The Story Engine Podcast

What happens when you're a nurse who deeply cares about helping people, but you realize the healthcare system doesn't always give you the freedom—or the options—to provide the kind of care you believe people deserve? In this episode of The Story Engine Podcast, I sit down with Ashley Yardley, founder of Advanced Mobile IV, to unpack the personal experiences that pushed her to build a completely different model of healthcare. We talk about how her background in home health and hospice led her to see the power of bringing care directly into people's homes and communities, and how that eventually became a mobile IV franchise built around nurses, technology, flexibility, and personalized care.

But Ashley's story goes much deeper than building a healthcare business. She shares the devastating experience of watching her father-in-law improve dramatically during cancer treatment, only to see his treatment options change after an insurance decision—and the profound realization that followed. That experience helped Ashley understand that she wanted to create more options for patients while also giving nurses a way to build businesses, control their schedules, and have a greater impact on their communities. We also explore the software and systems behind her franchise, the vision of empowering nurses to become entrepreneurs, and the moment I reflected Ashley's own story back to her in a way she had never heard before. This conversation is ultimately about turning painful experiences into purpose—and building something that gives people more freedom, more options, and more control over their own lives.

(01:29) – Why Ashley believes healthcare works better when care happens in someone's natural environment—and how that insight became "nurses on wheels."

(03:37) – The surprising reason so many people seek IV therapy, from dehydration and travel to athletes and unexpected moments when they need support quickly.

(05:26) – What makes someone an ideal Advanced Mobile IV franchisee—and why Ashley looks for people who want to invest in their health, future, and community.

(06:26) – Why being a great nurse doesn't automatically make someone a great business owner, and the business mindset Ashley believes franchisees need.

(08:20) – How Ashley built proprietary software and an EMR to help her franchisees respond quickly, manage nurses, track inventory, and scale.

(09:20) – The business model behind mobile IV: rapid service, recurring subscriptions, community relationships, and the potential for additional revenue streams.

(10:59) – The transformation Ashley is most proud of: giving nurses more freedom while helping them build careers that allow them to spend more time with their families.

(12:42) – The moment Ashley realized the traditional hospital environment was no longer the right fit—and why she wanted to fill the gaps she had seen firsthand.

(13:43) – The painful experience that changed Ashley's perspective on healthcare, insurance, and the role that financial decisions can play in patient care.

(15:42) – What happened when Ashley's father-in-law's cancer treatment was working, but an insurance decision made the treatment financially inaccessible.

(17:51) – Ashley's philosophy on going back to the basics of health and giving the body the foundation it needs to fight and recover.

(19:12) – The powerful story of Ashley's son after brain surgery—and the moment he asked to receive an IV because he knew he needed one.

(19:36) – Ashley's vision for the future: empowering nurses to build their own clientele, choose their schedules, and get paid what they deserve.

(20:47) – How painful experiences can become lessons, and why Ashley believes something that feels like the worst moment may ultimately be protecting or teaching you.

(26:44) – I retell Ashley's story back to her—and she hears the deeper meaning of her journey in a way she never had before.

(27:39) – Why hearing your own story from someone else can be more empowering than telling it yourself—and how a new perspective can help us move faster.

(28:25) – Ashley's closing message: trust yourself, seek second and third opinions, and remember that you may have more options than you realize.

(29:30) – Where to learn more about Ashley, Advanced Mobile IV, and opportunities for nurses to get involved.

In this episode of The Story Engine Podcast, I sit down with brain health and dementia expert Eric Collett to explore a question I think a lot of us would rather avoid: What if the problems we experience in our brain, energy, focus, and mental health today are warning signs of something deeper? Eric explains why conditions like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's can begin developing decades before obvious symptoms appear, and why things like brain fog, low energy, declining productivity, gut health issues, and memory changes deserve more attention than we often give them. We also unpack Eric's powerful "hardware vs. software" analogy: sometimes we keep trying to learn more, work harder, or become more productive when the real problem is that our underlying biology needs attention.

What makes this conversation especially powerful is Eric's personal story. After 16 years working in assisted living and memory care, he reached a breaking point when he had to leave his family's evening plans to return to work with a dying resident. That night, he looked in the mirror and realized he was overweight, exhausted, brain foggy, chronically stressed, and ignoring the warning lights in his own life. Within days, he decided to leave his career and build what became A Mind for All Seasons. We talk about his four-part process—measure, learn, apply, and adjust—and why information alone isn't enough to change your health. Ultimately, this episode is about taking care of your brain before you desperately need to, recognizing that common doesn't always mean normal, and taking the next right step toward having the energy, clarity, and capacity to live the life you actually want.

What if the thing we spend our lives avoiding—death—could actually become one of the most powerful tools for creating a more meaningful life? In this episode of The Story Engine Podcast, I sit down with behavioral change expert and bestselling author Karen Salmansohn to explore why so many ambitious, high-achieving people resist self-help, stay trapped in "beast mode," and keep telling themselves they'll finally live the life they want someday. Karen shares her philosophy of moving from the "den of pleasure" into the "laboratory of growth," embracing emotional diversity, and focusing less on success, money, and productivity and more on becoming the person you actually want to be.

We also go deep into Karen's personal story. After her father's death forced her to confront how much of her own life she had been postponing, she wrote his eulogy—and then wrote one for herself. That exercise became a blueprint for the life she wanted to live. We explore how mortality awareness can create urgency, how identity-based habits can change behavior, why your core values can become the "puppet master" of your habits, and how a single message her father left behind—"Everything that is not given is lost"—continues to shape the work she does today. This is a conversation about death, but ultimately, it's about learning how to live with more courage, intention, meaning, and purpose.

