Systematic Leader

In this interview, you’ll learn how to seek challenges instead of comfort. Darrell Vesterfelt is a serial entrepreneur and dispenses wisdom throughout this entire interview. One of my favorite parts of the interview was when he talked about his journaling practice and the difficult questions he asked himself to uncover new insights.

Highlights from the interview:

• What made Darrell who he is today.
• He realized his superpower came from his past.
• How entrepreneurship first popped into his head.
• Stumbling on to ideas.
• Nike was built because of all the hardships.
• Strength comes from all the hardships that we’ve went through.
• An important mindset shift that helped jump-start his career.
• Why our past helps us form our strengths.
• Avoiding the default life.
• The power of reframing how we think about things.
• How he dealt with the pain of laying people off in his company.
• Creating buffers in business to help avoid future pitfalls.
• Clarifying the vision and mission of the company.
• How he dealt with a dream job that he was fired from.
• Framework: Taking a longer view of the whole process.
• Why his view of his business has changed from his 20’s into his 30’s.
• Journaling practice: Asking himself questions like, “Why is this so hard?”
• Just asking yourself the question is important. 
• The subconscious mind is very powerful, and how you can better utilize it.
• The courage of asking a question and allowing yourself not to know the answer.
• Seeking truth instead of comfort.
• The best leaders focus on doing this to become great leaders.
• Developing your empathy skill set.
• Creating practices that help you become a more mindful leader.
• How to measure your growth so you are heading in the right direction.
• We often forget the most important ways to grow.
• Using the leadership loop.
• Most shared book and most listened to podcast.

You can learn more about Darrell over at his website, Darrell Vesterfelt. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn. 

As always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn about how you can understand your definition of success and shift it to be more aligned with your truth. Tim Schurrer is an author, CEO, and podcast host who can help you redefine your view of success. One of my favorite parts of this is when he tells stories about leaders such as Tim Cook, who look to serve instead of being served

Highlights from the interview:

• Why his life started in college.
• He explains why he gave up on his dream to be a rockstar.
• Why he looks at his failure of not becoming a rockstar as a gift to his life.
• Asking yourself, “Are you demanding or attracting attention?”. Tim explains the difference.
• Finding new talents while going after his dream.
• Shifting to helping someone else with their dreams.
• What great leaders do that separates them from good leaders.
• Why he fell in love with the culture at Apple.
• Letting go of a dream and forming a new dream.
• The small choices that we make now add up to form our careers.
• Cultivating our ability to understand our inner voice.
• Apollo 11 story with Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.
• What Michael Collins says about flying around the moon waiting to pick up Neil and Buzz from the moon and come back to earth.
• Understanding how we define success.
• How we subconsciously live other people’s definitions of success if we aren’t careful.
• Redefining our definition of success.
• The work that you need to do to see if you are living in integrity with internal consistency.
• Moving from a leading role to more of a supporting role.
• The best CEOs find ways to serve more people and not be served.
• Making the switch back into a lead role after being a servant leader for many years.
• Letting go of the pressure of being a leader.
• What is the secret society of success?
• The story of Lebron James and how he set others up for success.
• Why leaders think they give the appropriate amount of appreciation, but their employees don’t agree.
• Understanding why you want what you want.

You can learn more about Tim over at Build a Winning Team. You can also connect with him over at LinkedIn.

As always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn about the frameworks that Bryan uses in his business. Bryan Clayton of GreenPal is the founder of the app. It helps connect people with lawncare service professionals. One of my favorite parts of this interview is when he talks about being able learn almost anything with the right motivation.

Highlights from the interview:

• What story defines who he is and why he has always had a chip on his shoulder.
• How he built a company with over 150 employees.
• Expanding outside your comfort zone when building a business.
• Why he hires people who can push outside their comfort zone.
• How he views the success of 300,000 people using his app.
• Why we should be evolving ourselves.
• Why our evolution of ourselves should change every year or two.
• His emotional connection to doing right by his employees.
• Why he couldn’t retire after he sold his business.
• Why, down deep, he considers himself a lazy person. 
• How focusing on fulfillment changed how he looks at his life and career.
• Limiting beliefs hold you back if you aren’t aware of them.
• Learning new skills.
• How he stopped believing his own B.S.
• Why he learned from people wealthier than him.
• Why he looks at everything as an experiment. 
• What mental framework you can use to get started on something that is hard.
• The importance of continuous improvement in his business.
• How to set success goals.
• How he celebrates small wins.
• Why the next milestone won’t create lasting happiness.
• Personal psychology is half the battle when building a business.
• When he’s stuck, he sets up tripwires to help him get back on track.
• Why he needs somebody (accountability partner) to keep himself motivated.
• How he keeps track of his goals.
• Creating monthly goals in your business.
• Why optimizing habits and routines is so important to his success
• Focus on inputs to get the outputs right.
• If you have sloppy personal habits, you will probably have sloppy business habits.
• Creating multiple ways to measure something.
• Looking at your current life from you from five years ago.
• How he reframes the low points in his business.
• Combining the spiritual and the tactical in your business.
• What book and podcast he recommends to others.

