Can you achieve your moonshot goals if you play it safe and shy away from taking calculated risks?

On today’s show, we interview Executive Coach and Change management expert Adam Sachs who shares with us his distilled wisdom on discovering your passion, leveraging your strengths, and taking the path less trodden.

Like most of us, growing up, Adam was really confused about his career path. So, after high school, he dabbled in a variety of industries like construction and internet marketing. 

When Adam was in this exploratory mode, most of his friends chose to stick to the tried and tested path.

As a result, when Adam was slumming it out, his friends and peers seemingly left him far behind in the proverbial rat race.

In this segment of the show, you will learn why you need to find the courage and patience to sacrifice short-term gains for massive forward momentum.

After much trial and error, Adam finally chanced upon coaching and consulting. And he even took on debt so that he could get could the necessary certification.

Adam’s conviction paid off big time when he was hired as a coach for Edward Jones. Currently, Adam works as a business and organizational leadership coach for CACI International Inc. 

On today’s show, you will learn why you need to be a constant learner if you hope to find yourself on the edge of excellence. 

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• Why you must sacrifice short terms gains for massive forward momentum

Resources

College Works

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

To learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/

On today’s show we interview Dane Mauland who shares with us his thoughts on excellence, discovering your passion, and hardcore work ethic. 

Dan also reveals why he considers teaching to be the most important profession in the world. And he also shares with us how his district manager experience elevated his emotional intelligence – which eventually helped him evolve into a more effective teacher. 

We start this show with Dan sharing his definition of excellence.

Contrary to the popular school of thought, Dan shares that top performance alone is not sufficient for excellence. What you are doing has to be in your wheelhouse too.

If you don’t love your work, you will find it difficult to put in the time and effort required for consistent performance.

To better illustrate his point, Dan shares with us his own work experiences. After graduating from University of Wisconsin, Dan decided to pursue investment banking. Even though he was really good at his job, Dan hated every minute of it.

Eventually, Dan decided to pursue his love for coding at App Academy – a full-stack software training program with less than a 5% acceptance rate.

On today’s show, you will also get some important lessons in work ethic and prioritization. Learn how Dan managed to run a $130,000 painting business AND a cryptocurrency mining business while majoring in business at Wisconsin.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• Why teaching is the most important job in the world

Resources

College Works

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

To learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/

On today’s show, we interview the incredible Joshua Esealuka, Enterprise Account Executive, AutoRABIT who shares with us his distilled wisdom on the true meaning of excellence, freedom, and materialism.

Growing up, while Joshua was big-time into football, he hated the structured world of academics. And it was not until he was on the verge of being kicked out of school and losing the chance to play football that Josh started to focus more on academics.

Upon graduation, Josh was determined to prove all his naysayers wrong. And he decided to venture into the world of enterprise sales. 

Initially, Josh was fuelled by a strong desire to fulfill all his materialistic ambitions. But he soon realized the futility of this. 

On today’s show, you will learn WHY your focus should be personal freedom and empowerment rather than money and materialistic success. You will learn why taking risks is the one thing that is crucial for success and excellence.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• Why your end goal and focus should be personal freedom and empowerment rather than materialistic success

Resources

Rich Dad

CollegeWorks Website

Edge Of Excellence Bundle

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

To learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/

On today’s show, we interview Director of Corporate Development, EmpireWorks, Danielle Whitaker who shares with us her distilled wisdom on persistence, goal-setting, and finding your best path. 

We start this show with Danielle sharing how she perceives excellence. When you are on the edge of excellence, you will flourish even in the face of massive personal and professional challenges. When you are coasting along in your flow state, nothing can stop you from putting your best self forward. 

Growing up in suburban Chicago, Danielle had her fair share of ups and downs. And her parent’s messy divorce and modest financial means did not stop her from dreaming big.

After graduating with a degree in sociology from Urbana Champaign, 21-year-old Danielle moved to Vegas to help Empire Works with their talent acquisition. Eventually, she rose up the corporate ranks to become the Director of Corporate Development.

As an experienced talent acquisition expert, Danielle shares some golden nuggets guaranteed to help you out. 

You will learn that the path to success is not a linear one. And that you will have to be flexible and pivot multiple times to reach your chosen destination. 

You will learn how you can find your strengths and field that aligns well with them. 

Additionally, we share some practical interview tips guaranteed to help you get your dream job. 

Towards the end of this show, Danielle reflects back on her journey and shares some of the most important lessons that she has learned so far.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• My definition of excellence

Resources

Occupational Outlook Handbook

StrengthsFinder

CollegeWorks Website

Edge Of Excellence Bundle

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

To learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/

On today’s show, we have the incredible Darius Mirshahzadeh who shares with us his distilled wisdom on the importance of exploration, the true meaning of success, and authenticity.

When Darius was in his twenties, his sole focus in life was money. And while he did manage to fulfill most of his materialistic ambitions, eventually he realized the futility of his pursuit.

One of the biggest things that Darius emphasizes in today’s show is the importance of exploration.

Darius admits that “being money-centric” destroyed his twenties. And he advises those on the verge of starting their professional lives to retain a healthy, exploratory mindset. 

We also talk a great deal about “enjoying the process”. In a mad dash for material success, we end up being in professions that are not aligned with our personalities. And doing things that we do not innately enjoy.

Cliché as it sound, if you follow your passion, work won’t seem like work at all.

