Work From The Inside Out

In her late 50’s, Barbara Pagano and her daughter Elizabeth set out for a six-month sailing adventure on a 42-foot sailboat. Even though neither woman was an experienced sailor, they sailed alone for more than 2,000 miles. Two weeks prior to their departure, Barbara failed navigation school. Fortunately, Elizabeth earned her certification from a one-week sailing school. Pushing a little boat through water was hard work, especially for two inexperienced sailors. Barbara learned how by just doing it. 

Eight years later, that ‘learn-by-doing' approach yielded significant returns as Barbara faced the challenge of creating a post-retirement life. The transition should not have been so difficult, but it was hard for her. Her experience and motivation to help others inspired the launch of your extraordinary life in retirement.com. She gives post-50 individuals the tools and strategies to design and live fulfilling lives in the last third of life. With graduate degrees in counseling and human behavior as her base, Barbara curates research on aging, retirement, productive longevity, well-being, and happiness to produce content with groundbreaking clarity and a refreshing experienced voice. 

Her most recent book, The 60 Something Crisis: How to Live an Extraordinary Life in Retirement, was released in July 2022. As an executive coach and seasoned speaker, Barbara has motivated thousands of senior leaders and middle managers to higher levels of performance in work and life. Her previous book, The Transparency Edge, How Credibility Can Make or Break You in Business, written with her daughter Elizabeth, a business journalist, was chosen by Fast Company Magazine as a book of the month. 

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Barbara’s journey:

• Barbara’s work has been featured in Fast Company, Investor's Business Daily, Healthy Aging, The New York Times, and American Executive.
• She is a speaker, past president of the Georgia Speakers Association, and previously named one of the top three speakers in Atlanta.

Learn more and connect with Barbara here:

• The 60 Something Crisis
• Website
• LinkedIn
• Facebook

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Resilience expert Deborah Gilboa, MD, aka “Dr. G,” works with families, organizations, and businesses to turn stress into an advantage. Known for her contagious humor, Dr. G works with people across generations to rewire their attitudes and beliefs to create resilience through personal accountability and a completely different approach to adversity. She is the author of the recently released book From Stressed to Resilient: The Guide to Handle More and Feel It Less. Dr. G is a board-certified attending family physician at a community health center whose practice includes making house calls.

As a child, Dr. G suffered from seizures. When asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” her answer was a pediatric neurosurgeon since she had a female doctor in that specialty who she liked. Dr. G changed her mind, when in 9th grade biology lab, she had to dissect a fetal pig. Around that time she discovered the fun of theater, finding social acceptance and learning that people can have careers in theater. She decided to study theater in college. After earning her BFA in stage management, Dr. G worked in theater for six years, including two years at Second City, the famous improv company in Chicago. She also volunteered as an emergency medical technician and got certified as a paramedic. At 26, Dr. G decided to apply to medical school, but she needed two years of pre-requisite coursework to qualify. She mapped out a plan to ensure she could make it happen. Dr. G had also worked at Deaf West Theater in Los Angeles, founded by the deaf actress Marlee Matlin. She had learned some American Sign Language (ASL) and a lot about deaf culture. Dr. G heard that ASL interpreters were needed in health care, so she enrolled in ASL classes and began to work as an ASL interpreter while she prepared for medical school.

Today, Dr. G practices family medicine on a part-time basis and speaks regularly to audiences in every sector on a variety of topics pertaining to resilience, mental health, and effective communication. She says, “Resilience is not given… it is choice and action.”

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Dr. G’s journey:

• Dr. G’s message is straightforward and essential: Do stress better. Be resilient. 
• She appears regularly on TODAY, Good Morning America, and The Doctors. Her work is featured frequently in the Washington Post, The New York Times, Forbes Magazine, and many other digital and print outlets.

Learn more and connect with Deborah here:

• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Facebook
• Instagram

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• Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn
• @TammyGoolerLoeb on Instagram
• Work From The Inside Out Websit

At age 18, Richard Newman started his mission to discover core communication principles. He took a gap year after high school and went to the foothills of the Himalayas to teach English to Tibetan monks, who spoke no English. They had to communicate non-verbally to understand each other. Richard had to learn it all from scratch as he is highly introverted. As a young child, he was painfully shy. Richard has high-functioning autism.

