For this episode, Mboone walks me through the realizations she’s made throughout her career, always focusing on that next pursuit – whatever that next pathway is in her life and work -- leading her to recognize the power of gratitude.

Some highlights from this episode:

-- The power of being uncomfortable.

The MAIN QUESTION that underlies my conversation with Mboone is Do you truly understand what gratitude means?

Learn more about Mboone’s work: https://linktr.ee/mmboneumbima

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ey_KTZe

Learn more about The Book Leads: https://lnkd.in/eFb76ck

The Book Leads – Episode 19: Karen Hinds & The Bible

In the same way Karen’s mentor had urged her to read it as a novel, when Karen herself was unsure of how to further her understanding of its readings, Karen urges both you and me to read the book – should we take on that challenge -- and consider the stories. We don’t need to be religious to appreciate the experience of those living the stories. She shares there are lessons in those pages for those challenges and obstacles we face today.

Some highlights from this episode:

-- Karen's reading has changed her life through consistent growth, development, discipline (in terms of her commitment to reading and learning).

-- She walks us through specific examples of how she’s used practical lessons from the stories in The Bible during both her professional work and personal life.

-- Karen welcomes the challenges of people and clients having a preconceived notion of what she may bring to the table, oftentimes being someone who looks very different from her clients.

The main question that underlies my conversation with Karen is, How open are you to seeking answers in areas where you may not expect to find them or be familiar with?

Karen Hinds is founder and CEO of Workplace Success Group, a global training and strategic consulting firm that works with organizations to cultivate and retain their next generation of leaders. For the last twenty years, she has served as a trusted advisor to C-Suite executives committed to building talented leaders and inclusive cultures where every employee can thrive and make an impact. She is the author of five books, a prolific contributor to business and leadership publications, and is frequently quoted or invited as an expert on radio, television, and podcasts.

Learn more about Karen’s work: www.karenhinds.com

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ey_KTZe

Learn more about The Book Leads: https://lnkd.in/eFb76ck

For this episode, Jill and I, based on what she’s taken from the book, talk about the power of performance in the various areas life and how it’s driven by how well we monitor and balance our energy, which will determine how fully engaged we are with what we’re after.

What’s great about this book is that, although it’s from 2003, Jill demonstrates how timely it is for life today as most of us navigate the burnout we feel with everything going on in our own lives and the world at large. Per the book, being fully engaged means balancing our energy across the realms of the physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual.

Jill is a certified leadership and executive coach working across a variety of industries with over 20 years in her national business. Jill has worked with hundreds of leaders, providing in-person and virtual services for one-on-one coaching, team coaching, executive transition, as well as training and speaking on leadership topics, such as:  Leader as Coach, Emotional Resilience, Rewiring the Brain from Chaos to Calm, High Performance Teams, and Unleashing Your Brilliance. With Jill as their trusted partner, her clients expand their influence, powerfully lead their teams, drive organizational change, and live a more purposeful life.

Some highlights from this episode:

-- Before burning out or getting too bored with anything, we need to work at it and then recover -- regularly.

-- Jill and I go through how we’ve tried to work through the pandemic and turn things in the direction we want for ourselves, areas where we might have lost sight of what was important.

-- We have a deep fascination with the word “oscillation” during this conversation -- and the word serves a great purpose!

Some books mentioned in the conversation:

-- Relentless: From Good To Great To Unstoppable by Tim S. Grover

-- Indistraction: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life by Nir Eyal

Learn more about Jill’s work: www.jillberquist.com

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ey_KTZe

Learn more about The Book Leads: https://lnkd.in/eFb76ck

For this episode, Tonya breaks down the value she’s found in Ryan Holiday’s books – one of which is Courage Is Calling – as well as the path her life and career have taken and the courage she’s still building in her own life (modeled by her own mother).

Some highlights from this episode:

The main question that underlies my conversation with Tonya is Where is courage calling you?

Learn more about Tonya’s community and work:

-- The Aha! Community on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/197184320894618

Learn more about The Book Leads: https://lnkd.in/eFb76ck

For this episode, Randye provides some insight into her life and career and how it serendipitously seems to mirror the book – a memoir -- she’s chosen to cover with me.

Randye seems to be a prime example of those of us who want to show our authentic self, wanting to express who we are and what we really desire, yet didn't quite know which avenue or form that authenticity should take until it reveals itself to us one day.

And she’s taking full advantage of that realization, because it’s never too late. Randye, like the author of Where In The OM, spent much of her career in corporate America only to find it wasn’t the best outlet for her to align her everyday work with who she is in her heart.

