What if the life you're working so hard to build isn't actually the life you want?

Amy Lenius has spent years learning that success isn't just about achieving more. It's about knowing yourself well enough to decide what "more" actually means to you.

As Director of Group Coaching at Next Level University, a professional speaker, MC, and personal development and success coach, Amy helps people rebuild the internal foundation behind sustainable growth: self-worth, self-belief, identity, habits, relationships, and the choices that shape how we show up every day.

Her own journey through rebuilding her health, identity, and self-worth forced her to confront a question many high-achieving people eventually face: are you pursuing success because it fulfills you, or because you've learned that you're supposed to?

In this episode of The Honest Mic, Amy talks about what happens when the version of success you've been chasing no longer feels like yours, why self-belief matters more than motivation, how to reconnect with yourself when you've lost sight of who you are, and what it actually takes to build a life that feels fulfilling rather than merely impressive.

If you've ever wondered whether you're climbing the right mountain, this conversation is for you.

Guest Links

· Facebook Community: The Next Level Nation

· Podcast: Next Level University

Shaun Dawson didn't start Raising Men because he had all the answers about raising boys.

He started it because he was looking for them.

As a husband, father of two, and tech leader, Shaun found himself asking a question a lot of parents quietly wrestle with: what does it actually take to raise a boy into a man of strength, character, and emotional resilience in today's world?

Rather than pretend to have the answers, he started having the conversations. Through the Raising Men podcast, Shaun sits down with voices in parenting, mental health, leadership, and boyhood development to explore the questions fathers need to be asking and uncover practical wisdom they can actually use.

In this episode of The Honest Mic, Fortune sits down with Shaun to explore what sparked his search for answers, how his understanding of healthy masculinity has evolved, and why fathers may need to rethink the way they talk to boys about emotions, strength, character, and the world around them.

They talk about the challenges boys face in an increasingly digital world, the conversations parents often avoid, what Shaun has learned from the experts he's interviewed, and what it means to be a father who is willing to keep learning rather than pretend to have it all figured out.

In this episode:

• Why Shaun started Raising Men without claiming to have all the answers

• What healthy masculinity can look like for boys today

• The role of fathers in developing emotional resilience and character

• How digital life is changing the experience of growing up

• The parenting lessons that have changed how Shaun shows up for his own children

• Why starting better conversations may matter more than having perfect answers

• What boys need from the adults raising them

• The difference between raising a successful boy and raising a good man

• Why curiosity and humility can be powerful parenting tools

If you're a parent, a young man, or someone still figuring out what it means to become the person you want to be, this conversation starts with a simple idea:

You don't need to have all the answers to start asking better questions.

Connect with Shaun Dawson:

🌐 Raising.Men

🎙️ Raising Men Podcast

Shaun's work is ultimately about helping parents raise boys who grow into men of strength, character, and emotional resilience. Not through a perfect formula, but through better conversations, intentional parenting, and a willingness to keep learning.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to The Honest Mic and share it with someone who might be asking the same questions.

What does it actually mean to be successful?

Albert Butler has spent more than 25 years as a CPA, advising businesses and leaders on the numbers that determine where they've been, where they stand, and whether they're prepared for what's ahead.

But after a career built around financial strategy, he came to understand that the most important numbers in life aren't always found on a balance sheet.

Albert is a nationally recognized CPA, MBA, author, father of four, youth coach, and creator of the Legacy Alignment System, a framework focused on aligning purpose, structure, money, and legacy.

He's also the author of LIFE: Truth, Love, Loss, Success & Failure, a book that goes far beyond finance. It's about the lessons that emerge when success meets loss, fatherhood, faith, leadership, and the question of what we're actually leaving behind.

In this episode of The Honest Mic, Fortune sits down with Albert to explore what accounting can reveal about a life, why financial clarity matters far beyond business, and what happens when you stop measuring success only by what you've accumulated.

They talk about what loss can teach you that success cannot, what fatherhood reveals about leadership, why financial discipline is part of building generational stability, and why some people spend their entire lives chasing success only to discover they haven't built a life they can leave with peace.

In this episode:

• Why Albert believes accounting is the heartbeat of business

• What financial statements can reveal beyond the numbers

• What loss taught Albert that success never could

• The connection between fatherhood and leadership

• Why financial literacy matters for generational wealth

• The danger of building success without alignment

• How purpose, money, and legacy fit together

• What it means to build an enterprise and a life that can endure

• Why the ultimate measure of success might be whether you can leave with peace rather than regret

If you're building a career, a business, a family, or a future you want to outlast you, this conversation asks a question worth sitting with:

Are you building something you're proud to have, or something you're at peace leaving behind?

