The Silver Lining Phoenix

Guy East, former professional cyclist and CEO of East Sports Management, LLC, joins us on this week’s episode to talk about what it means to live by seeing difficult situations as opportunities instead of setbacks. Furthermore, Guy also discussed with us what life is like as a professional cyclist and how he learned that competing with excellence is more important than simply winning the race. 

We learned more about Guy’s mission in representing professional athletes. Being one of the top 10 best cyclists of the world at the time, Guy was selected by Lance Armstrong to help develop a team of next generation, young riders. Traveling to Mexico City for this project, Guy saw many people suffer right outside his 5 star hotel, and decided to make life changes to live for a purpose outside of winning trophies. So, Guy started mission trips to Mexico with other professional athletes and built homes for those in need. To this point, they’ve built over 50 homes and counting!  

Listen to Guy’’s episode, and be sure to follow his mission by clicking on the links below.

• Website: www.hopesports.org/
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/guyeast/

Ryan Stock, Founder of MindSport, and author of “One Last Drop” and “Buddha Was a Baller”, joins us on this week’s episode to talk about accepting life’s challenges and living in the moment. He was open and vulnerable and he discussed his athletic career, battle with alcoholism, and what it took to finally face his fears. 

We learned more about Ryan’s background in athletics and how this has helped shape his mission to help athletes live a more holistic life. He believes that in order for things to matter to us, we must first matter to ourselves.

Listen to Ryan’s episode, and be sure to follow his mission by clicking on the links below.

• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mymindsport
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mymindsport/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amryanstock/
• Website: https://mymindsport.com and https://amryanstock.com

What do starting a videography company, being in a band, leading backpacking trips in Colorado, and inventing a shampoo and conditioner all have in common? AJ Fountain has done them all. In this episode, AJ discussed with us these four different areas of his life and how he got started in each one.  We learned more about AJ's band, A Brother’s Fountain, and how he joined his childhood friend’s company, Dr. Squatch, and became a partner which eventually led to him creating his own shampoo and conditioner.

We learned more about AJ’s first backpacking trip in Colorado and how backpacking became a huge part of his life. 

He also shared with why he started his videography company, Stoked Ember Productions.  AJ believes everyone has a passion and a purpose and the mission behind his company is to “stoke people’s embers into a burning fire and showcase it to the world”.  He loves meeting people and hearing their stories, which is what inspired him to start his own company.

Listen to AJ’s episode, and be sure to follow his various endeavors by clicking on the links below.

• Instagram: @stoked.ember, @a.brothers.fountain
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aj-fountain-970151a1/
• Website: stokedemberproductions.com & abrothersfountain.com

Cryptocurrency investor and Skill Incubator founder, Chris Dunn joins us this week to talk about how fear can be an excellent motivator and how to use it to your advantage. He was afraid that he was going to be a loser because he was terrible in school and dropped out of college during his first semester. He used that fear to motivate him to become a founding venture partner with a tech-focused venture capital firm, bootstrap multiple seven-figure businesses, and start Skill Incubator. 

We learned more about how Chris’s background on Wall Street helped shape his mission to help others understand cryptocurrencies and investing in hopes that they would be able to live their “perfect day.” He believes that we shouldn’t define success by how much money we have in the bank, but by what our days look like.

Listen to Chris’s episode, and be sure to follow his mission by clicking on the links below.

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/chrisdunntv
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/chrisdunntv
• Website: https://chrisdunn.com

“If it was easy, everyone would do it and it wouldn’t stand out.” Bill Wennington went from an uncoordinated 6’1” basketball player at 12 years old to being mentored and coached by the legendary Bill McKillop in high school, to the Canadian Olympic basketball team, to winning three championships with the Chicago Bulls while playing alongside Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and Dennis Rodman. 

How? It wasn’t easy! He joins us this week to share his story about how success doesn’t come without failures but when that breakthrough finally comes, it changes everything. 

Listen to Bill’s episode, and be sure to follow his mission by clicking on the links below.

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/34billy42/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/34billy42

Kwame Christian, bestselling author of “Finding Confidence in Conflict”, attorney, TEDx speaker, Director of the American Negotiation Institute and host of the “Negotiate Anything” Podcast, joins us on this week’s episode to talk about being a recovering people pleaser and how he went from not being confident in himself to hosting the top ranked negotiation podcast in the world. He shares how he learned to establish and maintain a winning mentality for each area of his life. 