Towards the end of the show, we talk a bit about staying true to your authentic self.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• Why you should never abandon an exploratory mindset

Resources

The Greatness Machine Podcast

Darius’ Website                               

Darius’ Instagram

CollegeWorks Website

Edge Of Excellence Bundle

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

To learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/

Can you find spectacular success without experiencing your fair share of setbacks?

On today’s show, we interview Rob Lovato, territory sales executive, Beckman Coulter who shares with us his distilled wisdom on grit, excellence, and success. 

Growing up, Rob was lucky to study in an extremely competitive high school, an experience that made him realize the importance of excellence and continuous improvement. 

However, money was tight when he was about to enroll in college, and so he decided to go to Naval Academy instead. Life had different plans and Rob had to leave the academy midway due to a busted shoulder. 

For a while, Rob had to attend community college and he ended up feeling demotivated and depressed owing to the poor quality of education. 

This is when he ran into College Works. 

Rob stayed with College Works from 2011 to 2017, an experience that funded his education at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. 

Currently, as an account manager with Beckman Coulter Diagnostics, Rob markets diagnostic medical equipment and is responsible for a territory generating $10M in annual revenues You will get a peek into the world of medical equipment and pharmaceutical sales. And learn about the critical attributes that have contributed to Rob’s success. 

Rob opens up his playbook and shares why spectacular success is not possible without making sacrifices.

 What You Will Learn In This Show

• Understanding excellence and why it is a moving target

Resources

CollegeWorks Website

Edge Of Excellence Bundle

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

To learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/

It only took five days...

Danny Sonenshine had only been working as a legal associate in a large international firm for five days when he realized that he hated what he was doing. Every day people find themselves struggling in places that leave them unfulfilled, from their relationships to their careers. 

In today's episode of The Edge of Excellence, Matt talks with Danny Sonenshine, CEO and Founder of Far West Restaurants and former legal associate about the importance of having a strong support system when striving for excellence.

You'll discover why Danny left his legal career behind just as it began and took a leap of faith - creating his own restaurant business, despite knowing nothing about the industry.

You'll learn how seeking out experts and mentors helped Danny fill in the gaps in his new business, and how those mentors ended up supporting him in ways far beyond business matters.

You'll discover the importance of applying empathy to every area of your life, not just your job or business, and that you likely have a powerful support system of friends and family around you right now... you've just never noticed it before. 

You'll also learn why your relationships with friends and family - those who are trying to support you - are key players in helping you to be more open-minded and optimistic.

Join Matt and Danny as they explore the vital role your environment plays in your path to excellence!

Enjoy!

What You’ll Learn in this Show:

• Why Danny left a lucrative career as a legal associate to create his own business focused on understanding people and building relationships.

Resources:

CollegeWorks Website

Edge Of Excellence Bundle

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

To learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/

On today’s Edge of Excellence show, we have Payson Maydew who shares with us his thoughts on time management and positive mindset. 

We start this show with Payson sharing what excellence means to him. You will learn that the path to success is laden with adversity, and the right mindset can help you overcome your biggest challenges.

Even in high school, Payson liked to keep busy as he pursued a versatile range of interests like sports, theatre, and music. And he continued to pursue his different passions even after starting his CollegeWorks internship. 

Payson shares his effective time-blocking technique where he breaks down his schedule into small 10-minute chunks. Using his technique, Payson is able to do justice to all his commitments while keeping his stress in check. 

In the last segment of the show, Payson gives us a peek into his life as an accountant at Deloitte. Apart from honing his number-crunching skills, Payson shares how he strives to understand the big picture. We also talk a bit about how covid has impacted him and his organization as a whole.

Enjoy! 

What You Will Learn In This Show

• Effective time management strategies

Resources

CollegeWorks Website

Edge Of Excellence Bundle

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

To learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/

Today’s show is about the importance of building relationships.

You will get a short reminder as to WHY relationships are foundational to a successful life. Additionally, you will also learn the HOW as Mike shares three critical steps to help you build great relationships.

If you are keen on leaving behind a powerful legacy, tuning in to today’s show will give you some much-needed inspiration.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• The three critical steps for building great relationships

Resources

CollegeWorks Website

Edge Of Excellence Bundle

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

To learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/

On today’s show of the Edge of Excellence podcast, we interview second lieutenant, Marine Corps, Kyle Emerick who shares with us thoughts on excellence, time management, and focus. 

For Kyle, achieving excellence is about doing well in all facets of his life. He shares with us the 5F’s which are helping him lead a well-balanced life.

Back in high school, Kyle was drinking and partying way too much. However, in college, he came in touch with his mentor who helped him sober up and set his life in order. 

Kyle was keen to separate himself from the crowd with a meaningful internship. And impressed by his incredible peers and the rigorous hiring process, Kyle chose College Works. In this segment, he shares how the internship and real-world experience that came along with it catapulted him ahead of the competition.

Currently, Kyle is a second lieutenant with the Marine Corps. He is also working on getting his engineering degree alongside. You will learn how time management and prioritization can fast-track your success in this segment of the show.

Enjoy!

What You Will Learn In This Show

• How an internship with real-world experience can be your differentiating factor

Resources

CollegeWorks Website

Edge Of Excellence Bundle

Edge Of Excellence Is Brought To You By College Works Painting Internship

To learn more: https://www.collegeworks.com/students-home-page/