questions whether she made the right decision sometimes.

We get into the reality of entrepreneurship, from the pressure of leading a team to the loneliness that comes with ownership. She shares how quickly external conditions can shift what feels stable, and how the pandemic reshaped her business.

Cate breaks down how she approaches time management and prioritization, and why access has been central to her work. She also opens up about learning she had breast cancer minutes before leading a call with hundreds of people.

This is an honest look at founder challenges, career transitions, and what it means to keep going when certainty never fully arrives.

You’ll Learn:

[00:00] Introduction

[01:41] The side work that turned into the main career

[08:07] What Luminary actually is and why anyone can walk through the door

[13:27] Betting on yourself without a backup plan

[15:51] The doubt that never fully goes away, even when you're winning

[22:28] What was really happening behind Luminary's seamless pandemic pivot

[25:50] What Cate does when everything feels like it's falling apart

[32:18] How Cate protects her time and decides what actually deserves it

[36:02] Getting a cancer diagnosis five minutes before a 400-person Zoom call

[41:45] Why Cate keeps coming back to one piece of advice above all else

Resources Mentioned:

For high-impact programming focused on collaboration, professional and personal development, and community, explore Luminary Events & Programs.

Kim Perell | Website

Find more from Cate:

Luminary | Website

Luminary | LinkedIn

Luminary | Instagram

Cate Luzio | Website

Cate Luzio | LinkedIn

Cate Luzio | Instagram

Find more from Emily:

Success, Rewritten | Website

Success, Rewritten | Instagram

Bipolar Brought Balance | Website

Bipolar Brought Balance | Instagram

Emily LoMenzo Washcovick | Instagram