Ben and I open up a conversation around presence — not as a concept, but as a lived experience. We talk about authenticity, emotional transformation, and the courage it takes to face yourself right where you are. It’s an honest, grounded exploration of what happens when you stop running from your feelings and start allowing them to guide you.

About Ben Welch:

After living restricted and conditioned by the fundamentalist religious beliefs of his upbringing, Ben at 30 took a machete to his childhood conditioning, instead cutting his own path and navigating life in many ways that coincide with this book - seeking out his hidden potential by all means necessary. 

With several careers spanning over different industries from building and construction to sales, personal training and transformational coaching, he has developed a personal and professional focus on observing and renovating life beginning with the foundation and having a construction-like principle based approach to observing one’s self, being open to the cracks that affect one’s emotional, psychological, spiritual and material experiences of life which clearly point to the truth of who we are.  

Then newly constructing a life on purpose as the human one is committed to being. 

A father of 5 children between 13- 21, and husband to beautiful Melissa for 24 years, Ben has carried out this process amongst the joys and challenges of marriage, the loss of a child and child rearing, overcoming grief and depression and instead choosing commitment to a place of living with patience in the discovery of who he is for himself and, in turn, others. 

Ben loves to support others in this process and lives with passion and wonder for the stories of how the world opens up for all humans when they choose to live actively in the arena of life, bringing courage and vulnerability with strength and power to life. He loves to watch their expansion with joy, honor and respect, and see the renovation potential we all are advance from fear and lack into service and success.

BEING with Cari on The Ultimate Coach Podcast: Join Emma and myself for a heartfelt conversation about the beauty and challenge of simply being. Through stories of nursing, motherhood, healing, and personal growth, we explore how authenticity and love transform the way we experience ourselves — and one another.

This conversation invites you to reflect on self-awareness, connection, and the courage it takes to live and love with openness and truth.

BEING with Cari on The Ultimate Coach Podcast

Join me and Tony as we explore what it means to live with authenticity — not as an ideal, but as a daily practice.

In this episode, we uncover:

• How to consciously choose your “being” in every situation
• The connection between gratitude, growth, and joy
• Why kindness and awareness can transform even small moments
• How to align truth, fulfillment, and action

Tony’s Bio: 

 Tony Schmaltz is a powerhouse speaker, leadership coach, and performance expert who helps entrepreneurs, founders, and corporate leaders eliminate confusion, elevate communication, and lead with unshakable clarity. With a style that blends no-BS truth with grounded wisdom and engaging humor, Tony brings real results and big breakthroughs.  

In this episode, Cari and Martine explore one of life’s most important questions — “What do you truly want?”

Martine shares her personal experience of realizing how much of her life had been shaped by external expectations and societal “shoulds,” rather than her own authentic desires. Through that process, she discovered the power of listening inward, honoring genuine hunger, and following what feels deeply alive.

Together, Cari and Martine dive into:

• The difference between external validation and authentic fulfillment
• How trauma can make it difficult to recognize or trust your own desires
• Ways to support clients in reconnecting with their true wants and needs
• The anxiety that often surfaces when exploring authenticity
• The balance between enthusiasm and suffering when pursuing passion
• The role of coaching and presence in helping others rediscover their worth

This conversation invites listeners to pause, reflect, and reconnect with what’s real — beyond expectations, beyond fear, and beyond the need for approval.

Available in The Ultimate Coach Facebook group, on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and other major platforms.

Martine’s Bio: 

Martine Cannon is a globally recognized strategist in culture transformation and executive leadership, known for guiding CEOs and top teams through seismic change with precision, depth, and a deeply human approach. For over two decades, she has helped some of the world’s most complex organizations evolve their leadership, performance, and culture to meet the demands of a fast-changing world.

Martine’s work centers on the principle of coherence: inner coherence within leaders, interpersonal coherence in and across teams and cultural coherence – which brings order and energy at scale. She enables leadership teams to go beyond leading change to transmitting it.

In this episode, Cari sits down with Kellen to explore how the choices we make with our attention, focus, and love shape our experiences, relationships, and personal growth. They discuss how attention can be a deliberate act of service, introduce the “notice and choose” framework for perspective and self-awareness, and share practical ways to bring grace into daily life. Filled with personal stories and actionable insights, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on how small shifts in focus can create meaningful change.

Yourultimatelife.ca https://www.kellanfluckiger.com/

About the guest

Kellan Fluckiger is a globally recognized transformation coach, speaker, and author with over 30 years of experience in leadership, personal development, and coaching. He has transformed countless lives through his powerful methods and deep commitment to personal growth. Kellan's journey from corporate executive to high-performance coach and mentor has given him unique insights into what it takes to create lasting change. His mission is to help people break through barriers, eliminate self-doubt, and step into their divine purpose. Whether you are an entrepreneur, coach, or leader, Kellan's transformative approach will empower you to achieve more than you ever thought possible.

What’s the difference between an athlete and a champion? For Seth Pepper, it came down to mastering his mind as much as his body.

This episode of Being with Cari is packed with powerful insights:

•  How visualization fueled a national championship win
•  Why confidence and calm can outpace raw talent
•  The unexpected emotion that came with victory — and what it taught him about life

This isn’t just a story about swimming — it’s about creating the future you want to live in.

About Seth Pepper

Seth Pepper is a high-performance mental coach who helps elite performers master their mindset in the most high-stakes environments — from pro sports to the business world. A former NCAA Champion and #1 world-ranked swimmer, Seth reverse-engineered his own success starting at age 14 with no prior experience… to heart-breakingly (alternate to) making the U.S. Olympic Team within just a few years.

Today, he coaches world champions, record holders, and professional athletes across the Olympics, FIFA, Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, ATP, PGA, LPGA Tour — as well as elite entrepreneurs and creatives. His clients perform at the highest levels, where pressure is relentless and mindset is the competitive edge.

Seth’s work focuses on Manifesting Results. His life-long obsession has been to Unlimit Your Potential.”

In this powerful conversation, Dr. Jeff Mars returns to The Ultimate Coach Podcast to explore how belief, commitment, and co-creation are reshaping medicine. From the surprising power of the placebo effect to surgical teams declaring their intention to create the “most incredible surgery experience in the universe,” Jeff shares how mindset and energy transform outcomes for patients and providers alike.

The conversation explores:

• Why patient belief is often the missing key in healing
• How a commitment-based approach in surgery creates new possibilities
• Shifting from fear-based to confidence-based medicine
• The role of co-creation in expanding what’s possible for health and healing
• The story behind Jeff’s new podcast launching with Corey Anderson

Jeff’s perspective goes far beyond traditional medical models. His insights reveal what becomes possible when doctors, patients, and teams choose to operate from belief, creativity, and commitment rather than fear and limitation.

Episode 94

In this final episode of The Ultimate Coach Podcast, Ipek Williamson sits down with creator, coach, and entrepreneur Rob Cressy for a high-energy, deeply inspiring conversation about possibility, creativity, and how to live fully by design.

Rob shares his journey from corporate burnout to becoming a purpose-driven leader known for radiating positivity and innovation. He opens up about the mindset shifts that changed everything—starting with a commitment to personal growth, adopting a “limitation elimination” perspective, and embracing AI as a powerful tool for intentional living.

The conversation explores:

• What it means to live by design, not by default
• How to build a mindset rooted in creativity, not fear
• Using AI as a soul-aligned assistant to amplify your voice and impact
• The story behind Rob’s life-changing interaction with Steve Hardison—and how it led to his unexpected invitation to The Ultimate Experience

Rob’s energy is contagious, his insights are practical, and his commitment to growth is unwavering. Whether you're a coach, creator, or simply someone who wants to make the most of this era of rapid change, this episode will expand your sense of what’s possible.

This is more than a conversation—it’s a sendoff. And a beginning.

About the Guest: 

Rob Cressy is an AI Coach for High-Performing Leaders, helping them use AI to grow their business and life together. He brings heart and humanity to AI, establishing a new standard for what’s possible. He believes in a Human First approach to AI, where you lead with your identity, vision, and values. Because when you create from the heart, you win.

https://robcressy.ai/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/cressy/

https://www.instagram.com/rob_cressy/

https://www.youtube.com/@unlimitedailab

https://facebook.com/rob.cressy.5/

About the Host: 

A beacon of change and a catalyst for transformation, Ipek Williamson is a multifaceted professional who seamlessly integrates two decades of corporate expertise with a diverse skill set as a coach, mentor, speaker, author, meditation advocate, and teacher. Her mission is to guide individuals through the complexities of modern life, helping them find deep peace and harmony. Ipek's coaching approach, rooted in Core Values, Mental Fitness, and Mind Mastery, empowers clients to unlock their hidden potential and confidently embrace change with joy.

Beyond coaching, Ipek's influence spreads through her 100+ meditations on the Insight Timer App and live meditation sessions, where she shares transformative wisdom. Her impact extends to workshops, courses, and training sessions for individuals, groups, and corporations. As a Change Champion, Ipek Williamson is dedicated to promoting positive change, nurturing inner calm, and empowering others to script their own transformation stories.

[email protected]

https://linktr.ee/IpekWilliamson

https://ipekwilliamsoncoaching.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ipekwilliamson/

The Ultimate Coach Resources



https://theultimatecoachbook.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theultimatecoach

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theultimatecoachbook

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14048056

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUltimateCoachBook

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

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If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcasts review

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. 

What if the real breakthrough in leadership isn’t about learning new skills but unlearning old patterns of performance? In this conversation with host Meredith Bell, Cheryl Martin shares her journey from being a high-achieving consultant to guiding leaders into deeper alignment with their authentic selves. She opens up about the personal experiences that shaped her early leadership and how her own emotional growth sparked the creation of “Emergence,” a leadership program designed to help seasoned professionals reconnect with who they truly are. Together, we explore the difference between showing up as confident versus being confident and how that subtle shift transforms everything.

Through stories of her clients, as well as her own journey, Cheryl illustrates the power of identity work, embodiment, and reflection. She explains how vulnerability and curiosity can create trust and how leaders who feel stuck often need to look beyond strategy to what’s going on beneath the surface. Whether you’re leading a company or coaching others, you’ll be inspired by Cheryl’s honesty and clarity about what it takes to lead from a place of wholeness. This is a powerful reminder that real change starts from within.

About the Guest: 

Cheryl Martin is a strategic change consultant, executive coach, and facilitator who helps leaders and organizations navigate transformation at every level, from enterprise shifts to personal leadership breakthroughs. Cheryl brings over 15 years of experience working at the intersection of business strategy and human development, supporting clients through change that is not only complex and systemic, but deeply human.

She’s worked with organizations of all sizes guiding leaders through executive transitions, cultural evolution, and leadership recalibration. Cheryl brings a rare blend of strategic intelligence, psychological depth, and lived experience to her work — guiding clients beyond external success toward the internal congruence they’ve quietly been craving. At the heart of Cheryl’s work is a belief that real leadership isn’t found in tools or titles, it’s found in presence, identity, and deep alignment. Her work is grounded in the belief that transformation isn’t about pushing change, but making space for what’s already present to surface. 

Her present focus is working with leaders and her signature program, Emergence–Your Leading Edge, a group coaching experience that helps seasoned leaders reorient their leadership around who they’ve actually become, moving from performance-driven patterns to a more aligned, self-trusting presence.  She will also offer the program in retreat form.

Why is the program and the outcomes important now?  Leadership norms are shifting from command and control to connection and congruence. Leaders need more than tools, they need inner capacity and presence to meet complexity. Emergence helps leaders meet this moment for themselves and those they lead. It helps leaders come back to center after years of navigating pressure, expectations and pace. It’s a curated sequence of transformation where insight becomes integration.  

Website: https://www.CherylJMartin.com

LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/cherylmartin10

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/cheryl.martin.716970

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/cheryljmartin009

About the Host: 

Meredith is the Co-founder and President of Grow Strong Leaders. Her company publishes software tools and books that help people build strong relationships at work and at home.

Meredith is an expert in leader and team communications, the author of three books, and the host of the Grow Strong Leaders Podcast. She co-authored her latest books, Connect with Your Team: Mastering the Top 10 Communication Skills, and Peer Coaching Made Simple, with her business partner, Dr. Dennis Coates. In them, Meredith and Denny provide how-to guides for improving communication skills and serving as a peer coach to someone else. 