After returning from the Himalayas, Richard was drawn to learn more about non-verbal communication rather than attend a traditional university, so he studied acting. He learned how to walk, move and speak to increase his impact on an audience. Richard worked as a professional actor and then fell into teaching communication workshops. He became a keynote speaker, coach, author, and speechwriter, winning the coveted Cicero Grand Prize for Best Speechwriter of the Year.

Richard is the Founder of Body Talk. Over the past 22 years, his team has trained over 120,000 business leaders around the world to improve their communication and impact, speaking on the biggest stages. His book, You Were Born to Speak, chronicles the story of how he overcame his own fears of public speaking and showcases his communication strategies.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Richard’s journey:

• Richard’s research on non-verbal communication was published in the Journal of Psychology. His study proved that you could increase your leadership ratings by 44% and win 59% more votes in an election by changing a few simple behaviors. His upcoming book, due out in May 2023, Lift Your Impact: Transform Your Mindset, Vision, and Influence to Elevate Your Work, Team, and Life draws from his research. 
• He arrived in the Himalayas after traveling for several days and went to five different monasteries before he found the right one he was assigned to work with. It was the first time in his life he had traveled alone.

Learn more and connect with Richard here: 

• Website
• LinkedIn
• Instagram



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Annie Leib was born an empath. As early as her toddler years, she felt things from other people. She even found adults relatable. It was not until years later that Annie realized the other kids did not experience people in the same way. To be so attuned to other people’s feelings could be draining, yet Annie always enjoyed meaningful connections with people.

For many years, Annie worked in sales and business development for large pharmaceutical companies. She was married with two children, then Annie and her husband divorced. She was at an auto body shop one day signing her divorce papers (that's where she found a notary). On the wall, a poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson caught her attention. It was about breath. Annie thought to herself, you can strip me of everything, but you can't take my breath. Breath became the framework she created in her coaching practice a few years later.

After her divorce, Annie left her corporate role and enrolled in an executive MBA program, which was a transformative experience. Annie’s classmates encouraged her to become a coach, referring to her as the “glue of their cohort.” She had been doing some consulting work on the side, so Annie added coaching to her business, and it evolved from there. She earned her coaching certification and eventually changed her consulting business into a coaching firm.

Today, Annie’s sole purpose is to align leaders with their most authentic selves and unlock their ability to impact the world. She helps companies see that “when you take care of your people, your people take care of your business.” Her coaching has been acknowledged for the change it has created. Annie’s clients become “changed leaders that lead change.”

Her unique methodology is captured in her trademark BREATH Framework, which focuses intensely on identifying a person’s life purpose, value system, and core leadership traits. 

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Annie’s journey:

• Annie’s methodology is captured in her book, Begin with the BREATH.   
• She helps clients realign their actions and mindsets, unlocking their hidden potential. They then recognize and manage the emotional barriers that keep them from it.

Learn more and connect with Annie here:

• LinkedIn
• Website



Stay Connected:

• Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn
• @TammyGoolerLoeb on Instagram
• Work From The Inside Out Website
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Growing up in Portugal, Ana Melikian was always curious about personal development, trying to understand herself and the rest of the world. In college, she studied psychology and spent two years in England learning English. After earning her master's degree in Spain, she returned to England for her Ph.D. in Psychology and became a psychotherapist.

Several years later, Ana moved to the US, prompting a career shift as her clinical credentials were not recognized in the American market. She then became certified in life and business coaching. Today she is inspiring people to achieve their best potential as a coach, speaker, and podcast host.

Building on her 20+ years of experience working in human potential, Ana is the host of the MINDSET ZONE podcast. She breaks down complex topics to help you master your mindset and expand the realm of possibility in your life and work. Ana engages in insightful conversations with world-class guests in the psychological, entrepreneurial, and business arenas every week.

Ana is also a sought-after speaker. In her keynote, “The Happiness Fallacy,” Ana uncovers and explores the psychological blind spots that hold us back. Her engaging presentation moves audiences to re-envision and revitalize how they live their lives for both the personal and collective good.

