The Unlock Lab

Do you have a financial inner critic? That relentless, nagging voice that keeps you tangled in scarcity, fear and shame around money? In this episode of The Unlock Lab I talk about how you can change your entire relationship with this part of you. I share pieces of my own journey with deeply embedded financial thoughts, along with six practical ways to quiet this critic, reduce your stress, and make more empowered money decisions. This is the first step toward building a healthier and more abundant relationship with your finances.

Episode Highlights

1. Examples of the kinds of things this critic says

2. How the financial inner critic impacts your behaviors.

3. Six tips to reduce overwhelm and shift into clarity.

4. Why learning to face the truth of your finances creates freedom.

Quotables:

[00:00:00]

"The more that you can diffuse the high emotions related to finances and tap into the rational, calm, stable person that you are, the easier this is going to be for you."

[00:23:08]

"I'm not saying that the way that I am expressing how I see abundance is right or wrong, it's just how I've come to find more expansion in it, less harshness with myself in it. More freedom with it, and whatever that is for you, I wish that for you as well."

[00:38:29]

"There are so many resources out there, I'll just go back to like the first step is just to investigate what are the thoughts, the beliefs that you have about money right now? What are the ones that you've been telling yourself for a long time? And that will pave the pathway to understanding what you actually believe about resources and having enough, about being able to afford things."

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: http://toscadimatteo.com/newsletter

Tosca’s Website: https://www.toscadimatteo.com

Get in Touch with Tosca: https://www.toscadimatteo.com/contact

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

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

Props for:

Theme music by Adrian DiMatteo https://adriandimatteo.com

Podcast editing by: Landis Podcast Editing https://www.landispodcastediting.com

If you quit your job, got laid off, fired, or if you have no clients in your pipeline, this episode is for YOU! Most of us were never taught how to be in limbo with grace and with ease. We’ve been conditioned to work nonstop, to fill every gap, and to treat career pauses like failures instead of the natural part of life they really are.

In this week’s episode, I invite you to see the seasons between jobs, clients or opportunities as a chance to stop rushing and finally breathe. I walk you through eight ways to navigate this space with more ease and hope, from honoring your emotions and celebrating endings, to releasing the pressure of figuring it all out right away. Pauses don’t come often, but when they do, they can open the door to something better than you imagined.

Episode Highlights:

1. 8 tips for navigating the uncertainty of being in-between

2. Why pressing pause and normalizing career breaks are important

3. How to care for yourself and shift the story you tell about this season

Quotables:

[00:00:03]

"You are where you're meant to be, nothing is wasted, life is happening for you and not to you. So how can you release the pressure that you're putting on yourself?"

[00:08:24]

"When I say taking a true pause, I mean that you're not focused on what's next quite yet. That will come but this pause is so critical after something has just ended because there's a lot of work to be done in that pause. A lot of celebrating and a lot of just being."

[00:25:26]

"Part of this in between time is to really find out about your natural rhythm. Likely your natural rhythm has been put on the back burner or beaten out of you over the years or over the course of your life, because of how you were conditioned to be. And there will be times that you find your rhythm in this journey, and there will be times where you realize you need a different approach."

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: http://toscadimatteo.com/newsletter

Tosca’s Website: https://www.toscadimatteo.com

Get in Touch with Tosca: https://www.toscadimatteo.com/contact

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

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

Props for:

Theme music by Adrian DiMatteo https://adriandimatteo.com

Podcast editing by: Landis Podcast Editing https://www.landispodcastediting.com

In this episode of The Unlock Lab, I sit down with comedian and motivational speaker Pat Dwyer to talk about what it really means to lean into the unknown. Pat shares his journey from studying politics to performing with Second City, navigating workplaces and ultimately stepping into his role as a sought after speaker.

We talk about the power of team mentality, taking leaps of faith, facing challenges you never saw coming and why humor is such a powerful tool for resilience. Pat also opens up about his family’s choice to live in an RV during the pandemic and finding freedom in the unknown. This conversation is equal parts laughter, reflection and practical wisdom you can carry into your own life.

ABOUT PAT DWYER

For over two decades, Pat Dwyer has captivated and motivated audiences worldwide. Pulling from his background in Improv and Sketch Comedy with legendary institutions The Second City, iO Theater, and ComedySportz, among others, Pat has merged these talents in training and performance with the strategic mindset he cultivated during the early days working at notable Chicago startups like Groupon and Ignite. As you could guess, Pat's journey has since lent him an opportunity to help organizations all around the globe find their own unique blend of leadership and team enhancing effectiveness.

Now, as a sought-after speaker at conferences, events, and association meetings, Pat brings his energetic, hilarious and wildly engaging approach to both personal and organizational resilience. He’s definitely a speaker you don’t want to miss as Pat Dwyer is easily your most engaging route to people-driven Innovation and change.

Episode Highlights:

1. Why a team mentality makes the impossible feel possible

2. How humor can transform challenges into resilience

3. Lessons from living on the road during the pandemic

4. The TILT approach to smoothing out the journey of life

5. Pay attention to your own LEGO's

Quotables:

[00:08:13] - Tosca

"I think we're in a time where we're jumping back into our goals and we often need other people in that pursuit and so we just can't forget that we can't do it alone and that it's okay to ask and it's also okay to get a no, or be ghosted or get rejected, because that's part of the process too."

[00:45:17] - Pat

 "Everybody has their own experiences, their own pile of Legos that they're all playing in to try to figure out what they're building in that moment. Friends like that for me is in realizing that if everybody has their own Legos, they're not actually concerned with my Legos."

[01:06:52]

"We don't known where it's going ever, and no one of us knows where it is going. We can try to pretend that we can control that. There's data coming that we have no clue is on the table yet, and that is fine. It is more a matter of how we react to it and how we use it and bank it and keep it in our minds so that we can use it to our advantage later."

Pat's Links:

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/pat-dwyer/

Facebook, Instagram, Youtube - @IKnowPatDwyer

Website: https://www.patdwyerwastaken.com/

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: http://toscadimatteo.com/newsletter

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

LinkedIn

Instagram

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast edited by: Landis Podcast Editing

This week on The Unlock Lab, I talk about how to address and manage our triggers, which is very much tied to working our emotional intelligence muscles. Triggers can feel overwhelming whether they happen in personal relationships or in the workplace, but they don’t have to derail you. In this episode, I talk about how I have responded to triggers in a way I'm not proud of, and how I learned to come back to compassion, truth and self-respect. I explain why triggers are actually gifts, how to use them as guides for healing, and share actions that you can take to help you recover faster, and experience them less often over time.

Episode Highlights:

1. Practical ways to pause, create space and respond with intention.

2. Reframing triggers as opportunities for healing, growth and better leadership

3. Why compassion and ownership reduce the impact of future triggers.

Quotables:

[00:00:33]

"Improve your emotional intelligence. It's really important to do this work, not just for the personal relationships in your life, but your professional relationships."

[00:09:47]

"I wrote about this triggering experience and it took me about a day to move through the emotions. I had to let myself feel what was coming up and what was coming up were emotions, not from actually the present moment, but they were coming up from the past."

[00:26:41]

"There are certain emotions that we are afraid of having. Anger is one of them and I believe all emotions serve us. They're our greatest teacher and they show us where the work is."

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Related blog post: The Real Power Move as a Leader Isn't What You think

Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: http://toscadimatteo.com/newsletter

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

LinkedIn

Instagram

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast edited by: Landis Podcast Editing

In Part 2 of my two part series with Anton Gunn, we move deeper into the journey, from discouragement and struggle to leading at the highest levels of government. This isn’t a story about chasing titles, it’s about what it takes to lead with conviction when the path is unclear. Anton shares how hip hop music helped him survive his darkest moments, how a single mentor changed the trajectory of his life, and how staying rooted in service carried him all the way to advising a president. This episode is about grit, guidance, and the kind of servant leadership we need more of.

Anton's Bio

Anton Gunn has a Masters Degree in Social Work from University of South Carolina and was a resident Fellow at Harvard. He is the bestselling author of 'The Presidential Principles' and has been featured in TIME Magazine, Forbes, BBC, NPR and on Good Morning America. Recently, Anton was named by Fierce Healthcare as one of the Most Influential Minority Executives in Healthcare.

As an international speaker and consultant, he has worked with organizations like Mercedes Benz, T-Mobile, Entrepreneurs' Organization Sodexo, KPMG, Verizon Wireless, Aetna, Blue Shield of California, American College of Surgeons, FINRA, and the Boeing Company.

From playing SEC Football and being the first African American in history elected to the SC legislature from his district early in his career, to now serving on multiple boards, he has spent his life helping people build diverse high performing teams and world class leadership culture.

Episode Highlights:

1. How hip hop became the soundtrack of Anton's life, and a survival tool.

2. The story of how one leader, not only saw his potential but equipped him to lead, and how that shaped everything that followed.

3. How Anton followed his passion for fighting injustice led him from community organizing, to an elected office, to the White House and building his own consultancy.

Quotables:

[00:02:25]

"All of our lives are movies and we go to different scenes. We go to different segments of our life that are different scenes in a movie, different parts of the story. And every great movie has a soundtrack."

[00:12:22]

"People talk about knowledge is power. Lenora gave me a lot of knowledge, but what she gave me more than just knowledge is she taught me how to apply that knowledge, because applied knowledge is actually power."

[00:34:16]

"You may not be able to solve everything, but there is something that you can do to make it right. That's what I've been teaching to leaders from stages, is that it may be wrong in your culture. It may be wrong in your company. It may be wrong on your team. There may be things that are out of your control, but there is something that you can do to make it right."

Anton's Links and Resources:

Free leadership toolkit

LinkedIn

Instagram

Facebook

X (Twitter)

The Presidential Principles Book

This episode is generously sponsored by: Human Design by Holly

HumanDesignByHolly.com

Use Code: UNLOCKLAB to get 25% off when booking your first reading

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: http://toscadimatteo.com/newsletter

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

LinkedIn

Instagram

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast edited by: Landis Podcast Editing

Get ready for the leadership conversation you didn't know you needed. In this special 2-part series, you will meet Anton Gunn, former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, and one of the world's leading authorities on socially conscious leadership.

Part 1 dives into Anton's raw and unfiltered story, from college football disappointments and careers dead ends to moments of powerlessness that nearly broke him. What unfolds is a masterclass in perseverance, humility and the mentor that changed Anton's life for years to come.

We talk about service, career pivots and the beautiful way life reroutes us to our calling, if we're paying attention. Anton generously shares moments of darkness behind incredible success and impact, with a determination to defeat all the odds.

Anton Gunn has a Masters Degree in Social Work from University of South Carolina and was a resident Fellow at Harvard. He is the bestselling author of 'The Presidential Principles' and has been featured in TIME Magazine, Forbes, BBC, NPR and on Good Morning America. Recently, Anton was named by Fierce Healthcare as one of the Most Influential Minority Executives in Healthcare.

As an international speaker and consultant, he has worked with organizations like Mercedes Benz, T-Mobile, Entrepreneurs' Organization Sodexo, KPMG, Verizon Wireless, Aetna, Blue Shield of California, American College of Surgeons, FINRA, and the Boeing Company.

From playing SEC Football and being the first African American in history elected to the SC legislature from his district early in his career, to now serving on multiple boards, he has spent his life helping people build diverse high performing teams and world class leadership culture.

Episode Highlights:

1. A college football dream became a catalyst for leadership and inner strength.

2. The power of mentorship, generosity and not blocking your blessings.

3. Finding purpose in pain and learning how to lead from a place of power.

Quotables:

[00:07:09] - Anton

"One of the cornerstones of my philosophy in life is to be useful to the people around you, because we can't control everything."

[00:15:46] - Anton

"I lost focus on the goals that I wanted, the things that I wanted. I was in what I call a hostile environment, that I threw what I wanted to do out of the window, and my only point was to survive. To me, surviving was, how do I get a college degree as fast as possible to get away from these coaches and to get away from this school?"

[00:42:28] - Anton

"Change happens when the pain of staying the same is greater than the pain that it takes to change."

Anton's Links and Resources:

Free leadership toolkit

LinkedIn

Instagram

Facebook

X (Twitter)

The Presidential Principles Book

This episode is generously sponsored by: Human Design by Holly

HumanDesignByHolly.com

Use Code: UNLOCKLAB to get 25% off when booking your first reading

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: http://toscadimatteo.com/newsletter

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

LinkedIn

Instagram

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast edited by: Landis Podcast Editing

In this week’s episode of The Unlock Lab, I talk to Benjamin Wolff, for a powerful conversation about the value of artistic and creative skills in the workplace. Ben is a Forbes leadership contributor, author, and former professional cellist. In our conversation he shares his personal journey from the concert stage, to corporate talent solutions, and we talk about why human skills like storytelling, emotional intelligence, and deep focus matter more than ever in the age of AI. We talk about what it really means to bring creativity into business, not just as performative one-hit-wonders, but as a core strategy for growth and innovation. This one is for anyone who’s ready to see talent differently.

Benjamin Wolff has been a Forbes Leadership contributor since 2017, writing about what corporate workplaces can learn from the arts. With his background as a professional cellist he brings a unique perspective to the conversation around business finding value in untapped pools of talent. He has delivered innovative programs on creativity, teamwork, and emotional intelligence for companies and organizations such as Cisco, Ingram Micro, the Association for Manufacturing Excellence, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and Rockefeller University.

Episode Highlights:

1. How artists bring essential human skills, like focus, storytelling, and emotional intelligence into the workplace.

2. Why now is the moment for organizations to rethink hiring practices and embrace creative talent in the age of AI.

3. Practical ways leaders can start integrating creativity into their teams, including “translator” roles and creative personal practices.

Quotables:

[00:03:44]

"A lot of people, they appreciate the arts. They enjoy the arts, but what they get is the product. They go to the theatre and they see a play, or they see a movie, or they hear a concert, or they see a ballet. But most people, unless they're connected professionally in some way, never see what goes into it."

[00:14:47]

"Immeasurable is different from unmeasurable in that, it's something that not only can't you measure, but that shouldn't be measured."

[00:22:32]

"Core skills are the things that it's very hard to teach. You can learn about the specifics of a job, but those other skills you take with you from experience to experience, from job to job, they become part of your core. It is critical for Corporations to think about who they hire."

Ben's Links:

Book: The Value of Immeasurable Things

Website

YouTube 

LinkedIn

Instagram

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: http://toscadimatteo.com/newsletter

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

LinkedIn

Instagram

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Cello music by Benjamin Wolff

Podcast edited by: Landis Podcast Editing

In this week's episode of The Unlock Lab, I speak with former state police officer turned inspirational speaker, David Atkins. David shares his winding career story and opens up about the exact moment he made one bold, pressing decision that changed everything. From working through financial struggles with his wife, to becoming a successful businessman and speaker, David shows how vision, faith and courage fuel transformation. We dive into practical steps, and what it takes to rewrite your story starting TODAY. This conversation packs a powerful punch for how to get unstuck through David's "One Decision Away" philosophy. Whether you're feeling down and out, or would love an infusion of energy to continue to propel you forward, this episode is for you!

David Atkins is a retired New York State Police Captain after 22 years of service. While working full time with the NY State Police, David also built a million dollar international direct sales business with Beachbody, leading a team of 1,400 people today. He became a Keynote Motivational Speaker presenting to groups of a few hundred people to over 20,000 people in the NFL Super Dome in New Orleans. David published his first book "The Leveled Up Life", is the creator of "The One Decision Away Philosophy" and host of the Personal Perseverance Project Podcast.

Episode Highlights:

1. The moment David sat down with his wife and made the one decision that changed everything.

2. How fear, faith and daily discipline fuel real transformation.

3. Why you're never too far gone, and why your next breakthrough could be one choice away.

Quotables:

[00:25:34] - David

"If you're willing to make that one decision today don't worry about three weeks, three months, three years from now. Life will reveal to you what comes next if you're willing to make that one pressing decision in your life today."

[00:45:12] - David

"What you have is plenty because it's so easy to get caught up with the outside noise on social media and the news and the negativity and all of that stuff. But I'm a big believer like what you have in front of you is plenty, and you know what you need to do."

[00:49:26] - David

"You have to take care of yourself first, and then you're the best version of yourself for those people that you care about the most."

David Atkins Links:

Website (note: buy the book here from 7.15-7.20, 2025 and receive 3 bonuses)

Instagram 

LinkedIn

This episode is generously sponsored by: Human Design by Holly

HumanDesignByHolly.com

Use Code: UNLOCKLAB to get 25% off when booking your first reading

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: http://toscadimatteo.com/newsletter

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

LinkedIn

Instagram

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast edited by: Landis Podcast Editing

In this week's episode, I talk about how to make decisions with more confidence by leaning into self trust, patience and self compassion. I share practical ways to reduce the stress and overwhelm that often come with decision making, like slowing down the urgency, getting intentional with small choices and remove the distraction of figuring out the "how" before you've even landed on '"what" the decisions even is. I also dive into the importance of listening to your body, taking mental space, and relieving the pressure valve of having to make a perfect decisions. These principles can help you make more grounded, empowered choices in your personal and professional life.

Episode Highlights:

1. How questioning the urgency of a decision can give you instant clarity.

2. Small choices that build long term trust in yourself.

3. Why the "how" can wait, and what to focus on instead.

Quotables:

[00:08:53]

I would say most of the time when we're struggling with a decision the pathway to doing that is not about asking other people about it, it's about going inward for yourself. We can be looking for all the answers in this period of overwhelm, when actually the best thing that we can do is to actually stop trying to figure it out."

[00:11:34]

"I was going with the flow I was making the smaller choices about the things that worked for me and what didn't work for me as it related to this relationship. Eventually what ended up happening was my body told me very clearly, this person isn't for you."

[00:20:20]

"I think we put a lot of pressure on ourselves that once we make a decision is final and it is it, and that is not true, we can change our mind. We can make a different decision."

This episode is generously sponsored by: Human Design by Holly

HumanDesignByHolly.com

Use Code: UNLOCKLAB to get 25% off when booking your first reading

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: http://toscadimatteo.com/newsletter

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

LinkedIn

Instagram

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast edited by: Landis Podcast Editing

In this week's episode of The Unlock Lab, I'm joined by Ruth Rathblott for a powerful and personal conversation about the cost of hiding who we are. Ruth opens up about concealing her limb difference for over 25 years, and what changed when she finally decided to show up fully. From navigating corporate spaces to embracing her identity as a speaker and author, Ruth walks us through her journey and shares her four-step framework to unhide. We dig into the emotional toll of hiding, how it holds us back in our relationships and careers, and what becomes possible when we step into authenticity and invite others to do the same.

Ruth Rathblott, MSW, is an expert on workplace culture and leadership, a TEDx and global keynote speaker, a 2x bestselling author, and an award-winning former nonprofit leader. Born with a limb difference, Ruth speaks on the power of embracing uniqueness, unlocking untapped potential and peak performance, and how the transformative act of unhiding leads to greater freedom and connection. 

Episode Highlights:

1. Ruth shares her four step process to unhiding

2. The real life consequences of hiding at work and in life and how it can lead to exhaustion, disconnection and missed opportunities

3. Why leaders have to go first to create cultures where people feel safe to show up as themselves

Quotables:

[00:13:35] - Ruth

"I literally hid my hand for 25 years. Every outfit I had, always had pockets, longer sleeves, even in summer, just so that I could hide it. I hid it behind bags. I hid it from pictures, I was hiding it all the time. And when we talk about the cost of it, it was exhausting, lonely, and it was something I thought about all the time, it took over my life."

[00:20:15] - Ruth

"The true gift of connection, is when we can share our differences so that we don't have to keep a facade. We don't have to be perfect, because in our gifts, in that uniqueness, is perfection."

[00:29:19] -Ruth

"Could you be living your best life? Are you living your best life? How do we, how do you do that? And part of that is the unlocking of what's holding you back. One of the pieces that may be holding you back is the thing that you're hiding."

Ruth's Links and Resources:

LinkedIn

Instagram

TEDx: When I Stopped Hiding, I Found Freedom

Ruth's Books:

Singlehandedly. Learning to Unhide and Embrace Connection.

Unhide & Seek. Live Your Best Life. Do Your Best Work.

Tosca’s Links and Resources:

Sign up for Tosca's Newsletter: http://toscadimatteo.com/newsletter

Tosca’s Website

Get in Touch with Tosca

LinkedIn

Instagram

Giving Flowers To:

Theme music by: Adrian DiMatteo

Podcast edited by: Landis Podcast Editing