Meredith is also The Heart-centered Connector. One of her favorite ways of BEING in the world is to introduce people who can benefit from knowing each other. 

https://growstrongleaders.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/meredithmbell

The Ultimate Coach Resources



https://theultimatecoachbook.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theultimatecoach

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theultimatecoachbook

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14048056

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUltimateCoachBook

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcasts review

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts. 

What does it look like when leadership is rooted not in control, but in care? In this episode of The Ultimate Coach Podcast, host Ipek Williamson is joined by Ken Crenshaw, a deeply respected high-performance leader in Major League Baseball whose impact goes far beyond physical training. Ken shares how his leadership journey was shaped by mentors, faith, and a profound calling to serve. His perspective on culture, commitment, and connection is both refreshing and transformational, offering listeners a rare glimpse into the inner workings of someone who leads elite teams through presence, humility, and love.

From discovering the power of being through his work with Steve Hardison to cultivating environments where people feel safe to grow, Ken reveals how servant leadership becomes a way of life. He talks about how asking meaningful questions, truly listening, and staying grounded during high-stakes moments are all expressions of leadership that prioritize people over performance. Whether you're a coach, a parent, a leader, or someone simply seeking to show up more fully, this conversation will stay with you. It's a reminder that the way we lead starts with who we are willing to be.

About the Guest: 

Ken Crenshaw is the Director of Sports Medicine and Performance for the Arizona Diamondbacks, currently in his 21st season with the organization and his eighth in this leadership role. Prior to this, he served as the team’s head athletic trainer for 13 seasons, bringing a wealth of experience and innovation to the field of athlete care and performance. Before joining the D-backs, Ken spent a decade with the Tampa Bay Rays, holding multiple roles from Minor League medical and strength and conditioning coordinator to Major League head athletic trainer. Under his leadership, the Rays’ medical staff was recognized as the 2005 Major League Training Staff of the Year by the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS) and as the 2004 Medical Staff of the Year by Baseball Prospectus.

Ken’s professional journey also includes serving as the strength and conditioning coordinator for the Atlanta Braves from 1992 to 1995, and as an athletic trainer within the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 1989 to 1991. He earned his degree in sports medicine from New Mexico State University and holds certifications from both the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) and the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Ken and his wife, Robyn, are proud parents of three sons: Wacy, Wyatt, and Dustin.

About the Host: 

A beacon of change and a catalyst for transformation, Ipek Williamson is a multifaceted professional who seamlessly integrates two decades of corporate expertise with a diverse skill set as a coach, mentor, speaker, author, meditation advocate, and teacher. Her mission is to guide individuals through the complexities of modern life, helping them find deep peace and harmony. Ipek's coaching approach, rooted in Core Values, Mental Fitness, and Mind Mastery, empowers clients to unlock their hidden potential and confidently embrace change with joy.

Beyond coaching, Ipek's influence spreads through her 100+ meditations on the Insight Timer App and live meditation sessions, where she shares transformative wisdom. Her impact extends to workshops, courses, and training sessions for individuals, groups, and corporations. As a Change Champion, Ipek Williamson is dedicated to promoting positive change, nurturing inner calm, and empowering others to script their own transformation stories.

[email protected]

https://linktr.ee/IpekWilliamson

https://ipekwilliamsoncoaching.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ipekwilliamson/

The Ultimate Coach Resources



https://theultimatecoachbook.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/theultimatecoach

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theultimatecoachbook

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/14048056

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheUltimateCoachBook

Thanks for listening!

Thanks so much for listening to our podcast! If you enjoyed this episode and think that others could benefit from listening, please share it using the social media buttons on this page.

Do you have some feedback or questions about this episode? Leave a comment in the section below!

Subscribe to the podcast

If you would like to get automatic updates of new podcast episodes, you can subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts or Stitcher. You can also subscribe in your favorite podcast app.

Leave us an Apple Podcasts review

Ratings and reviews from our listeners are extremely valuable to us and greatly appreciated. They help our podcast rank higher on Apple Podcasts, which exposes our show to more awesome listeners like you. If you have a minute, please leave an honest review on Apple Podcasts.