In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about Ana’s journey:

• When she was diagnosed with cancer, Ana came to a stark realization: as long as her goal was merely the pursuit of happiness, she’d never fully obtain it—and she’d never come to embody the power of now.
• She dives into the research and investigates some of life’s most complicated and challenging questions

Learn more and connect with Ana here: 

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Website
• Instagram

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• Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn
• @TammyGoolerLoeb on Instagram
• Work From The Inside Out Website
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This week I hit a milestone in my podcast journey, reaching episode 200! My friend, trusted advisor, and accountability buddy, Jenny Lisk joined me this past Friday for a live stream broadcast of today’s podcast episode. Jenny and I have been on this journey together since we started our podcasts on the same exact day four years ago in November 2018. We have supported one another as we developed our podcasting muscles and later, as we each authored books. During this special episode, Jenny and I discussed the importance of consistency, persistence, support, and accountability as keys to success along with having a clear sense of your goals. Several people tuned in during the live event offering words of encouragement and asking us great questions which fueled our conversation. We discussed:

• How and why we each got started in podcasting
• What it takes to keep a podcast going
• How we recruit and select guests, preparation for interviews
• Some of the technical aspects such as software requirements, equipment, etc.
• Production details such as audio engineering and related elements
• Writing a book and the decisions related to getting started on a book project
• The various ways we supported and challenged each other to keep going
• … and so much more

In this week’s Work from the Inside Out podcast, learn more about my and Jenny’s journey:

• It took me two years to write and publish my book, Work from the Inside Out: Break Through Nine Common Obstacles and Design a Career That Fulfills You. 
• Jenny is the host of the Widowed Parent Podcast and the author of Future Widow: Losing My Husband, Saving My Family, and Finding My Voice.
• Her story of personal loss and career transition is featured in Chapter 9 of my book, Uncertainty is a Fact of Life.



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• Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn
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Liz Brunner is an Emmy award-winning journalist who co-anchored the number one rated 6 pm newscast at WCVB-TV 5, Boston’s ABC network affiliate. In 2013, she became the CEO and founder of Brunner Communications and launched Brunner Academy.com in 2020. A certified professional coach, expert communications coach, and motivational speaker, she is also the host of the multi-award-winning podcast, Live Your Best Life with Liz Brunner. She is the author of the book Dare to Own You: Taking Your Authenticity and Dreams Into Your Next Chapter, which Forbes described as a teaching memoir. 

Liz says she’s in the fourth chapter of her career. She grew up in a family that was very involved in music, performing in her church choir and with her family in front of their congregation. Liz attended Lawrence University's Conservatory of Music in Appleton, Wisconsin, became a high school music teacher, and sang semi-professionally for a time. After a few years of teaching, Liz felt there was something else she was supposed to do. While working a retail job to pay the bills, she considered many career options by reading books and taking self-assessments. Then, one day she bravely cold-called the NBC and CBS affiliates in Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, where she had been living, to request informational interviews. It took about six months of conversations, but one of the stations actually created a role for Liz. The rest, as they say, is history. Thus began Liz’s career in communications and TV news broadcasting.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Liz’s journey:

• Liz won the title of Miss Illinois in the Miss America Scholarship Pageant in 1979. This enabled her to pay for her college education, a proud achievement.
• She was the only Boston reporter to land an exclusive interview with President Barack Obama in the White House. It took her four years to get it!

Learn more and connect with Liz here: 

• Twitter
• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Website



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Neuropsychologist Dr. Nicole Byers helps recovering perfectionists and high achievers stop the cycle of overwhelming to-do lists, procrastination, and self-doubt so they can achieve their goals without burning out. 

"I’m a bit of a neuroscience nerd, and I’ve spent years learning how your brain works and what mental habits tank your productivity (including ones you probably don’t even notice!)"

When Nicole started university many years ago, she had no idea what she wanted to do or which direction to take. She didn’t like her first-year psychology classes at all. In her third year, Nicole began to connect the dots. She took a course called Introduction to Human Neuropsychology and found the professor to be such an excellent instructor that she volunteered to work in the professor’s lab. Later, Nicole convinced the same professor to be her mentor. She continued to work in her lab through graduate school, earning her master’s degree and a doctorate in clinical psychology. 

Initially, Nicole worked in a hospital, part of Canada’s public health system, a pathway on which many with her credentials would spend their entire careers, but after several years she left to pursue private practice. This was not an easy decision, yet it was what she needed to do.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Nicole’s journey:

• Nicole is an Adjunct Research Assistant Professor at the University of Calgary. She has published articles in professional journals on the topics of brain health and neuroscience.
• She is the CEO of Rocky Mountain Neurosciences in Calgary, Canada, and the host of The Bold Life podcast.

Learn more and connect with Nicole here: 

• Facebook
• LinkedIn
• Instagram
• Website

Stay Connected:

• Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn
• @TammyGoolerLoeb on Instagram
• Work From The Inside Out Website
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Dr. Chris Johnson says we need new ways of working with each other, in our businesses, and with our own stresses. And she maintains that can be built on intentional, deliberate practice which … starts with a Pause.

Chris grew up on a farm in a small town in central Illinois. Both her parents built successful small businesses and were actively engaged in their community. Yet conflict was a daily staple in their home. While Chris felt completely loved by her parents, their relationship was filled with tensions that often turned into yelling. From a very young age onward, Chris wondered how she could help people get along better with one another.

Chris studied psychology in college. She went on to earn a master’s in social work and worked in community mental health with children and families for eight years. During that time, Chris’ sister was sexually assaulted by an intruder in her home. That event changed Chris’ life. She devoted the next twenty-plus years to helping people heal from severe trauma. 

At thirty, Chris wanted to deepen her clinical skills, so she enrolled in a Psy.D. program in clinical psychology. In this five-year program, she was able to expand her facility with trauma treatment and mindfulness techniques. She also had an interest in business and wanted to apply her clinical skills in professional settings to help leaders thrive.

Today, Chris is the founder of Q4 consulting, where she partners with individuals and organizations to design and implement training programs that access intuition, surface internalized patterns and mindsets, and address roadblocks inherent in change. Chris and her team support professionals at all levels to build the capacity, compassion, and resilience needed to thrive as leaders. Chris challenges and supports leaders ready to embark on integrating life and work in sustainable, fulfilling ways. 

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Chris’ journey:

• Chris is the author of the new book, The Leadership Pause: Sharpen Your Attention, Deepen Your Presence, and Navigate the Future.
• When she isn't working, you'll find Chris in her garden, making art, hiking or skiing the slopes, listening to jazz or at the aikido dojo practicing the art of peace.

Learn more and connect with Chris here: 

• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Website

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• Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn
• @TammyGoolerLoeb on Instagram
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Marion Spears Karr has over 30 years of experience in executive recruiting and talent acquisition in healthcare. He has led successful recruitment teams specializing in nursing leadership, c-level, VP, senior director, and physician executive searches. But don’t let that fool you; Marion is not your typical recruitment talent acquisition leader. As with everything he has done well in life, Marion digs deeper, goes the extra mile, and so much more.

Marion was raised in a blue-collar family with a strong faith in the hills of Piedmont, North Carolina, below the Appalachian mountains where his family originated. His parents worked in the local Cannon textile mill. He credits his grandmother as an influence in his life, a skilled storyteller who lived with them, for her ability to capture a moment.

At an early age, Marion fell in love with skateboarding, and European bike racing, neither of which were typical activities of his peers. By high school, he went to Europe as an exchange student to train and compete as a bike racer. To support his activities, Marion worked at the textile mill and other jobs and had sponsorships that provided his equipment. He also planned to attend college as his parents required him to achieve educational goals to continue bike racing. A week after his high school graduation Marion was hit by a car while on a training ride. He suffered a traumatic brain injury. Marion went through trauma care and rehab, and did attend college though he had to approach learning in new ways. Needless to say, his bike racing career was over.

Marion married while in college and upon graduation returned home to enter a management training program at the textile mill. He did well there but he wanted to explore other options. An opportunity to join a management recruitment firm came through a former colleague from the textile mill and Marion felt it was a risk worth taking. He has not looked back.

Today, Marion focuses his work on helping healthcare organizations build leadership teams that are aligned and mission-centered. He also does motivational speaking, leadership coaching for individuals, and team development for a vast array of audiences.

In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Marion’s journey:

• Marion is involved with several organizations that support Brain Injury Research and recovery programs.
• He is the developer of the Accomplishment Culture Coaching model for team and individual leadership growth, founded on the principles of positive psychology.

Learn more and connect with Marion here:

• LinkedIn
• Website

Stay Connected:

• Connect with Tammy on LinkedIn
• @TammyGoolerLoeb on Instagram
• Work From The Inside Out Website