Most people who want to write a book are thinking about the book. What they don't see coming is what the process does to them.

Steven Heumann spent 15 years as a television writer and director before founding Superhuman Creative, a ghostwriting and publishing company that helps leaders tell their stories. In this conversation, we talk about the difference between leading with principles and leading with your story, what it actually means to reach a moment of authenticity (it's not a mindset shift, it's an identity shift), and why the clients who go through his process often describe it as four months of therapy with a book at the end. Steven also shares his own turning point: lying in a bunk bed in a Montana RV, in the middle of a shoot, quietly deciding to walk away from everything he'd built and start over. That one private moment changed what Fridays look like for him today.

Rae Irelan was home alone, leg in a cast, a two-year-old running around, and a mattress on the living room floor because she couldn't climb stairs. Then the landlord called. Sixty days to move out.

Most people would have collapsed. Rae and her husband Sammy sold almost everything they owned, hit the road, and used the chaos to finally go all-in on what they had been studying for months: using AI to take back the hours that were quietly draining founders dry.

In this episode, Rae shares the real breaking point behind her shift, how she and Sammy built a system to audit where time actually goes (the numbers shock every single client), and what it looked like when the systems started working while they were homeschooling their son on a beach in Puerto Rico. She also shares the story of a trucking family with seven kids who got 40 hours a month back each, launched a new six-figure revenue stream, and then opened their home to foster kids. This is what happens when your business stops running you.

Chandler Bolt dropped out of college with a C in English, ADHD, and about three months of runway in the bank. He borrowed his parents' retirement savings to buy out his business partner at Self Publishing School, then paid every dollar back in 11 months. Over the last 12 years, his company has helped publish more than 7,000 books.

In this episode, Chandler gets honest about what it means to lead through a genuinely hard season: flat growth years, SEO traffic down 70%, and an industry being disrupted by AI hype that he thinks is badly outpacing AI capability. He shares the framework he calls the "wartime CEO," why he still drives the same Nissan Altima from high school (250,000 miles and counting), and what Self Publishing School does completely differently from everyone else in the space.

Chris Miles calls himself the anti-financial advisor. Not because financial advisors are bad people. Because he was one, and it nearly ruined him twice.

In 2007 he had it all figured out. Debt free basement finished, growing equity, a Mercedes in the driveway. He went to the bank to cash out on his home's equity and they kept moving the goalposts. Get your credit score up two points. Now do X, Y, Z. By September they told him the truth. No more cash out refinances for business owners. The equity he built his whole plan around was trapped.

Within two years he lost the house, the car, and nearly everything he thought defined him. He tells the story of standing at his door mid argument with his wife, slamming it, driving off, and somehow knowing something was about to shift. Two months later it did.

Here's the part that stuck with me. Chris says he didn't actually feel wealthy until the money was gone. That's when he found out what was actually his.

Full conversation is on the podcast. Worth your drive time this week.

On this episode of The Story Engine Podcast I sit down with Andrew Quebbemann, and we discuss something on the podcast that I haven't stopped thinking about.

"People only think other people die."

Not morbid. Just true. You know people get sick, but it's someone else. You know people get laid off, but not you. You're a safe driver, you eat healthy, you got your shots. So the plan gets pushed to twelve on the top ten list. Every year.

Andrew had a client call him at 58 and say he wanted to retire in two years. Andrew ran the numbers. Second meeting, he had to say it straight: the math doesn't work. Not because the guy didn't have money. Because nobody had mapped where he was actually headed until it was almost too late.

Time is the one thing you can't buy back once it's gone. That's the whole episode.

What happens when you've built the career, earned the title, achieved the success—and still feel disconnected from yourself? In this deeply honest conversation, I sit down with Justin Ricklefs, founder of Guild Collective and author of *Give a Damn*, to explore the hidden cost of achievement-driven leadership. Justin shares the personal journey that transformed his life—from sitting alone in a Target parking lot while working what many would consider a dream job, to building a human-centered company rooted in purpose, presence, and genuine connection. Together, we unpack why so many leaders reach a point where hustle, control, and performance stop working—and what happens when you're forced to confront the deeper fears, identities, and stories driving your success. Justin reveals how burnout, numbness, strained relationships, and constant striving are often symptoms of something much deeper, and why the path forward isn't found in another productivity hack, marketing strategy, or business book. If you've ever felt trapped by the very success you've created, this episode offers a powerful reminder: your value is not determined by what you do. It's determined by who you are. And when leaders learn to lead from that place, they create healthier teams, stronger cultures, more meaningful businesses, and ultimately a more fulfilling life.

Scott Richmond was lying on a hotel bathroom floor in Atlanta, the day after his birthday, on the phone with his mom. He'd already spent thirteen days in two hospitals that month. He'd lost 42 pounds. His mom was telling him they couldn't afford this anymore. He needed to come home.

He didn't go home. He stayed anchored to one thing: his five year old daughter back in Iowa. That's what kept him fighting through a year that included being told, by the best pulmonary hospital in the country, that they simply didn't have an answer for him.

Here's what Scott told me on this episode of Story Engine. Almost nobody who comes to him needs more information. They've already Googled everything, tried every protocol, seen twenty or thirty practitioners. What they're actually missing is one thing, the piece that makes all the other pieces finally connect. And more often than not, that piece isn't physical at all.

If you've ever felt like you're doing everything right and still stuck, this conversation is for you.