Systematic Leader

Thanh Pham is the founder of Asian Efficiency. He’s a productivity expert who has learned how to dig deep into himself and come out a better leader and friend. You are going to love how open he is about how he has learned to have difficult conversations so he can continue to grow.

Highlights from the interview:

• How his busy parents raising style helped form his personality.
• The super smart system his parents used to help him get in his home when his parents were working.
• Why he is working on deepening his ability to feel empathy for others.
• Why he started working with a sports psychologist.
• He grew up in a household that didn’t talk about feelings and how he worked at becoming more comfortable with sharing his feelings.
• Communicating in a more meaningful way.
• Why difficult conversations spur growth.
• What he learned from a difficult conversation with a friend that helped him.
• The importance of having a coach/mentor/therapist to help you have an outside perspective, so you can process what is really going on in your life.
• Why great relationships are so important to living a healthy life.
• What is a fixed mindset?
• What is a growth mindset?
• Learn how you can cultivate a growth mindset to grow your career.
• Why he hires people with a growth mindset.
• How he cultivates having deep conversations with his employees that doesn’t talk just about work, but he wants to have personal conversations with them as well.
• The power of helping people feel heard so you can be a better leader.
• Favorite book.
• Favorite podcast.
• Favorite speaker.
• Thanh is a productivity master and he shares his number one productivity tip to our community.

You can learn about Thanh over at his website Asian Efficiency. You can sign-up for his newsletter where he shares productivity tips. He also has an amazing podcast called The Productivity Show.

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 on Dig to Fly and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you love the interview please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Manuj Aggarwal is business mentor and strategist. He has dealt with a lot of ups and down in life and it’s fascinating what he larned and how its influenced his business.

Highlights from the interview:

• How Manuj dealt with bullies in his neighborhood at the age of 9.
• The rollercoaster ride of starting his career.
• How he went from the boss from hell to the calm and caring boss that he is today.
• How he encourages personal growth within his company.
• The importance of meditation and how his practice influenced his life.
• We all have different ways of learning.
• His main focus when teaching new employees.
• Showing them the step by step process that he uses to teach his employees.
• Honing his storytelling skills to help people get onboard.
• Painting a clear picture so people can latch on to the idea.
• Dealing with a rocky relationship with his father.
• It’s not about the solution that you are selling, it’s about how you make them feel.
• Understanding the key aspects of the sales process.
• The dominant emotion when trying to build connection is mistrust.
• Figuring out ways to get a deeper understanding of people to build real connections.
• Online credibility is a must.
• How do you build a credible brand?
• Why meditation is not optional.
• The myth of the advantage of pulling all nighters to accomplish projects.
• Understanding the consequences of your current habits if you don’t improve them.
• Your internal motivation.
• Favorite book, podcast and speaker.

You can learn more about Manuj over at his website, Manuj Aggarwal. 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 on Dig to Fly and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you love the interview please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Jeff Brown is the creator of the Read to Lead podcast and now it’s a book too. In this interview you’ll learn so many powerful lessons. My favorite might be about halfway through the interview. He talks about how he keeps moving forward when he gets knocked down.

Highlights from the interview:

• Why Jeff struggled in school.
• What he wished he could do differently in his 20’s.
• How the book Purple Cow changed how he looked at life.
• How reading and talking with other people about what he was reading helped him grow faster.
• Standing out in his career at a radio station.
• How he iterated on his ideas.
• Why our perspective of ourselves determines our success.
• A great note taking technique that you can use to retain what you read.
• The concept of taking notes for your future self.
• Why he listens to an author’s audio book while also reading the written word book at the same time.
• The power of teaching what you learn.
• How to get your kids to read more.
• The current struggle of putting out a book into the world and dealing with negative reviews.
• The failure of his first product launch.
• Making micro adjustments to help yourself reach your goal.
• Book - 48 Days to the work and life you love by Dan Miller
• The powerful habit of developing positive self talk to grow your career.
• How to stop your perfectionism.
• Doing the hard thing despite our fear.
• Why you shouldn’t be the smartest person in the room.
• The mistake he made as a young leader.
• Building rapport with people that you interview.
• Favorite book - Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg
• Favorite podcast - Akimbo from Seth Godin
• Favorite speaker - Michael Hyatt
• His method of getting things done.

You can learn about Jeff over at his website Read to Lead book. You can get the first chapter to try before you buy. Read to Lead Podcast. You can also learn more about 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 on Dig to Fly and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you love the interview please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Jonathan Fields is an entrepreneur and author of many great books. His latest book Spark is out and he talks about why he created the book. You’ll find out how Jonathan has used his impulses to get a deeper understanding of himself and turned it into a tool to help others.