Connect with Albert Butler:

🌐 AlbertButler.com

📖 LIFE: Truth, Love, Loss, Success & Failure

Available on Amazon through the link in the show notes.

Albert's work sits at the intersection of financial strategy, leadership, purpose, fatherhood, and legacy. His message is simple: follow the money, find the answers, and make sure the life you're building actually aligns with what matters.

If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to The Honest Mic and share it with someone who's building for more than just success.

For most of her life, Ania Hulsman thought something was wrong with her.

Too intense.

Too weird.

Too much going on inside.

So she learned to adapt. To read the room. To become whoever the room needed her to be. She became very good at performing competence, even when the effort of doing so was quietly exhausting her.

Then, when her five-year-old son was flagged as potentially autistic or ADHD, Ania was forced to ask a question that changed everything:

What if this is true for me too?

At 44, Ania received her ADHD diagnosis. Years earlier, she'd been diagnosed with dyslexia. Instead of giving her another problem to fix, those diagnoses gave her something she'd been missing for decades: language for an experience she'd never been able to explain.

Today, Ania is a Peak Performance & Inner Alignment Coach with 2,000+ coaching hours behind her and seven years of experience coaching inside Tony Robbins' organisation. But even there, at the highest level of performance, she found herself quietly burning out while performing a version of herself that no longer fit.

In this episode of The Honest Mic, Fortune sits down with Ania to explore masking, neurodivergence, high achievement, burnout, identity, and what happens when you finally stop treating yourself as the problem.

They talk about the gap between performing competence and actually feeling capable, why high-achieving people can be especially good at hiding their exhaustion, and how the traits that once made Ania feel like she didn't fit can also become some of her greatest strengths.

In this episode:

• What masking actually is and what it can cost

• Ania's journey from feeling "too much" to understanding herself differently

• How her son's experience became a mirror for her own

• The difference between performing competence and feeling capable

• Why high achievement can sometimes hide deep exhaustion

• What Ania learned after seven years inside Tony Robbins' organisation

• How to recognize when an environment is costing you more than it should

• Why thinking differently can become an advantage rather than a limitation

• What it means to stop performing and start leading from who you actually are

If you've ever achieved things while privately wondering why everything seems to cost you more effort than it costs everyone else, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Ania Hulsman:

🌐 Website: "https://aniahulsman.com" (https://aniahulsman.com)

🔗 LinkedIn: Ania Hulsman

🎙️ Podcast: Neurodivergent Unplugged: Messy, Magnificent Stories from Unlikely Rebels

Visit Ania's website to learn more about her work with high-achieving, wired-differently adults and leaders.

If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe to The Honest Mic and share it with someone who has spent years trying to become the version of themselves they thought the world wanted.

At 50, Pat and Ralph Wanner had built a comfortable life in Colorado.

Then they decided to leave it behind.

Together, they set off on bicycles from Alaska toward Panama, navigating thousands of miles with paper maps, mechanical failures, extreme weather, polar bear territory, and the kind of pressure that can test even the strongest relationship.

What started as an extraordinary adventure became something much bigger: a test of marriage, courage, limits, and what it means to decide that you're not finished becoming who you want to be.

In this episode of The Honest Mic, Fortune sits down with Pat and Ralph to talk about what actually happens when you trade comfort for uncertainty, how 10,000 miles on two bicycles can change a marriage, and what they discovered about themselves when there was nowhere to hide from the road ahead.

Their memoir, To the End of the Earth, captures the journey, but the bigger question goes beyond the adventure itself:

How do you know when you've reached your limit, and how do you know there's still more road ahead?

In this episode:

• Why Pat and Ralph decided to leave their comfortable life at 50

• What 10,000 miles of cycling can teach you about yourself and your relationship

• The realities of travelling through extreme weather and unfamiliar territory

• How couples handle conflict when there's nowhere to escape to

• What happens when you choose uncertainty over staying comfortable

• The self-doubt, arguments, laughter, and unexpected moments behind the adventure

• Why it's never too late to rethink what the next chapter of your life looks like

• The question that remains at the end of their memoir: is there more road ahead?

If you've ever wondered whether you've waited too long to chase an adventure, change direction, or do something that scares you, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Pat & Ralph Wanner:

🌐 Website: https://patandralphbikeride.carrd.co/

📖 Book: To the End of the Earth

Visit their website to learn more about the journey, the book, and what's coming next.