You can learn more about Bryan over at GreenPal. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.

As always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn about how to cultivate fearlessness so you can do the things you want without worrying about what other people think. Brian Rhea is a consultant that helps businesses use the Jobs to Be Done framework to understand and improve company products. One of my favorite parts of this interview is when he

Highlights from the interview:

• How Brian’s dad got him into building websites.
• Tapping into a creative outlet.
• Why you don’t have to ask for permission to create something.
• Taking steps in the right direction.
• Stepping outside your comfort zone.
• Cultivating his fearlessness.
• Training yourself not to care what other people think.
• Using AI in your business.
• Reframing your mindset when using AI.
• Basics of Jobs to Be Done Framework.
• Allowing the fear to kick in often hurts our ability to make good decisions.
• Learning about growth mindset vs. fixed mindset and how it influences his decisions.
• We talk about how pessimism often hurts us more than helps us.
• Using critical thinking in our lives.
• Why the Jobs to Be Done framework is so powerful.
• Understanding the core reason why we want something helps us make better decisions.
• Learning the context of the customer.
• Most recommended fiction book, business book and podcast.

You can learn more about Brian over at his website Brian Rhea. You can also connect with Brian over at LinkedIn.

As always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn about how you can improve your listening skills so you get to the core of an issue. Barry Coziahr is an entrepreneur who wants to share how listening and training are so important to building a company. One of my favorite stories is when he shares how his employee struggled with new software and what he did to overcome the problem.

Highlights from the interview:

• What Barry’s first businesses were as a kid and young adult.
• He talks about how he survived school while being such a bad student.
• Creating a foundation of support when you are struggling.
• Why he focused on sales.
• Using his communication skills to keep moving things forward.
• Why anxiousness isn’t a bad feeling.
• What the voice inside his head was thinking when he felt anxious.
• Why he didn’t fit in with other kids.
• Learning how to study and how it helped him.
• Getting to the bottom of what people need by asking great questions.
• How to get comfortable when feeling uncomfortable.
• The importance of being persistent.
• Reviewing work and training others to improve.
• Finding gaps in our processes.
• What traits he looks in others when he hires an employee.
• How to encourage people to speak up.
• How he created SOPs that helped the whole company.
• Helping someone when they take on a new role.
• When an employee struggles, it’s often due to communication issues.
• Why explaining the purpose of a process is so important.
• Using the 80/20 rule to make better decisions.
• What can we do to outsource the tasks that someone else can do better than us.

You can learn more about Barry Coziahr over at Freetime Solutions. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn about how you can lead people from a place of empathy and make sure they understand your expectations on what they need to accomplish. Barrett Brooks is an executive coach and speaker. One of my favorite parts of this interview is when he explains how to lead an employee that is struggling, so they understand the expectations of the company and still feel cared for by the leader.

Highlights from the interview:

• Barrett explains how investing in his mental well being was so important to improving his career.
• How drinking played a major role in adjusting his path in life.
• Being surrounded by mentor figures who were willing to invest in him.
• Why we don’t feel worthy of leading others.
• Why stepping into leadership opportunities was so important to improving how he handled his life.
• Understanding the voice in our own heads so we can become more aware.
• Being curious about the people around us.
• Growing the positive perspective that helps you make better decisions.
• Making time to process the pain so you can move on.
• Getting to a place that helped him fully feel his past pain.
• How much tolerance do we need to grow our relationships?
• False expectations can turn into false assumptions.
• Working in between therapy sessions.
• Developing your empathy muscle.
• Helping people show up in life even when they are having a difficult time.
• Acknowledging and process things that went previously unacknowledged.
• How journaling helps you deal with your pain.
• The life-blood of company culture.
• Understanding what you should share with employees and what you should share with them.
• The myth of too much praise.
• Why leaders woefully under express gratitude.
• The three most powerful questions to build better relationships.

You can learn more about Barrett over at his website - Barrett Brooks. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn about how our inner voices can hold us back. Randi Roberts is an executive coach who speaks from her truth. One of my favorite parts of this interview is when she talks about taking a step back from her planning, so she makes time to notice how she is making a difference. She explains how she uses this technique to do less better.

Highlights from the interview:

• Randi Shares why speaking your truth will lead you to the right place.
• Being in the moment during a conversation will help you get better outcomes.
• Understanding what is true for you.
• The shame of regret is a powerful tool to help you make better decisions.
• Why she managers her career in two year chunks.
• Building relationships that is about giving more than getting from others.
• How her inner voice was holding her back and what she did to overcome this issue.
• Why fear drives many of our decisions.
• The importance of checking in with yourself to make a proper plan.
• Digging into where you are at with your goal so you can make wiser decisions.
• Sometimes it’s about doing less stuff, so you can do the important things better.
• Thinking about where we want to be in our life.
• Taking a step back in your planning so you are noticing where you are making the biggest difference.
• Understanding the role that money plays in our lives.
• What is the most common career struggle.
• How to get out of our own way.
• Why rejection should not bother us as much as it does.
• How to make taking the risk easier next time.

