The Uncommon Minds Experience

This conversation is for anyone who's ever felt pressured to adopt the latest technology—just because everyone else is.

Shubhangi Das is a Product Manager at ASOS in the UK, previously building data, growth, and AI products at Purplle in India . At Purplle, she was part of a team that used data-driven insights and AI to help transform the company from near-bankruptcy to a ₹1,367 crore success story—using AI to track beauty trends, analyze behavior, and optimize operations long before it became fashionable .

She's worked on everything from pricing and experimentation to supply chain and compliance products used at global scale . Her experience spans startups and large organizations, giving her a rare perspective on what actually works—and what's just noise.

In this episode, we explore:

🧠 Why Independent Thinking Matters More Than AI Skills – Shubhangi explains why the ability to think independently is becoming the most valuable skill in an AI-driven world, and why most people underestimate it.

🔄 The FOMO Trap in Business – She shares how fear of missing out drives bad product decisions and why the real competitive advantage is knowing when not to move.

🎯 First-Principles Thinking – She explains why starting with "What problem are we trying to solve?" matters more than starting with "What technology do we have?"

📊 Data Doesn't Think For Us – Shubhangi challenges the assumption that more data means better decisions, explaining why human judgment matters more than ever.

🛠️ What Actually Makes a Good Product – She shares lessons from building products across pricing, experimentation, supply chain, and AI, and what separates successful products from failures.

What Listeners Gain:

· A clear framework for independent thinking in an AI-obsessed world

· Practical strategies for resisting FOMO and focusing on what matters

· The insight that data tells you what happened—not what to do about it

· A roadmap for making better product decisions

· The reminder that the most valuable skill isn't using AI—it's knowing when not to

This isn't motivation. It's methodology.

Connect with Shubhangi Das

🔗 LinkedIn: Shubhangi Das

🌐 Website: [Available through LinkedIn]

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About The Uncommon Minds Experience

I'm your host. Real conversations with people who refuse to accept broken systems. No hype. No fluff. Just methodology.

🔔 Follow and rate the show

This conversation is for anyone who's ever wondered how to build a creative career that actually lasts—and how to turn passion into a sustainable business.

Stewart Cohen knows this terrain intimately. Born in an elevator during a snowstorm in Montreal to an architect dad and an actress mom, he's been on the move ever since . He studied at UT Austin and USC Film School, and one of his first jobs was assisting legendary photographer Helmut Newton—an experience that taught him about craft, vision, and trusting your eye.

Today, he runs SC Pictures, a boutique production company that has created campaigns for American Airlines, AT&T, Coca-Cola, Four Seasons, and Frito-Lay . He has also become an increasingly influential player in the media licensing arena, beginning with his purchase of SuperStock in 2019, followed by acquisitions of All Canada Photos, Classic Stock, View Pictures in the UK, and Danita Delimont Stock Photography in Seattle .

His philosophy is simple: frame life in its best light . He describes himself as "the guy who's always willing to take a creative risk" while being "known as a safe bet" . And his work consistently proves that authenticity and joy are not just nice to have—they're the foundation of lasting impact .

In this episode, we explore:

📸 The Helmut Newton Apprenticeship – Stewart shares what it was like assisting one of photography's most legendary figures and how those early lessons shaped his entire career.

🌍 Traveling the World with Purpose – From swimming with sharks in the Galapagos to directing a tongue-in-cheek musical in Mansfield, Texas, Stewart explains why seizing the moment to celebrate life is the throughline of his work .

🏢 Building a Business That Lasts – He discusses how he built SC Pictures into a thriving production company, the importance of client retention over chasing new leads, and why "a happy client is your best salesperson" .

💼 Acquiring SuperStock and Beyond – He shares the story behind his media licensing acquisitions and why he saw an opportunity when others didn't.

🤖 The Future of Creative Work – Stewart offers a grounded perspective on AI, virtual production, and what happens when technology removes the middle .