Kwame also talked about his background in entrepreneurship and law and how they shaped his mission to help others discover how to win. He believes that winning more in business means winning less at home, but there is a way to strike a balance and win well in both areas.

Listen to Kwame’s episode, and be sure to follow his mission by clicking on the links below.

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kwamechristian/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kwamenegotiates/?hl=en
• Book: https://www.amazon.com/Finding-Confidence-Conflict-Negotiate-Anything/dp/0578413736
• Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/negotiate-anything/id1101679010
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/kwamenegotiates?lang=en
• Website: https://americannegotiationinstitute.com/guide/

Ron Foxcroft, CEO and Founder of Fox 40 whistles and CEO and Chairman of the Fluke Transportation Group, joins us this week to talk about being the hardest working person in the neighborhood, and finding opportunity in every situation.  In this episode, Ron discussed with us how he turned his high school detention experiences into a business opportunities, how he reinvented the whistle and changed modern sports as we know them, and how these whistles gave him an opportunity to visit Buckingham Palace and the International Space Station.

Having officiated Michael Jordan's first college game and the 1976 Olympic Gold Medal Basketball Game, had an audience with her majesty the Queen Elizabeth, invested into the Order of Canada, received an Honorary Doctorate of Laws from McMaster University, was named Citizen of the Year in Hamilton and Burlington, and was a recipient of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, Ron Foxcroft shares with us how these experiences have shaped his mission.

Today, the Fox 40 whistles are used by referees in the NBA, NFL, NHL, NCAA, and more. Seeing the need to upgrade the whistle, we learned more about Ron’’s background in refereeing and how his entrepreneurship spirit helped shape his mission to make the best whistle in sports. He believes that life is full of opportunities if you choose to see them.

Listen to Ron’s episode, and be sure to follow his mission by clicking on the link below.

• Website: https://www.fox40world.com/electronic-whistle

Hannah Mason, Founder of The English Meeting Room, joins us on this week’s episode to talk about her passion in helping people land their dream jobs. In this episode, Hannah discussed with us her story behind her adventurous spirit and how it’s guided her to start her own company and live life by not necessarily always taking the safest route, but taking on all that life’s got and making the most of it.

We learned more about Hannah’s current mission in helping others land careers. In a time of job uncertainty due to covid, Hannah has been able to help so many people find jobs through various strategies she’s created. Some of these she details in the episode like how to handle rejection from employers, how to market yourself with employers, and more. 

Hannah also shared with us that she wants to be remembered by instilling hope in others. On this point, she mentioned, “if I could just bring a little bit of hope to people with tools to help them feel like they can do this, that would be amazing.”

Listen to Hannah’s episode, and be sure to follow her mission by clicking on the links below.

• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hannahmariemason/
• Youtube: The English Meeting Room 
• Website: theenglishmeetingroom.com

Howard Kelsey, former Executive Vice President of Canada Basketball and prior Olympian, joins us on this week’s episode to talk about leadership, stepping outside of cultural norms, and his history on the court alongside some of the greatest to ever play the game. In this episode, Howard discussed with us the fascinating history of Canadian basketball and how he learned that hard work, relentless dedication to flawless fundamentals, and resilience pay off in the long run.

During his career, Howard was one of the top players to represent Canada internationally. The two-time Canadian Olympian (1980, 1984) is also one of two native British Columbian basketball players to represent Canada in two Olympic Games. He also competed against some of the biggest names in basketball including Charles Barkley, Karl Malone, Isiah Thomas, and Michael Jordan. 

After retiring from basketball, he discussed with us what it was like to work behind the scenes when he began his mission to create a culture around Canada basketball. In this time, he shared with us how he met Steve Nash as a high school student and saw him grow up.

We learned more about Howard’s background in Canadian Basketball, and how this has helped shape his mission of establishing the Alumni Association to cement Canada in its rightful place within basketball.

Listen to Howard’s episode, and be sure to follow his mission by clicking on the links below.

• Website: www.nbtaa.com

Founder and CEO of Baseline Growth Capital, and author of Crux Matters Joel Gheen joins us to talk about faith and fear.

While in the Air Force Academy, Joel realized that the person who isn’t afraid is the person who is actually in charge of the system. Yet, those who are afraid will compromise for the fearless.

He brings a sense of logic to all aspects of his life and we cover a slew of topics  – as Joel enjoys many hobbies and the meaning under each of them.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joelgheen/

#wearethephoenix