Most entrepreneurs don't fail because they lack opportunity.  

They fail because they surrender their agency.  In this episode of the Voice of Growth Podcast, Manny Teran sits down with Leah Mandal, founder of Gem Stays, to discuss entrepreneurship, leadership, ethics, creativity, manifestation, survival, and why choosing responsibility over victimhood can completely transform your life.  

Leah shares how she went from property management to building a premium vacation rental company, why burning the boats forced her to succeed, how personal development unlocked her creativity, and why ethical leadership—not shortcuts—is the ultimate competitive advantage. It's a conversation about far more than business; it's about becoming the kind of person capable of building something extraordinary.  

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"The world doesn't need another copy. 

It needs the original that only you can become."  

Have you ever noticed how exhausting it is to pretend?  Pretend you're more confident than you are. Pretend you know all the answers. Pretend you're tougher... Smarter... More successful... More polished.  

Eventually you begin performing your life instead of living it.  And here's the irony...  

The version of yourself you manufacture to impress people usually ends up being less interesting than the real person underneath.  Today I want to convince you that authenticity isn't just good for your soul...  It's one of the greatest competitive advantages you'll ever possess.  -

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What if your biggest leadership weakness isn't intelligence...  

It's the way you make decisions?  

In this episode of the Voice of Growth Podcast, Manny Teran welcomes back Dr. Ricardo Valerdi—University of Arizona professor, engineer, author of The Five Tool Team, and founder of Science of Sport—for a masterclass on decision-making in leadership, business, sports, and life.  The conversation explores why great decisions begin with better questions, how bias quietly shapes our thinking, why outcomes are a terrible way to judge decision quality, and how Stoicism provides one of the most practical frameworks for navigating uncertainty. 

They also discuss AI, trust, Brooks' Law, intuition, Jeff Bezos' approach to decision fatigue, leadership lessons from Major League Baseball, and why tomorrow's workforce will need judgment more than memorization.  

-- Follow and Subscribe to sharpen your edge in business and give you peace of mind in life.  #businessgrowth #entrepreneurship #stoicsm #megatrends #innovation ©2026 Profectory, LLC  - All Rights Reserved.

What if your biggest leadership weakness isn't intelligence...  

It's the way you make decisions?  

In this episode of the Voice of Growth Podcast, Manny Teran welcomes back Dr. Ricardo Valerdi—University of Arizona professor, engineer, author of The Five Tool Team, and founder of Science of Sport—for a masterclass on decision-making in leadership, business, sports, and life.  The conversation explores why great decisions begin with better questions, how bias quietly shapes our thinking, why outcomes are a terrible way to judge decision quality, and how Stoicism provides one of the most practical frameworks for navigating uncertainty. 

They also discuss AI, trust, Brooks' Law, intuition, Jeff Bezos' approach to decision fatigue, leadership lessons from Major League Baseball, and why tomorrow's workforce will need judgment more than memorization.  

-- Follow and Subscribe to sharpen your edge in business and give you peace of mind in life.  #businessgrowth #entrepreneurship #stoicsm #megatrends #innovation ©2026 Profectory, LLC  - All Rights Reserved.

Discipline gets all the attention.  

Habits get all the books.  

Consistency gets all the credit.  

But what if there's something that comes before all of them?  In this episode of the Voice of Growth Podcast, Manny Teran explores one of the most overlooked drivers of personal growth and achievement: inspiration. Drawing from recent conversations with friends, business leaders, and mentors, he argues that inspiration isn't a fleeting emotion—it's the fuel that ignites desire, sharpens vision, and sustains long-term action.  You'll learn why inspiration fades if you don't capture it, how the right conversation can completely redirect your future, why surrounding yourself with inspiring people matters more than consuming endless content, and how to intentionally create a life where inspiration compounds instead of disappears.  

-- Follow and Subscribe to sharpen your edge in business and give you peace of mind in life.  #businessgrowth #entrepreneurship #stoicsm #megatrends #innovation ©2026 Profectory, LLC  - All Rights Reserved.

What happens when your greatest professional calling collides with your greatest personal tragedy?  

In this deeply moving episode of the Voice of Growth Podcast, Manny Teran sits down with licensed professional counselor Amy Morris-Ehlo to discuss trauma, grief, addiction, mental health, resilience, and the extraordinary power of forgiveness.  

Amy shares the heartbreaking story of receiving the phone call every parent fears—just three days after her son proudly called to say he had finally gotten sober. She explains how that unimaginable loss reshaped her purpose, strengthened her commitment to helping others, and ultimately led her to forgive the young man responsible for her son's death.  

The conversation explores Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), trauma-informed care, executive mental health, addiction, boundaries, compassion, and why healing is not about forgetting—it's about choosing how you move forward.

Discipline gets all the attention.  

Habits get all the books.  

Consistency gets all the credit.  

But what if there's something that comes before all of them?  In this episode of the Voice of Growth Podcast, Manny Teran explores one of the most overlooked drivers of personal growth and achievement: inspiration. Drawing from recent conversations with friends, business leaders, and mentors, he argues that inspiration isn't a fleeting emotion—it's the fuel that ignites desire, sharpens vision, and sustains long-term action.  

You'll learn why inspiration fades if you don't capture it, how the right conversation can completely redirect your future, why surrounding yourself with inspiring people matters more than consuming endless content, and how to intentionally create a life where inspiration compounds instead of disappears.

What happens when your greatest professional calling collides with your greatest personal tragedy?  

In this deeply moving episode of the Voice of Growth Podcast, Manny Teran sits down with licensed professional counselor Amy Morris-Ehlo to discuss trauma, grief, addiction, mental health, resilience, and the extraordinary power of forgiveness.  Amy shares the heartbreaking story of receiving the phone call every parent fears—just three days after her son proudly called to say he had finally gotten sober. 

She explains how that unimaginable loss reshaped her purpose, strengthened her commitment to helping others, and ultimately led her to forgive the young man responsible for her son's death.  

The conversation explores Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), trauma-informed care, executive mental health, addiction, boundaries, compassion, and why healing is not about forgetting—it's about choosing how you move forward.

Conflict isn't the problem. 

 Avoiding it is.  

In this episode of the Voice of Growth Podcast, Manny Teran explores one of the most overlooked leadership skills: navigating conflict before it becomes destructive.  Drawing on ideas from Amanda Ripley, Chris Voss, W. Edwards Deming, Stoicism, and decades of leadership experience, Manny introduces the CALM Framework—a practical system for handling conflict with confidence, empathy, and clarity.  

You'll learn why silence is often more dangerous than disagreement, how to identify the hidden "understory" driving conflict, why assumptions destroy trust, and how great leaders build systems where healthy conflict strengthens teams instead of dividing them.  

Whether you're leading a business, raising a family, or improving your relationships, this episode provides practical tools for turning difficult conversations into opportunities for growth.

What does it really take to build a company from two brothers working out of a barn into one of Southern Arizona's largest landscaping businesses?  

In this episode of the Voice of Growth Podcast, Manny Teran sits down with Brian Ham, former co-owner of Santa Rita Landscaping, to discuss entrepreneurship, leadership, surviving the 2008 financial crisis, building systems, selling a company, and the unexpected identity crisis that follows a successful exit.  Brian shares how he and his brother grew Santa Rita Landscaping from a pickup truck and long days in the field into a business with more than 200 employees and over $20 million in annual revenue. 

Along the way, they survived the collapse of the housing market, rebuilt after shrinking from 187 employees to just 37, and ultimately sold the company after nearly a year-long acquisition process—just one week before COVID changed the world.  

The conversation explores leadership, referrals, operational excellence, EOS, hiring great people, conservation, hunting, Teddy Roosevelt, and why every entrepreneur should "do something hard every day."