What Listeners Gain:

· A new understanding of how to build credibility in a noisy digital world

· Practical insights on balancing creative passion with business sustainability

· The reminder that "do what you love" is not a cliché—it's a strategy

· A masterclass in client relationships and organic word-of-mouth marketing

· The philosophy that framing life in its best light is not just about photography—it's about life itself

This isn't motivation. It's methodology.

Connect with Stewart Cohen

🌐 Website: stewartcohen.com

📺 YouTube: @StewartCohenPictures

📱 Instagram: @scpictures

🔗 LinkedIn: Stewart Cohen

📘 Facebook: Stewart Cohen Pictures

📖 Books: Identity (portrait monograph), Seeing Red

📷 Stock: superstock.com

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About The Uncommon Minds Experience

I'm your host. Real conversations with people who refuse to accept broken systems. No hype. No fluff. Just methodology.

🔔 Follow and rate the show

This conversation is for parents who've ever found themselves repeating words their parents spoke—and wondered how to break the cycle.

Dr. David Marcus knows this terrain intimately. With over 40 years of experience as a clinical psychologist treating families under stress, he has witnessed the profound impact of intergenerational patterns on family life and child development . He has become a sought-after clinical and legal resource in the Cincinnati area on parent-child communication and child advocacy.

His core insight is simple but powerful: most of us parent the way we were parented. But in today's world—with social media, financial stress, two-income households, and the constant pull of technology—the old techniques no longer apply.

In this episode, we explore:

🧠 Parenting Is Inherited – Dr. Marcus explains why most parents communicate with their children the same way they were communicated with, and why breaking that cycle requires intentionality.

🛡️ Becoming a Soothing Presence – He introduces the concept of being a "Soothing Presence"—someone who can sit with a child's discomfort without needing to fix it or make it go away.

💬 Developing a Common Emotional Language – He shares step-by-step strategies for developing an effective emotional language between parents and children, tailored for different stages of child development.

🔄 The "Empty-Out" Process – Dr. Marcus explains how parents can help children tolerate intense emotions by allowing them to "empty out" their feelings in a safe environment.

⚖️ Discipline vs. Punishment – He makes a critical distinction between discipline and punishment, explaining how children can learn from their experiences and gain wisdom.

💔 The Impact of High-Conflict Parents – He discusses the emotional impact of divorce, high-conflict parenting, co-parenting, and parent alienation on children.

What Listeners Gain:

· A new understanding of how parenting patterns are inherited

· Practical tools for becoming a Soothing Presence for your child

· Strategies for developing a common emotional language

· The distinction between discipline and punishment

· Tools for navigating high-conflict situations

· The reminder that parenting isn't about perfection—it's about presence

This isn't motivation. It's methodology.

Connect with Dr. David Marcus

🌐 Website: parentrx.org

📧 Email: [email protected]

📞 Phone: (513) 470-5575

🔗 LinkedIn: Dr. David Marcus

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About The Uncommon Minds Experience

I'm your host. Real conversations with people who refuse to accept broken systems. No hype. No fluff. Just methodology.

🔔 Follow and rate the show

This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt like they're running through life without actually living it—and wondered how to wake up.

Tobi Ojekunle knows this terrain intimately. Born and raised in Ibadan, Nigeria, he moved to Germany alone as a student, carrying the weight of his family's hopes while navigating a new country, a new culture, and the pressure to succeed . For years, he was in survival mode—the rational response to real pressure, financial responsibility, and academic expectations . Then came a quiet moment on a train when he realized he had been running through life without truly living it .

That moment marked the beginning of his awakening—a shift from autopilot to awareness, from surviving to seeing . Today, he works as an engineer in the renewable energy industry and hosts Mirror Talk: Soulful Conversations, a podcast for deeper truth, inner healing, and purposeful growth .

In this episode, we explore:

🧠 The Autopilot Trap – Tobi explains why survival mode is not laziness, but a protective response to pressure. He shares what it actually felt like to live on autopilot and the moment he realized he needed to wake up .

🪞 The Awakening – He describes what it felt like to stop comparing himself to others and let go of external standards, discovering that awakening was not about becoming someone new—it was about seeing who he already was .

⏸️ The Power of Pause – Tobi discusses why slowing down to reconnect with yourself is essential for growth, and why deep conversations can shape the way we grow .

🔄 Redefining Success – He explores the quiet pressure to constantly achieve and how to find meaning beyond external success .

🛤️ Purpose and Reflection – He shares why pausing, reflecting, and asking "What happened to us?" can lead to more conscious, intentional decisions .

What Listeners Gain:

· A new understanding of what it feels like to wake up from autopilot

· Practical tools for shifting from surviving to seeing

· The insight that failure is not failure if you learn from it

· The reminder that the right conversation at the right moment can change how we see our lives

· Permission to pause, reflect, and live more intentionally

This isn't motivation. It's methodology.

Connect with Tobi Ojekunle

🌐 Website: mirrortalkpodcast.com

🎙️ Podcast: Mirror Talk: Soulful Conversations (498+ episodes)

📱 Social: Instagram, YouTube, LinkedIn, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter/X, Pinterest

📖 Book: Confessions (Available at mirrortalkpodcast.com)

This conversation is for anyone who's ever walked through a heat-baked city and wondered: why isn't anyone doing something about this?

Joshua Harrison knows this question intimately. As co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Leaf Island, he's spent over three decades working at the intersection of art, ecology, and systems strategy . His work focuses on transforming cities into functioning ecosystems using modular, scalable green infrastructure technologies.

The urgency is real. Extreme heat now kills more Americans than any other weather event—more than floods, fires, or hurricanes—and this toll is rising as climate impacts compound. Germany recorded 14,000 heat-related deaths in a single summer, with 9,600 deaths occurring during one week alone . Over 80% of the U.S. population lives in cities, and cities are getting hotter, more polluted, and more inequitable.

But Harrison offers a different vision: we don't need to rebuild cities from scratch. We can retrofit them with systems that work like—and with—nature.

In this episode, we explore:

🌿 The Leaf Island Effect – Harrison explains how replicating the leafy surface area of pre-existing landscapes on rooftops, walls, and streets can reproduce the same climate conditions that existed before cities were built.

🔄 Turning Waste Into Climate Tech – Leaf Island uses GaiaSoil™, an ultra-lightweight growing medium made from recycled Styrofoam . Harrison explains how they turned one of the world's most problematic waste products—polystyrene, which is about 95% air and a recycler's nightmare —into a high-performance soil system that holds twice its weight in water.

🧊 The Thermodynamics of Green Roofs – He explains how plants cool cities through evapotranspiration, how green roofs reduce heat, capture carbon, cut energy bills, and extend infrastructure lifespan.

🏙️ Cities as Living Systems – Harrison shares his vision for "restoring the metabolism of cities" and why he compares Leaf Island's modular approach to "an IKEA flatpack for nature."

What Listeners Gain:

· A clear understanding of how nature-based design can reverse the climate crisis

· Real examples of how green roofs, walls, and modular plant systems are hard-working infrastructure with measurable ROI

· A new lens for how cities can regenerate, not just sustain

· The insight that climate tech can be elegant, practical, and even joyful

This isn't motivation. It's methodology.

Connect with Joshua Harrison

🌐 Website: leafisland.org

🔗 LinkedIn: Joshua Harrison

🏛️ Center for the Study of the Force Majeure: UC Santa Cruz

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About The Uncommon Minds Experience

I'm your host. Real conversations with people who refuse to accept broken systems. No hype. No fluff. Just methodology.

🔔 Follow and rate the show

This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt like giving up—and needs to be reminded that it's always too soon to quit.

Jay Setchell knows this truth intimately. A 76-year-old Marine Corps veteran and serial entrepreneur, he has survived multiple near-death experiences, endured over 70 surgeries—including 15 back surgeries—and currently navigates life from a power wheelchair . Yet instead of quietly retiring, he has built multiple eight-figure companies and is actively raising eight-year-old twin grandchildren alongside his wife .

His story reads like an unbelievable Hollywood script. From a devastating 1969 car crash where he was trapped in a burning vehicle and clinically died on the operating table , to being hit head-on by a drunk driver just four years later, to a fateful Fourth of July in 1981 when a jump into a swimming pool resulted in a broken neck and a drowning experience that sent him into a terrifying vortex before being pulled back to life .

He also battled MRSA with a 20% survival rate and a five-month fight against COVID-19 . Yet he continuously chose to rise.

In this episode, we explore:

💪 The Foundation: Farm, Faith, and the Marine Corps – Jay traces his resilience back to his childhood on a working farm in Northern Illinois, where he learned the profound responsibility of the seasons and the ultimate life lesson: "If it is to be, it is up to me" . That work ethic seamlessly transitioned into his service in the Marine Corps, preparing him for battles he never saw coming.

🔄 Multiple Near-Death Experiences – Jay shares the harrowing details of the accidents that altered his life forever, including clinically dying on the operating table and being pulled back to life.

🧠 The Power of Staying Busy – He explains why keeping your hands and mind occupied is the greatest antidote to chronic pain and frustration . While spending eight months in traction in a naval hospital, he took his own blood pressure, gave himself his own shots, and trimmed the dead skin off his own burns .

🏢 Entrepreneurship Through Adversity – Jay discusses how he maintained three businesses at a time, viewing challenges through the lens of a corporate problem-solver, and why building custom homes taught him the joy of details.

📖 The Strength Within You – He introduces his book, a deeply personal journey through his childhood on a family farm, his service in the Marine Corps, and the unimaginable physical and emotional hardships he faced after horrific accidents .

What Listeners Gain:

· The understanding that inner strength is built through choice and responsibility

· Practical tools for developing resilience and grit

· The reminder that it's never too soon to quit—and that quitting is a decision, not a verdict

· Insight into how to stay mentally engaged through physical hardship

· The belief that what you are today is a matter of choices and decisions you have made and continue to make

This isn't motivation. It's methodology.

Connect with Jay Setchell

🌐 Website: neverquittrying.com

📖 Book: The Strength Within You: It's Always Too Soon to Quit! (Audiobook available on Libro.fm)

📧 Email: Available through website

🔗 LinkedIn: Jay Setchell

This conversation is for anyone who has ever named their symptoms one by one—the phone, the late-night scrolling, the drink that was supposed to be the last—and sensed the problem runs deeper than any single habit .

Justin L. Shaw knows this terrain intimately. former stand-up comedian, he battled substance abuse, PTSD, depression, and anxiety disorders for years before experiencing a "mind-bending moment of blissful awakening" that changed everything . He emerged from what he calls "spiritual bankruptcy" with a new mission: to help others heal their injured souls .

Describing himself as "a little bit Deepak and a little bit Tupac with a sharp comedic edge" , Shaw challenges the status quo and empowers people to wake up, unplug, and live their truth. He is the author of Sourcery 101: 13 Rungs to a Higher Elevation of Consciousness—a system designed for sourcing a spiritual revolution .

In this episode, we explore:

🔄 Spiritual Bankruptcy – Shaw explains why addictions to phones, food, shopping, and even success can be just as destructive as drugs and alcohol, and why they all branch from the same root cause .

🧠 The Difference Between "Big T" and "Little t" Trauma – He shares how trauma shapes our responses and why we often react to life from programming that no longer serves us .

📖 The 13 Rungs of Sourcery – He introduces his step-by-step system for healing, starting with "Shadow Work"—learning the difference between responding and reacting .

⚡ Emotional Alchemy – He explains how clearing lingering energy from old traumas can boost self-confidence and create an overall sense of worthiness .

🎭 From Comedy to Healing – He shares his journey from stand-up comedian to "mystical comedian" and "hope dealer" .

What Listeners Gain:

· A new understanding of spiritual bankruptcy as the root of modern suffering

· Practical tools for shadow work and emotional alchemy

· The insight that "knowledge comes from books, but wisdom is sourced"

· Permission to question, laugh, and heal at the same time

· The reminder that becoming a Sourcerer is less about finding yourself and more about creating yourself

This isn't motivation. It's methodology.Connect with Justin L. Shaw

📖 Book: Sourcery 101: 13 Rungs to a Higher Elevation of Consciousness (Available on Amazon, Kindle, Audible, and Barnes & Noble)

🌐 Website: awakenthesourcerer.com

📱 Instagram: @sourcerer_thirteen

📧 Email: [email protected] (Justin will gladly send a PDF if you cannot afford the book)

This conversation is for high performers who treat sleep deprivation as a badge of honor—and wonder why their cognitive resilience, emotional regulation, and decision-making are suffering.

Dr. Melissa Milanak is a licensed clinical psychologist, executive consultant, keynote speaker, and the founder of MIND Impact Consulting . She has delivered over 100 keynote talks per year and recently gave a TEDx talk entitled "Sleep: NOT the impossible dream" . Her upcoming book, Sleep for Success, provides actionable, evidence-based tools to transform sleep from a luxury into foundational performance infrastructure .

She advises corporate leaders, professional sports teams, first responders, and high achievers on managing anxiety, preventing burnout, and optimizing performance through restorative sleep . Her research has been published in top journals, including Sleep and the Journal of Sleep Research, and is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health .

In this episode, we explore:

🔥 The "Badge of Honor" Trap – Dr. Melissa explains how chronic sleep debt creates invisible cognitive and emotional fractures, and why mistaking exhaustion for productivity is a dangerous myth .

🔄 The Weekend Catch-Up Myth – She reveals why it takes up to four days to recover from just one hour of lost sleep .

🧠 Deep Sleep vs. REM Sleep – She breaks down the difference: deep sleep for physical cellular repair, REM sleep for cognitive and memory consolidation .

📝 The 15-Minute Brain Dump – She shares how to empty your mental inbox outside the bedroom so your brain can shut down .

🔬 Cognitive Shuffling & Grounding Techniques – She offers mental exercises to derail racing thoughts without looking at screens .

⏰ The Snooze Button Trap – She explains why fragmented morning dozing is like "empty calories" for the brain .

What Listeners Gain:

· A clear understanding of why sleep is infrastructure, not a luxury

· Practical strategies for improving sleep efficiency without sacrificing success

· Evidence-based tools for managing stress, anxiety, and burnout

· The insight that recovery is a performance strategy—not a sign of weakness

This isn't motivation. It's methodology

Connect with Dr. Melissa Milanak

🌐 Website: melissamilanak.com

🆓 Free Resources: Free guides and video library with 3-4 minute videos on actionable sleep strategies

📖 Book: Sleep for Success (Releasing early 2027)

📱 Instagram: @drmelissamilanak

🔗 LinkedIn: melissamilanak

🎤 TEDx Talk: "Sleep: NOT the impossible dream"

🎙️ Keynotes: Over 100 per year

📧 Contact: Free consultation by mentioning the podcast on the contact form

This conversation is for anyone who's ever wondered if it's too late to start, or if a major setback means the end of the road.

Mitch Abel knows this terrain intimately. He retired at 62 with only $400,000 saved—and the frightening realization that he might outlive his retirement . Instead of accepting defeat, he immersed himself in learning investing and trading .

In his first year of intraday options trading, he lost $150,000 . When he went to his partner Diana in tears, she looked at him and said two words: "Keep going" . That moment changed everything.

He went back to the fundamentals, studied every day, and within six months recovered his losses. A few years later, he had achieved financial independence, eliminated his debt, and built enough wealth to set up generational wealth for his family .

Through his journey, he discovered that successful trading comes down to mastering four key areas: Education, Patience, Discipline, and Emotional Control—the last of which he believes often determines long-term success more than technical knowledge .

In this episode, we explore:

💸 The $150,000 Loss – Mitch shares what it felt like to lose such a significant amount, how he processed the setback, and the moment his partner's words changed everything .

📚 Why Education Matters More Than You Think – He explains why understanding charts, price action, and technical analysis is foundational, and why most retail traders fail to grasp the risks involved .

🧠 Emotional Control: The Real Differentiator – Mitch reveals why fear and greed are the most common causes of irrational behavior in markets, and why emotional control matters more than having a "good" strategy .

⏳ Patience and Discipline – He explains why waiting for high-quality trading opportunities—rather than chasing the market—is essential for long-term success .

🏦 From Retirement Worry to Generational Wealth – He shares how he rebuilt his account, achieved financial independence, and now helps others do the same .

What Listeners Gain:

· The understanding that it's never too late to start

· A clear framework for what it actually takes to succeed (four pillars)

· The insight that your response to loss matters more than the loss itself

· Practical strategies for managing fear and greed

· The reminder that emotional control can be learned—just like technical skills

This isn't motivation. It's methodology.

Connect with Mitch Abel

🌐 Website: investmentcurrent.com

🆓 Free Trial: investmentcurrent.com/free-trial (5-day live trading room)

📅 Schedule a Call: calendly.com/MITCHABEL91

🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/mitchabel

📱 Social: Facebook, Twitter/X, YouTube, Instagram

This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt like they're just surviving—and wondered if there was a way to truly live.

Veronique Ory knows this terrain intimately. She first discovered yoga in New York City at a time when she thought she was thriving in the hustle. She was running her own theatre company, living on $1 pizza slices, and riding the rollercoaster of high highs and low lows—her happiness always dependent on what was happening outside her control . Living with an autoimmune disease, vitiligo, she often felt like she was just fighting to survive—a thread that runs deep as the granddaughter of Holocaust survivors .

In 2012, after Hurricane Sandy brought the city to a standstill, her roommate mentioned the local yoga studio had reopened. She was so anxious to get out of the apartment that she would've gone anywhere—but that class changed her life. She remembers thinking: Have I ever actually breathed before now? That moment cracked something open in her .

In this episode, we explore:

🎭 From Theatre to Yoga – Veronique shares her journey from studying theatre at Russell Sage College to running her own non-profit theatre company in New York City for seventeen years .

🌀 The Hurricane Sandy Turning Point – She recounts the moment a yoga class after Hurricane Sandy changed everything and what it taught her about the power of presence .

🕊️ Pain as a Messenger – She explains how living with vitiligo shaped her relationship with her body and why pain isn't an enemy—it's a messenger .

🌍 Retreats and the Blue Zones – Veronique discusses how leading retreats in the world's Blue Zones has shaped her work and what these communities teach us about longevity and joy .

📖 Shine On & Off the Mat – She introduces her interactive book, which blends storytelling, curated playlists, on-demand classes, and journaling into a self-paced practice . She explains what it means to shine both on and off the mat .

What Listeners Gain:

· A new understanding of how presence and breath can transform your relationship with your body

· Permission to move in a way that feels good to you

· Practical tools for integrating mindfulness into daily life

· The reminder that transformation doesn't come from perfect circumstances—it comes from meeting ourselves with presence, breath, and courage

· A pathway from survival mode to empowerment

This isn't motivation. It's methodology

Connect with Veronique Ory

🌐 Website: yogawithveronique.com

📖 Book: Shine On & Off the Mat (BookBaby, October 31, 2022)

📱 Instagram: @veroniqueory

📘 Facebook: Veronique Ory

🎵 YouTube: Veronique Ory

🆓 Free Resource: 7-day free trial of Shine Membership

📝 Substack: Shine Letters

✉️ Free Overnight Oats PDF: Message directly on website or Instagram