The Catholic Foundation was born in 1955 when a Dallas bishop did something almost unheard of — he gave up control of the money. Matt Kramer, who has led the Foundation as President and CEO since 2013, joins Jeff Crilley to explain how that decision shaped a lay-led community foundation that now manages nearly $370 million in assets.

Kramer walks through the Foundation's record-setting 2024: $52.25 million in contributions and $32 million granted to 900 organizations across the U.S. He shares specific examples of where the money goes — from building a soccer field for kids playing on broken glass in one of Dallas's poorest neighborhoods to security grants for churches and schools.

The episode includes a full scholarship speech from a Cristo Rey Dallas junior who won the Foundation's annual essay competition, delivering a personal reflection on Catholic education and hope to an audience of 1,100 people.

Kramer also makes a point that surprises many: you don't have to be Catholic to work with the Foundation. It operates as a community foundation focused on relationships over transactions, helping donors with both current giving and legacy planning.

catholicfoundation.com

What if the word "blessed" in the Beatitudes was never meant to sound religious—and actually just means "happy"? That single mistranslation, Pastor Mike Hayes and Dr. Jeffrey Garner argue, has shaped centuries of Christian teaching in ways that moved people further from joy rather than closer to it.

Pastor Mike Hayes founded Covenant Church in Dallas and has led it for 50 years. Dr. Jeffrey Garner is a scholar of spiritual formation who started as Hayes's ghostwriter before being "unghosted" as full co-author. Together they wrote Real Happy: Jesus' Surprising Path to Genuine Joy.

In this conversation they cover how the book was born on the Mount of Beatitudes in Israel, why "poor in spirit" doesn't endorse poverty but invites emptiness God can fill, the poppy-versus-lily translation and its connection to Jesus's attack on worry, why happiness is an inside job that can't be purchased or pursued, and how serving others breaks the self-focus cycle that feeds depression. Hayes also references Harvard's 80-year study on happiness—and explains what it leaves unanswered.

imrealhappy.com

Every entrepreneur has a CPA—but how many actually hear from theirs more than once a year? Jessica Chompff and Charlene Carpenter, the sister team behind CC Group Advisors in Dallas-Fort Worth, decided that once-a-year tax prep wasn't good enough. They built their entire firm around monthly client meetings and working exclusively with business owners.

Jessica holds CPA, MST, and CTP credentials and handles deep tax research and strategy vetting. Charlene is the relationship builder and decision maker who got her start at a tax office after having her first daughter. Together they've earned the nickname "the CPA Sisters."

In this episode, they talk about:

– How they caught missed tax opportunities for a C Corp client that had been getting IRS notices for years
– Why their proactive monthly model replaces the reactive once-a-year approach most firms use
– Their involvement with ProVisors, the professional referral network built on Know, Like, Trust, Refer
– What makes them work so well together—and the specific strengths each sister brings

Learn more at ccgroupadvisors.com

Most entrepreneurs keep their faith life and their business life in separate boxes. Jenevy Sims thinks that's exactly backwards—and she wrote a book about it.

Jenevy is the author of Proverbs and Profits, a serial entrepreneur who runs The Evolve Firm (a visual communications company), and the Vice President of Business Professionals of San Antonio, the city's largest networking group. She also sits on the boards of Fashion for Life and Children's Rehabilitation Institute Teleton (CRIT).

In this conversation, Jenevy explains why she believes entrepreneurship is "spiritual warfare with a business plan" and walks through her framework distinguishing purpose, calling, and assignment. She gets candid about the pandemic-era betrayal by a business partner who left, stole half her clients, and told them she quit to be a mom—the painful chapter she calls "The Wound That Woke the Assignment." She also talks about how Business Professionals of San Antonio has given every dollar raised directly to local nonprofits since 2017, and shares a blunt call to action for anyone hiding behind excuses instead of stepping into their next season.

Learn more: https://www.jenevysims.com/

Women own and operate businesses at record rates, yet they receive less than 2% of all available VC funding. Linda Fisk has spent a decade trying to change that math.

Linda is the founder and CEO of LeadHership Global, a community of over 10,000 women leaders spanning Kuala Lumpur, Mumbai, Nairobi, New York, Dallas, Vancouver, and beyond. She's a two-time TEDx speaker, six-time TV producer, international bestselling author, and a returning guest — her first appearance on the show was five years ago.

In this conversation, Linda and Jeff talk about the persistent funding gap for women-owned businesses, why blind funding systems dramatically improve outcomes for female entrepreneurs, and how LeadHership Global builds 12-month strategic plans around each member's individual definition of success. 

Linda also introduces an integration with CurvUp, an AI-powered platform that bundles coaching, investor access, and fractional support into one ecosystem — think LinkedIn meets Upwork meets a VC pitch room.

https://leadhershipglobal.com
https://curvup.io

Self-injury is far more common than most people realize. Yet many therapists were never formally trained to address it in school.