You can learn more about Randi over at Randi Roberts Coaching. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn how to let out your emotional disturbances to move forward in your business. Steven Gaffney is a communication expert, speaker, and author that loves sharing his struggles so people can grow from them. I enjoyed the story about how he designed his future to grow his career and business.

Highlights from the interview:

• Steven shares why he started his business.
• Why he doesn’t subscribe to “feel the fear and do it anyway” methodology.
• Being better after taking failure head on.
• How Bill Clinton recovered from a terrible speech four years before he become president.
• How to “Let It Out” so we can move forward.
• Dealing with our ego, so we build a better relationship with ourselves.
• What happened when he delivered a terrible workshop and how he grew from this rough experience.
• Focusing on the present to improve our future.
• Designing your future.
• Seeing what you want in 3D instead of just 2D so it’s more likely to happen.
• We are the product of the five people we surround ourselves with.
• Learning how to believe in yourself.
• Changing your inputs to get better output.
• Embracing concepts that can help teach you to grow.
• Why the blame game is a waste of time.
• Turning yourself into a magnet to attract the right people to you.
• Discovering what you love to do.
• Asking yourself questions so you continue to focus on what you love to do.
• How are you with criticism?
• Making corrections requires having people that will tell us the truth.
• What he did when he messed up an MSNBC interview.
• Finding the right method that works for you.
• You don’t want to put someone in a role just because they are good at it.
• Resources you can use to help you grow your business.

You can learn more about Steven over at Steven Gaffney’s website. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn about how powerful reframes can help you in business, so you can focus on what truly matters. Terry Rice is an entrepreneur, staff writer for Entrepreneur magazine, and consultant. One of my favorite stories is how he explains how losing his son at a very young age influenced his decisions.

Highlights from the interview:

• Terry shares how he felt like he needed to climb the corporate ladder.
• Why he felt disconnected in his corporate roles.
• We dig into the fears of building a business.
• How do we deal with all the pressures of a business.
• Why a personal philosophy is so important to making decisions.
• Why asking yourself, “How do you want to be remembered?” can be a powerful question to help you make better decisions for your future self.
• How writing down the difficult things that you overcame in life can help you grow your career.
• The idea of frontloading our skills.
• How to focus on the little wins to help you improve your ability to get bigger wins.
• How Stoicism has influenced his life.
• Getting through the struggles and use it for growth.
• The tool of reframing difficult moments.
• Understanding other people so you don’t take rude behavior as personal attacks.
• How do deal the experience when someone wrongs you.
• Generating revenue that is aligned with the vision of your life.
• Dealing with death in his family.
• Building his confidence in his business.
• Why he doesn’t get nervous before he speaks to a group of people.
• How he is able to get over setbacks so quickly.
• Studying people’s works (writing, talks, etc.) so you get coaches at every level.
• Giving yourself the opportunity for success.

You can learn more about Terry Rice over at his website. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn and check out his articles over at Entrepreneur website where he is a staff writer. He also had a podcast called Launch Your Business.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

In this interview, you’ll learn about how to stay focused on your important work. Megan Flatt is an author and entrepreneur who wants to help people improve their focus. I really enjoyed the story of how she focused on what matters to her during the crazy pandemic times.

Highlights from the interview:

• Megan shares her origin story.
• Why she wanted to help people with their focus.
• My son interrupts our podcast.
• Her passion for Mama CEOs.
• How the pandemic changed everything for her.
• Pesky inner voices that cloud our judgment.
• Shutting down her business and shifting her career.
• How she fosters her relationship with her inner voice.
• How her parents' expectations forged her personality.
• Dealing with imposter syndrome.
• Understanding the various slices that makes up our lives.
• Using the different seasons in our lives.
• Thinking in smaller chunks.
• “You don’t have to see the full staircase to take the first step.”
• How changing our schedules can help us accomplish our goals for a short amount of time.
• Limiting certain activities when we are doing important work.
• Saying “No” to important events that creates FOMO.
• Crafting goals that help you get to where you want to be.
• Creating an SOP that allows you to creat your operating systems for a specific period of time.
• Tips on getting a goal accomplished.
• The app she uses to track the time she uses doing each part of her business.
• How to make a “To Do” list that actually works.
• Why ranking our focus helps us learn about our focus and how to improve it.
• Giving yourself permission to do the things that might usually make you feel guilty.
• Most recommended book and podcast.

You can learn more about Megan over at Focus Sessions. You can also connect with her on LinkedIn. Check out her book Focused on Amazon.

And as always, if you have any questions or want to submit a guest for the podcast that you think would be amazing, just reach out to me on the Dig to Fly website, and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you enjoy the interview, please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!