Highlights from the interview:

• The bargains we make with ourselves can hold us back from doing meaningful work.
• Finding the things that give you energy instead of draining you.
• The 10 fundamental impulses for effort/work.
• Set up tendencies and behaviors around our impulses.
• Finding the release valve inside of his own brain through his project.
• Asking other people for help, so he could lean on their strengths.
• How his introvertedness has led him down his career path.
• His “maker” impulse and how it has dedicated his decisions.
• How he replenishes his energy as an introvert.
• Navigating our lives during and after the pandemic.
• Building your awareness to be more grounded.
• Dealing with Tinnitus (Ringing in ears) that brought him to his knees.
• What mediation helps you with in your life.
• I share my meditation practice.
• How he dealt with a recent failure.
• How he cultivates his curiosity and how it’s shifted his perspective.
• His experiment with his podcast.
• How he doesn’t regret missing out on the explosion of video.
• Hindsight is a terrible way of viewing your past choices.
• How short our lives are and how vast and grand the world is.
• Reassembling our view of the world.
• Reimagining the impact that we want to make on other people’s lives.
• Being present in people’s lives.
• Favorite book - The Old Man and the Sea by Hemmingway. (Amazon Link)
• Favorite Podcast - The Rich Roll podcast. (Apple Podcast Link)
• Favorite Speaker - Mel Robbins.

You can learn about Jonathan over at his website Sparketype. You can take the assessment and find out your fundamental impulse and how your wiring dictates many of your actions.

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 on Dig to Fly and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you love the interview please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Pam Slim is author, community builder, consultant and former corporate director of training and development at Barclays Global Investors. She has been an entrepreneur for 25 years and she shares her up and down journey that she has been through. I love how open and honest she is about her journey and how she has been able to help so many people through the lens of her values.

Highlights from the Interview:

• How her father influenced her entrepreneurial career.
• How to find the balance of giving to others and taking care of ourselves.
• Managing energy with daily systems that work well for her.
• The influences of growing up in the 70’s.
• How her husband has had influence over her stress levels.
• Finding routines to help her with her mental health.
• How to let go of stressful situations.
• Why her book took six years to write.
• Breaking down why her past publisher rejected her latest book proposal and what she did next to get the book published.
• How to get through the messy creative journey that you are in.
• Understanding the importance of connecting with your business idea.
• Helping people achieve goals to build relationships.
• How do you create emotional space to allow for failure?
• Understanding what triggers your anger and how to deal with them.
• Creating audience definition.
• How you see what you offer and how it fits into a larger system to help create referrals.
• We talk through how I can get the Dig to Fly System to help a targeted audience.
• Creating an offer that is easy to say yes to.
• Partnering with other people to boost each other’s business.
• Favorite book - Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life By Anne Lamott (Amazon Link)
• Favorite podcast - 7 Figure Small with Brian Clark
• Favorite speaker - Wise Guy--Lessons from a Life | Guy Kawasaki | TEDxPaloAltoSalon
• Releasing your attachment to the desired outcome.

You can learn about Pam over at her website Pamela Slim to learn more about her and her book, The Widest Net: Unlock Untapped Markets and Discover New Customers Right in Front of You. You can also check out her articles around starting and building a 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 on Dig to Fly and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you love the interview please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Sarah Robinson is speaker, writer, and coach to speakers. She is a professionally trained actress at the National Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, DC. In this interview you’ll learn how she dealt with her own internal strife to come out the other side stronger and help others break through her inner walls.

Highlights from the interview:

• How she finds the energy to serve others.
• The power of reading.
• The journaling technique that helps her process her thoughts and emotions.
• How her childhood has influenced her career.
• Sarah’s Mom likes to say, “The older you get the more like yourself you become.”
• How a really good story and cooking helps her replenish her mind. 
• How she learned from falling off her childhood horse.
• The power of failing and getting through the fear.
• How structure helps make good habits intentional.
• That time she had a meltdown during the pandemic.
• The mistake that we make when we are dealing with tough things.
• The story of why she apologizes to her kids.
• Do this before you start a new project.
• The importance of giving yourself grace when you need it the most.
• Dealing with your inner bully.
• Understanding our stories that we tell ourselves because they influence us more than we  like to admit.
• Bring stories into our consciousness so we can be better aware of our choices.
• Her favorite mantra and how she uses it to help keep herself grounded.
• Her favorite musical artists that helps her feel better when she is feeling overwhelmed.
• The number one habit to help her feel replenished.
• The form of meditation that helps her start her day.
• Allowing the day to come to you instead of letting the day bowl you over.
• Setting rules for kids.
• Favorite book: Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner (Amazon Link)
• Favorite speaker: Monica Lewinsky Ted talk
• A little practice you can do when you mess up.

You can learn about Sarah over at her website, Sarah Robinson. You can also learn more about her over at at 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 on Dig to Fly and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you love the interview please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Nailah Blades Wylie is an entrepreneur who has coached people in business and life. One of my favorite parts of this interview is her honesty as she answers each question. She brings her full authentic self in this interview, which leads to some great stories.

Highlights from the interview:

• How being a black woman in America has framed her perspective.
• What she is grateful for about herself.
• Weathering the personal storms of life.
• Dealing with a flat tire on the side of the freeway.
• The importance of being truthful about the situation.
• Cultivating your attitude to become more resilient.
• The entrepreneurship bug bit her later in life.
• Finding inspiration through watching other entrepreneurs.
• Why jealousy is not a bad thing and how it helps you.
• How she has dealt with pandemic burnout.
• Embracing the seasonality of things.
• Dealing with the failure of a product launch and what she learned from it.
• Testing things out a little bit more to understand things better.
• How reviewing your daily energy levels can help you be more productive.
• Giving yourself space when you need it the most.
• Finding downtime when you are feeling tired.
• Getting more control over your time.
• Understanding the voice in her head.
• Rephrasing things to make them more palatable.
• Why we don’t feel like we can bring our full authentic selves to our work.
• Our energy levels at work.
• Learning from taking bigger risks.
• Favorite Speaker and Favorite Podcast.
• Favorite Book - The Alchemist and The Four Agreements.

You can learn about Nailah over at her website, Nailah Blades and her non-profit Color Outside. You can also connect with her at LinkedIn and Instagram.

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 on Dig to Fly and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you love the interview please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Danielle and Kristy are the hosts of the Opposite of Small Talk. They focus on helping people see life from a different perspective and finding ways to grow from every interaction they have.

Highlights from the interview:

• Why their podcast is such a fulfilling passion project for them.
• Dealing with a guest not showing up for a recording.
• Getting excited for a big moment and having it fall apart.
• Finding the support for the business or project that we are working on.
• The challenge of managing a day job and the side hustle.
• Developing a side hustle strategy that works for you.
• Using the passion project (podcast) to lean into parts of herself that has been dormant.
• The importance of diving deep using assessments like Strengths Finder to help them calibrate their work.
• Figuring out how they can use their strengths in their relationship.
• Building trust with a partner in a passion project.
• The vision that they are developing together.
• The power of having a growth mindset.
• Figuring out how to stay in sync while growing together.
• The importance of being transparent with each other as they grow the podcast.
• How an accountability partner can help you stay on track.
• Improving your habits
• Books - The Power of Habit and Atomic Habits
• Best books - Braving the Wilderness By Brene Brown and How to Win Friends and Influence People By Dale Carnegie.
• Best Podcast - Armchair Expert and Freakonomics.

You can learn more about Danielle and Kristy over at the Opposite of Small Talk podcast. They run challenges to help people build a more resilient mindset as well.

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 on Dig to Fly and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you love the interview please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Rob Marsh is an amazing copywriter, father and co-founder of The Copywriter Club. His thoughts and ideas are down to earth and will help any creative who is looking to understand themselves better and hone their craft.

Highlights from the interview:

• Why he loves the challenge of being a copywriter.
• Drawn toward creative activities.
• The importance of finding fun in your work.
• Finding challenges that light a fire within you.
• Why it is so easy for him to find the awesome things in his life.
• How his spiritual beliefs affect his outlook.
• Using each failure as a chance for growth.
• Finding ways to move his body helps him maintain his energy level.
• Adding little fun activities to keep your brain engaged in different ways.
• Building your creativity muscle.
• Finding groups that challenge you to improve your skills.
• How to find people who can give you feedback to help you think better.
• The difference between good feedback and validation.
• Why seeing ourselves as broken an help give us the grace we need to make mistakes.
• Cultivating empathy is such a powerful tool.
• Favorite book - Million Miles In a Thousand Years (Amazon Link) by Donald Miller
• Favorite podcast - EconTalk (Link to podcast)
• Favorite speaker - Todd Brown (YouTube link)
• Favorite cereal - Cocoa Puffs
• Check out Rob’s tip to being a better writer.

You can learn more about Rob over at The Copywriter Writer Club. He shares how to grow yourself as a copywriter. He also has a podcast with Kira Hug a fellow copywriter.

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 on Dig to Fly and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you love the interview please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!

Andrea J. Lee is an author, coach and consultant to small business owners. She built up a large coaching business and shares how she shut it down and took a sabbatical to help herself grow in new directions.

Here are the highlights from the episode:

• Andrea J. Lee had a lot of ambition for her business and how she wasn’t ready for the growth that she thought she wanted.
• Letting go of external expectations.
• Listening to your internal wisdom.
• Taking a sabbatical to help her shed her baggage.
• Feeling unrecognizable gives you permission to be your true self.
• Processing our most impressionable stories from our past.
• The obstacle is actually the way.
• Dealing with physical violence and fear as a child and how it influenced her life.
• How she dealt with her inner anger.
• How I dealt with my own inner anger.
• Listen to Andrea walk us through a guided meditation to process a struggle.
• Understanding how to use my internal judgements to help me grow.
• Dropping our armor to help us connect with others.
• Becoming the best version of ourselves.
• Peeling away the layers takes time.
• Favorite book - The Emotionally Abusive Relationship: How to Stop Being Abused and How to Stop Abusing 
• Favorite podcast - 10,000 hours
• Try art therapy to help you process your emotions.

You can learn more about Andrea over on her website. You can check out her serious photo that we talked about in the interview. You can get her freebie What to Say and How to Say It, When You Want to be Powerful AND Kind. 

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 on Dig to Fly and I’ll do my best to get them on. If you love the interview please take 30 seconds to rate the Dig to Fly podcast on your favorite platform. Thanks!