Jeff Crilley talks with Lori Vann, an international behavioral health speaker and founder of the Institute for Non-Suicidal Self Injury, who has spent 26 years working with clients of all ages who self-harm. Lori has authored four books on the subject, trained school districts and treatment facilities, and appeared alongside Dr. Phil to discuss the link between social media and self-injury in teens.

In this episode:
- Why self-injury is not a suicide attempt, and why asking about intent matters
- The 37 forms of self-injury most people never think about—hitting, biting, and beyond
- How social media's instant feedback loop fuels self-harm among young people
- The dangers of using AI chatbots as a substitute for human counselors, including active lawsuits tied to AI-validated suicides
- Lori's books, coaching services, and free resources for caregivers

Learn more at lorivann.com

Your harshest critic is usually yourself — so how do you learn to actually love the person in the mirror?

Elisabeth Gould is an author, professional speaker, and Growth Catalyst Coach who runs Speaking At Her Best. She self-published her devotional book, 31 Best Ways to Love Yourself, during the early weeks of COVID in 2020, and she still uses it as her own daily reminder when life gets hard. She's also a Nasdaq futures day trader who recently launched Pretty Girl Swag University (PGSU), a coaching platform aimed at women in corporate America who want to build new income streams or transition into entrepreneurship.

In this conversation with Jeff Crilley, Elisabeth talks about meeting Oprah at 18 during a national high school competition, why she recorded faith-based motivational videos on her corporate lunch breaks, her honest take on whether day trading is actually easy, and what she'd say to anyone going through a heavy season right now.

🔗 Pretty Girl Swag University: https://speakingatherbest.com/pgsu/
📖 31 Best Ways to Love Yourself: https://shop.speakingatherbest.com/product-details-4473/product/67c912f942a34d6b370b48c5

What happens when a corporate career ends abruptly and a completely different calling shows up?

Rosemary Bennett spent decades in sales leadership before COVID pushed her into involuntary retirement. Struggling to reinvent herself, she took a friend's offhand suggestion and entered the Miss Texas Senior America pageant — something she'd never heard of and had zero experience with. She placed second runner-up the first time, then came back and won the crown in November 2025.

In this conversation with Jeff Crilley, Rosemary talks about rediscovering her identity as a vocal performer after years away from music, what the pageant competition actually involves (interview, philosophy of life, and talent), and her concept of "TBD" — the Time Before Dignity — a case for why people over 60 should be doubling down on purpose and livelihood, not winding down. She also shares how performing with the Dallas Symphony Chorus and singing at community events like the Plano Police Department's honorary ceremony keep her grounded.

Rosemary heads to the national Miss Senior America competition in October 2025.

Learn more: https://misstexassenioramerica.org

Most men's jewelry looks the same. Avi and Nika Dubey got tired of that and started making pieces that actually mean something.

Avi and Nika are the husband-and-wife team behind AviNika Jewelry, a custom design house specializing in one-of-a-kind men's rings and statement pieces. Their origin story is personal—Nika designed Avi's wedding ring from scratch after they couldn't find anything meaningful at big-name stores. She comes from a family of artisans; her father makes jewelry in Ukraine and her grandfather has been crafting metal art for over four decades.

In this conversation with Jeff Crilley, they walk through how they work with clients to turn personal stories and milestones into wearable heirlooms—from a customer who brought in a rare ruby needing a worthy setting, to a boutique owner in Austin commemorating his new store with a 22-karat gold pinky ring. They talk about their Versailles-inspired scrollwork, why each piece takes weeks (sometimes months) to complete, and their recent feature in the DuPont Registry alongside Cartier, Dior, and Bvlgari.

Learn more at avianikajewelry.com

Tanya Scott started charging kids a quarter for coaching advice on the playground when she was seven years old. Decades later, she's built a career helping leaders, performers, and everyday people move from burnout and brokenness to clarity and resilience.

Tanya is a master certified life and executive coach, a former Tony Robbins senior trainer, and the creator of Love Is An Inside Job and From Rat Race to Sanity. She's trained alongside John Maxwell and Joe Dispenza, worked at Coca-Cola in sales and training, and has over thirty years in the personal development space.

In this episode, Tanya talks with Jeff Crilley about:
- The childhood tragedy at fourteen that nearly derailed her, and the mentors who pulled her through
- Her method for breaking 3 a.m. thought loops: changing your physical state and asking four specific questions
- Coaching an opera singer who couldn't believe in her own voice—until she landed the lead at The Met
- Why she compares her coaching style to Zorro: direct, confidential, and laser-focused on root causes rather than surface-level fixes
- Her upcoming show, From Rat Race to Sanity, and the "dirty dozen" emotions her programs are built to address

🔗 loveisaninsidejob.com