Randye is a native New Yorker and founder and managing director of Marketing On a Mission, a marketing consultancy specializing in working with mission-driven social enterprises. Prior to this, she led Affordable Marketing Solutions, a small business marketing agency for 13 years. She is on the Board of Arts Alliance of Stratford and serves as their Marketing Director. Previously, she was VP of Marketing and New Product Development at a financial services company. And, she was the first General Manager of the start-up co-branded credit card division of a global travel company. She is the author of Affordable Marketing Solutions: Proven Techniques to Profitably Market Your Small Business, and an award-winning Adjunct Professor of Marketing and Communications.

Randy and I met through the American Marketing Association – CT Chapter

Some highlights from the episode:

· There is a way to do work from the heart while meeting – and exceeding -- business goals.

· Balance is everything.

· “’No’ is a complete sentence.”

Some books mentioned in the conversation:

· Quantum Marketing: Mastering the New Marketing Mindset for Tomorrow's Consumersby Raja Rajamannar

· The Infinite Game by Simon Sinek

· Late Bloomers: The Power of Patience in a World Obsessed with Early Achievementby Rich Karlgaard

· The Empath's Survival Guide: Life Strategies for Sensitive Peopleby Judith Orloff

The main question that underlies my conversation with Randye is: How are you truly living your authentic life, feeling the alignment of what you do and who you really are?

Learn more about Randye’s work: www.marketingonamission.com

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ey_KTZe

Learn more about The Book Leads: https://lnkd.in/eFb76ck

For this episode, Tina walks me through what drove her to seek her own FREEDOM from professional unhappiness, helping her prioritize and allowing more time for what makes her happy – and that’s what she hopes to guide her clients through.

There’s more out there for each of us – if we choose to seek it out.

In F.R.E.E.D.O.M., Tina breaks down and provides action steps for the concepts behind the acronym – Faith, Release, Evaluation, Energy, Determination, Optimism, and Mindset.

Tina has over two decades experience in Leadership Development, Team Building and Talent Acquisition. She speaks and coaches at events all over the country. Her strategies lay out the roadmap which give her clients the clarity and insight to escape their 9 to 5 jobs. She helps make dreams a reality! As a result, her clients are getting their time back in their life which is priceless. They have the freedom to spend quality time with their family and friends. Her clients create a life on purpose while prospering in the process. Tina’s clients are achieving financial success in their personal and professional lives which enables them to give back to their community.

Tina and I met through the National Speaker’s Association – CT Chapter. After a chapter event, we set up a time to get to know each other and each other’s work.

Some highlights from the episode:

1. She shares with me how she’s lived what she shares in her book, allowing her more flexibility in how she has spent her time, sharing that she was free to spend more time with her daughter, who passed away.

2. She provides an overview of what F.R.E.E.D.O.M., from which you take away the passion she brings to her work and the message she wants to share with all of us.

3. We share our common upbringings of growing up in blue collar households, which drove us to build on those lessons, work hard, and become role models for our own kids.

Some books mentioned in the conversation:

1. The Success Principles: How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be by Jack Canfield: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/96593.The_Success_Principles

2. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/40745.Mindset?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=4kf0DrFEpb&rank=1

The main question that underlies Tina's work with her clients: What is one goal that you are looking to achieve?

Learn more about Tina: www.lifeisideal.com

Get your copy of Tina’s book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B094T5KBRP/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_1SSBGR06XFTNR72CVYQJ

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ey_KTZe

Learn more about The Book Leads: https://lnkd.in/eFb76ck

For this episode, Jess shares her long journey of uncertainty and self-discovery – one which lead her right to where she’s supposed to be, allowing her to tap into what she feels she was meant to do while helping others along the way. She shares her major lesson in one of the chapters of the Be The Beacon anthology.

Be The Beacon offers stories from women across a spectrum of journeys, from those looking to discover what is meant for them to those who are further along in their path, reaching back to share the stories of their own obstacles, challenges, and achievements, hoping to ignite the spark of hope and drive in others.

Jess is a Learning Alchemist on a mission to make the creation process easy and enjoyable so that purpose-driven entrepreneurs can unleash their brilliance to a wider audience through online courses, programs, and memberships. She believes that the key to learning is connection, and that when we connect an idea to our own past, present, and future, we bring it to life and allow it to transform us. This process doesn’t always happen on its own, which is why she founded Alchemy Learning Solutions -- to increase access to the incredible power that is a well-crafted learning experience.

Some highlights from the episode:

· What the power of finding YOUR tribe, community, and network can do for your ability to share who you are with others.

· Each of us can have something in us we don’t see or realize until it’s pointed out by someone else or when we finally hear ourselves speak it out to others.

· It’s inspiring to hear when we realize business can be more than a service transaction, instead leading to life-changing transformation.