If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe to The Honest Mic and share it with someone who's convinced that their best adventures are already behind them.

For a lot of growing businesses, investing in employees sounds like something to worry about later.

First, you need revenue.

Then you need growth.

Then, once the business is big enough, you can finally start thinking seriously about your people.

Sandra Coker thinks that's backwards.

As the founder and CEO of Human Power Solutions, Sandra has spent more than two decades helping organizations build stronger teams and people-first cultures that don't just feel good, but produce measurable business results.

Her perspective comes from experience. After working in hospitality and sales and running her own small businesses, Sandra saw firsthand how much a company's performance depends on the people inside it. That experience eventually led her to build Human Power Solutions and develop her Level Five Learning model, which connects employee development with productivity, collaboration, and business outcomes.

In this episode of The Honest Mic, Fortune sits down with Sandra to explore the people problems that quietly cost businesses the most, what investing in your team actually looks like in practice, and why employee development shouldn't be treated as a luxury reserved for companies that have already "made it."

They also talk about measuring the ROI of developing people, reducing workplace drama, building trust, and why creating a workplace people actually enjoy can be good for business.

In this episode:

• The most expensive people mistakes growing businesses make

• Why investing in your team can enable growth rather than follow it

• How to connect employee development to measurable business results

• Sandra's Level Five Learning model

• What creates trust, collaboration, and accountability within teams

• Why workplace culture directly affects performance

• How founders can prioritize their people without losing sight of the bottom line

• Why fun belongs in serious business

If you're a founder or leader who knows your people matter but keeps wondering whether you can afford to invest in them right now, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Sandra Coker:

🌐 Complimentary Discovery Chat: "https://www.hpowersolutions.com/contact-form" (https://www.hpowersolutions.com/contact-form)

📧 Email: "[email protected]" (mailto:[email protected])

🔗 LinkedIn: Sandra Coker

📖 Book: People Profit: How to Improve Your Bottom Line by Investing in Those Above It

🎙️ Podcast: People Profit Podcast

Book a complimentary discovery chat with Sandra to explore your team's challenges and discuss practical ways to build a healthier, higher-performing workplace.

If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe to The Honest Mic and share it with a leader who still thinks investing in people is something you do after the business grows.

Some leaders don't struggle because they lack capability.

They struggle because they're trying to lead inside a system that wasn't built for how they think.

Judith Germain has spent more than 25 years helping senior leaders, business owners, and leadership teams navigate exactly that tension. As a multi-award-winning leadership consultant, trainer, keynote speaker, and creator of Maverick Leadership™, she works with leaders who think differently and want to lead with clarity, courage, and real influence without simply conforming to conventional ideas of leadership.

In this episode of The Honest Mic, Fortune sits down with Judith to explore what happens when leadership is put under pressure, why capable people and teams can struggle even when they're doing everything "right," and how the systems surrounding a leader can shape their effectiveness.

They also unpack leadership identity, influence, culture, neurodiversity, and the tension between being a wilfully independent thinker and operating inside organisations that expect conformity.

Judith shares insights from more than two decades of working with CEOs, founders, and leadership teams, as well as the thinking behind her Human Leadership System™ and her book, The Maverick Paradox: The Secret Power Behind Successful Leaders.

In this episode:

• Why capable leaders can struggle under pressure

• What Maverick Leadership™ actually means

• The difference between leading with influence and simply holding authority

• Why leadership systems can become distorted

• How your Core Leadership Identity™ shapes the way you lead

• The tension between independent thinking and organisational conformity

• What leaders need to understand about culture, pressure, and performance

• Why sometimes the problem isn't the leader, but the system they're leading within

If you've ever felt like you don't quite fit the conventional mould, or wondered whether trying to fit in is actually limiting the way you lead, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Judith Germain:

🌐 Website: "https://www.maverickparadox.co.uk/" (https://www.maverickparadox.co.uk/)

🔗 LinkedIn: Judith Germain

Explore Judith's work, Maverick Leadership™, the Human Leadership System™, and practical resources for understanding how influence, culture, leadership systems, and pressure shape performance.

You can also find The Maverick Paradox Podcast and The Maverick Paradox Magazine through her website.

If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe to The Honest Mic and share it with someone who has ever been told they need to fit the mould before they can lead effectively.

Being great at what you do doesn't automatically make you great at leading people.

Po'okela Mossman learned that the hard way.

He started his career as a carpenter, eventually building his own contracting business. He knew how to work hard, solve problems, and deliver. But when he hired his first business coach, he encountered a realization that changed the way he thought about success: technical ability and leadership ability are two very different things.

That lesson was reinforced by an even earlier chapter of his life as a Combat Medic in the U.S. Army, where clarity, trust, teamwork, and decision-making could have very real consequences.

Today, Po'okela is an international speaker, executive coach, and author of P.U.L.S.E. Check: How to Protect Your Leadership Journey from Bad Advice, Deceiving Examples, and Toxic Environments. Through his work, he helps leaders build healthier teams, avoid burnout, and create cultures that allow people to thrive.

In this episode of The Honest Mic, Po'okela and Fortune explore the leadership lessons that followed him from the military into business, why being good at your craft isn't enough to lead others, and how unhealthy leadership can affect far more than the workplace.

We also talk about his Four Seasons of Healthy Leadership — Run, Roll, Rest, and Rejoice — and why leadership isn't just about what happens at work. It's about who you become when you go home.

In this episode:

• Why expertise doesn't automatically translate into leadership

• The leadership lessons Po'okela learned as a Combat Medic

• The turning point that changed how he approached business

• How toxic leadership affects teams, families, and organizations

• The Four Seasons of Healthy Leadership: Run, Roll, Rest, Rejoice

• Why leaders need to build systems instead of carrying everything themselves

• What healthy leadership looks like across work, family, and community

• How to protect your leadership journey from burnout and toxic environments

If you've ever been promoted because you were excellent at your job and suddenly found yourself responsible for leading other people, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Po'okela Mossman:

🌐 Resources & free consultation: https://linktr.ee/jbpmossmn

Through his Linktree, you can explore Po'okela's work, book a free consultation, and access a complimentary guide based on P.U.L.S.E. Check by mentioning that you heard him on The Honest Mic.

If you enjoyed the conversation, subscribe to The Honest Mic and share this episode with someone learning that leadership is a completely different skill from simply being good at the work.

The world of work has changed. But most people are still following a career playbook that no longer exists.

Julie Gartell has spent more than 20 years on the other side of the hiring table, leading Talent Acquisition for brands including Saks Fifth Avenue, Coach, kate spade, Stuart Weitzman, and MediaCom. She's reviewed thousands of resumes and interviewed candidates ranging from interns to CEOs.

But CareerPREP Solutions didn't start in a boardroom.

It started when Julie's college-aged nephew froze while answering one of the simplest questions in an interview: "Tell me about yourself."

She realized the problem wasn't a lack of talent. It was a lack of preparation.

In this episode of The Honest Mic, Julie breaks down what hiring managers are actually thinking when candidates apply, why being qualified isn't enough if you can't communicate your value, how AI is changing the hiring process, and what professionals can do to stand out in a job market that looks very different from the one many of us were prepared for.

We also talk about layoffs, personal branding, resumes, networking, salary negotiation, and the gap between being career-ready and actually being employable.

In this episode:

• What hiring managers really notice when reviewing candidates

• Why talented people can still struggle to get hired

• How AI is changing the hiring process

• What to do when you've been laid off and don't know what's next

• Why personal branding matters more than ever

• How to communicate your value so people remember you

• The difference between having qualifications and being prepared for the world of work

If you're entering the workforce, changing careers, navigating a layoff, or wondering why the old rules of getting hired don't seem to work anymore, this conversation is for you.

Connect with Julie Gartell:

🌐 Website: https://www.careerprepsolutions.com/

📱 Instagram & TikTok: @careerprepsolutions

Julie shares practical advice and resources for navigating today's job market, from interview preparation and resume optimization to personal branding and career transitions.

If you enjoyed the conversation, subscribe to The Honest Mic and share this episode with someone trying to figure out what the new world of work actually expects from them.

Most people assume success has an expiration date. They believe that if they haven't achieved their biggest goals by 30, 40, or even 50, they missed their opportunity. Chad Betz knows that feeling because he lived it.

Years ago, Chad was sitting alone in his car in a parking garage after work. On paper, he looked successful. Yet he found himself asking: 'After all this work, why doesn't this feel like success?'

That question became the catalyst for a journey that led to his book, An Authentic Success: You Aren't Too Old and It's Not Too Late!

In this episode of The Honest Mic, Chad talks about why so many accomplished people feel like failures despite years of hard work, how the sunk cost fallacy keeps people trapped, and why you're not starting over — you're starting from experience.

If you've ever wondered whether your best opportunities are behind you, this conversation is for you.

Guest Links

Website: AnAuthenticSuccess.com

Book: An Authentic Success: You Aren't Too Old and It's Not Too Late!