Where are you on your journey? Are you looking for the beacon to guide you in the right direction? Are you on that discovery path now? Or, through your experience, can you help others find theirs?

Learn more about Alchemy Learning Solutions: www.AlchemyLearningSolutions.com

Get your copy of Be The Beacon! https://www.amazon.com/Beacon-Ladies-Power-Transformation-Anthologies-ebook/dp/B09JL3X4RC/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=be+the+beacon&qid=1637198539&qsid=143-6024481-2748714&sr=8-1&sres=B09JL3X4RC%2CB093RP246S%2CB001J25OI6%2CB07C8GY6HT%2C1450593895%2CB08Y6G6JWS%2CB08C8KQTR1%2CB07PPJ8RRM%2CB07PPJGFKK%2CB08M8RJLM6%2CB06WRR4M6P%2CB08W3QKDRT%2CB09H4XC1YS%2CB0975DKZYT%2CB07TXQYTTN%2CB07PH338XJ

Watch the episode on YouTube: https://lnkd.in/ey_KTZe

Learn more about The Book Leads: https://lnkd.in/eFb76ck

For this episode, Eric shares the lessons he’s taken away from Obvious Adams, which was first published in 1916. From his own experience in higher education, specifically in the field of MBA programs in world-renowned institutions, Eric has seen both the respect the book has garnered in business academia and the impact of the book on his own life and work.

Obvious Adams offers a great lesson in how often we overcomplicate our lives, work, and business, forfeiting the choices that can be more obvious for the more complex path.

Eric is the founder of Candidate Coach, a boutique admissions consulting and career coaching agency, working with people worldwide, who seek admissions into top-ranked MBA or masters programs. As the former Director of Recruitment for the Global MBA program at ESSEC Business School, he leverages his vast network and knowledge of the industry to provide customized services for his clients. Eric has presented as the keynote speaker at various colleges and universities on the topic of careers, and is also the author of the MBA guide book series, including "Getting into an MBA in France", "Getting into an MBA in the UK", and "Getting into an MBA in the USA" (coming out in November).

Some highlights from the episode:

· Even when we know what we should do, we still put things off – a practice Eric and I can still be guilty of.

· What we’re called to – what we should be doing and is most natural and fulfilling – can come to us in a roundabout (globe-trotting) way – as Eric experienced in his career.

· There can be power in reaching into the unknown, starting form scratch, and designing a new world for ourselves.

Even without having read this book (yet), do you tend to take the most obvious path in life, work, and leadership – or do you tend to overcomplicate both the resources you have and what it is you want?

Learn more about Candidate Coach: www.candidate.coach

Learn more about Eric’s own books: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-Lucrezia/e/B08QXT1TG1?ref_=dbs_p_pbk_r00_abau_000000 

Learn more about The Book Leads - Blog Post: https://lnkd.in/eFb76ck

For this episode, Connor, in breaking down the book, shares with me the power of meeting the customer where they need to be by making their experience as streamlined and efficient as possible.  We share stories of what drives use to help others, striving for efficiency, and the simplicity companies often abandon when they turn a blind eye to their everyday resources – their people.

Connor is the Member Success Manager at IMPACT+. An innovator at heart, Connor is always bringing new ideas to the table and challenging the norm to find better solutions for both the teams and communities he is a part of. If you ask him, he combines his passions for education and marketing to empower others to meet their business and revenue goals and loves building unforgettable experiences through ground-breaking industry events and engaged, passionate communities.

Some highlights from the episode:

· Connor’s foundational desire and ability to help others has parlayed into building a better experience for his organization, its customers, and himself.

· How fear, whether at the individual or organizational level, can keep us from offering our fullest service to our customers and those around us.

· The power of building trust.

Other Books referenced

· Quantum Marketing by Raja Rajamannar

· Talk Like Ted by Carmine Gallo

· Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller

How would you describe your customer experiences, both those where you serve the customer and those where you are the customer? How can they get better? How DO they get better?

Learn more about IMPACT+

Website: app.impactplus.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-impact-plus/

Learn more about The Book Leads - Blog Post: https://lnkd.in/eFb76ck

In this episode, I give a quick breakdown of the books I’m currently reading.

It’s such a random combination of books, and it speaks to the power of what we bring to relationships, what leadership really means, how we need to be pragmatic about the things we can’t control in life, controlling what we can to fascinate others, and studying how to develop great habits.

I love studying leadership, and although there's only one book listed here that speaks explicitly about leadership, all of these, in one way or another, apply to leadership.

What do you think?

Let me know if you’ve read any of these. [email protected].

Here are links for where to find the books:

Clarity & Connection by Yung Pueblo

Leadership Is An Art by Max De Pree

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman

Fascinate: How To Make Your Brand Impossible To Resist by Sally Hogshead

Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear