Yes And Land, Show Notes

What if the people who shaped you most weren't the ones you expected? Enchanted teaches us that real love isn't about waiting for rescue, it's about choosing to see and be seen by the people right in front of you. Sean Yeager, high school athletic director and former basketball coach, grew up with a single mom in California, raised by grandparents who worked at Disneyland for nearly 40 years. His story mirrors Giselle's journey: learning that happily ever after isn't handed to you. It's built through unconditional love, compromise, and the willingness to let your walls down.

🎯 3 Actionable Takeaways

🔦 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

👤 ABOUT SEAN YEAGER

Sean Yeager is a high school athletic director and former basketball coach with 22 years of coaching experience. He grew up in California as an only child raised by a single mom, with his biological grandparents playing a central role in his upbringing. Both grandparents worked at Disneyland for nearly 40 years, his papa in construction and on the steam engine train, his mamaw in the china shop on Main Street. Sean's career in education stems from his own experience of needing positive adult role models, and he's spent decades intentionally filling that role for students and athletes.

📺 ABOUT YES AND LAND

Yes And Land explores the leadership lessons, relationship dynamics, and hard choices hidden in the stories we love. Hosted by Ryan Gregerson, a family law attorney at RCG Law Group, Disney enthusiast, and business coach for law firm owners at Altium Advisors, each episode connects familiar narratives to real-world wisdom you can actually use.

Yes And Land, Show Notes

What if the strings holding you back aren't visible? Pinocchio teaches us that becoming real requires proving yourself brave, truthful, and unselfish, but the real work happens in the silence between the wishes. Kristin Reinbold, co-host of The Wisdom of Walt and middle school teacher, knows that journey intimately. She's spent 42 years untangling the strings of adoption, loss, and self-discovery to finally align her insides with her outsides.

🎯 3 Actionable Takeaways

1. Invest 15 minutes daily in complete silence, Sit quietly without distraction, meditation, or noise. Listen to what emerges. Why it works: Kristin went from five minutes to 45 minutes of daily silence and found the clarity to break cycles of addiction and self-doubt. Silence is where you hear your own voice.
2. Identify your personal strings and name them, Write down the beliefs, relationships, habits, or narratives that keep you bound. Be specific. Why it works: Kristin couldn't break free from food addiction and toxic patterns until she recognized they weren't problems, they were symptoms of unhealed wounds from adoption and loss. Naming the string is the first step to cutting it.
3. Set boundaries that serve your relationships, not destroy them, When you enforce a boundary, expect discomfort from others. If they care about you, they'll respect it and the relationship deepens. Why it works: Kristin learned that boundaries aren't weapons, they're the foundation of healthier connections. Her students, family, and colleagues respect her more because she protects her energy and shows up fully.

🔦 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• Kristin's journey as an adoptee: always knowing she was adopted, but carrying the weight of both acceptance and abandonment
• The moment at 18 when she met her biological mother in Oregon and discovered the fantasy she'd written for 18 years didn't exist
• How unhealed adoption wounds led to toxic relationships, early marriages, and food addiction, until she recognized the real problem was a relationship with herself
• Losing her father four weeks after his cancer diagnosis, right as she was graduating college
• Checking into Brighton Recovery Center for 30 days and discovering addiction wasn't chemical, it was relational
• Raising two children as a single mother on welfare while putting herself through college
• The moment she watched her eighth-grade students, many with learning disabilities and anxiety, walk across the stage reading their own authentic stories
• How the cabin on the North Fork of the Santiam River in Oregon became her template for creating belonging for her students
• The difference between empathy and enmeshment, and how to stay grounded while

👤 ABOUT KRISTIN REINBOLD

Kristin Reinbold is a middle school teacher in Las Vegas, co-host of The Wisdom of Walt podcast with Dr. Disneyland, and author of an upcoming memoir exploring adoption, loss, and the work of becoming real. Born in Oregon and adopted as a baby, she's spent her career creating spaces where students, especially those with learning disabilities and emotional challenges, feel seen, valued, and loved. Her classroom is designed like a vintage bookstore on Main Street, and her teaching philosophy centers on helping students lighten invisible weights they carry.

📺 ABOUT YES AND LAND

Yes And Land explores the leadership lessons, relationship dynamics, and hard choices hidden in the stories we love. Hosted by Ryan Gregerson, a family law attorney at RCG Law Group, Disney enthusiast, and business coach for law firm owners at Altium Advisors, each episode connects familiar narratives to real-world wisdom you can actually use.

New episodes every Thursday.

Inside Out teaches us that emotions can't be locked away, they have to be felt to move through us. Grace Laubenthal knows this intimately. At 16, a car accident changed her life forever, and what followed was years of learning how to process grief, guilt, and the complex emotions that come with tragedy. Grace is a real estate professional in Utah and podcast host who has transformed her hardest moment into her greatest teacher.

🎯 3 Actionable Takeaways

1. Get Curious About Suppressed Emotions, Notice any emotions you're pushing down and ask yourself what's really there. Why it works: Emotions don't disappear when we ignore them; they stay trapped in your body until you feel them fully and let them pass.
2. Audit Your Self-Talk, Pay attention to the words that follow "I am" and shift from doubt into belief when you catch yourself spiraling. Why it works: 95% of our thoughts are subconscious, so conscious awareness of what you're telling yourself is the first step to changing your story.
3. Do Things That Make You Happy, Find activities and people that bring you joy and make time for them, even in small doses. Why it works: Getting to know yourself and what you love is how you become the person you've always wanted to be.

🔦 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• How Grace processed hitting a cyclist at 16 and the months of uncertainty that followed
• The moment she learned the cyclist had passed away and how that shifted her entire life trajectory
• Why suppressing sadness keeps it trapped inside instead of allowing it to pass through
• The difference between victim mentality ("this happened to me") and ownership ("this happened for me")
• How moving to Utah gave her the space to feel safe enough to become her authentic self
• The Inside Out lesson: joy and sadness work together, and you can't feel one without the other
• How Grace's family and close friends showed up differently, and what that taught her about real support

👤 ABOUT GRACE LAUBENTHAL

Grace is a real estate professional in Utah and podcast host who survived a tragic accident at 16 that killed a cyclist. Rather than hide from that story, she leaned into it, spent years in therapy and coaching, and rebuilt her life around the belief that everything happens for her, not to her. She now helps others navigate hard seasons by modeling vulnerability and the power of mindset shifts.

📺 ABOUT YES AND LAND

Yes And Land explores the leadership lessons, relationship dynamics, and hard choices hidden in the stories we love. Hosted by Ryan Gregerson, a family law attorney at RCG Law Group, Disney enthusiast, and business coach for law firm owners at Altium Advisors, each episode connects familiar narratives to real-world wisdom you can actually use. New episodes every Thursday.

What happens when your best-laid plans get interrupted by opportunity—and you almost walk away? The Great Mouse Detective answers that question through the lens of a brilliant detective who can't succeed alone, a grounded partner who knows when to step back, and a confident child who refuses to be left behind. Marianne, principal at an arts integration magnet school in Jordan School District, knows that tension intimately. She was hired to be an assistant principal at a junior high during the first week of the COVID-19 shutdown while pregnant with her first child—a moment that forced her to choose between control and collaboration.

🎯 3 Actionable Takeaways (Pulled directly from Marianne's closing segment)

1. Bring What You Have to the Table and Be Confident in It — Recognize your specific strengths and contribute them fully, even when you're uncertain. Why it works: The Great Mouse Detective shows that Basil's brilliance, Dr. Dawson's grounding presence, and Olivia's tenacity are all equally necessary—confidence in your unique role builds team trust.
2. You Can't Do It By Yourself—Choose Your Team Carefully — Build a team where every member pulls equal weight and mission alignment matters more than individual style. Why it works: Rattigan's refusal to accept help and his need to tear others down is what ultimately destroys him, while Basil, Dawson, and Olivia succeed because they trust each other completely.
3. When Things Don't Go as Planned, There's a Good Reason—Trust the Process — Accept that interruptions to your plans often lead to better outcomes than you could have orchestrated alone. Why it works: Marianne's entire career path—from PE teacher to arts coordinator to reluctant principal—shows that surrendering control to circumstance, combined with commitment to your team, creates real transformation.

🔦 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• How Marianne went from planning to teach for "a couple of years" before staying home to building a career as a principal at a Title I arts integration school
• The moment her boss told her she was "already doing the job" of an administrator—and why she initially resisted
• Why she almost quit her principal position three weeks before starting, and what changed her mind
• How Rattigan's refusal to accept who he is (a rat, not a mouse) mirrors what happens when leaders operate from ego instead of authenticity
• Why kids' attention spans haven't actually gotten worse—they've just shifted to what keeps them genuinely entertained
• The dream Marianne hasn't achieved yet: taking her students to Disneyland to expose them to experiences beyond their five-mile radius

👤 ABOUT MARIANNE Marianne is the principal of an arts integration magnet school in West Valley, Jordan School District. She holds a master's degree in Education and Leadership from Utah State University and has spent her career integrating arts, music, and entertainment into academic learning. She's a pianist who has trained since age five, a freestyle rapper who writes custom songs for her students, and a leader who believes that team alignment and authentic self-acceptance are the foundations of real transformation.

Connect with Marianne: 🌐 https://www.linkedin.com/in/marianne-johansen-22b25899/

📺 ABOUT YES AND LAND Yes And Land explores the leadership lessons, relationship dynamics, and hard choices hidden in the stories we love. Hosted by Ryan Gregerson, a family law attorney at RCG Law Group, Disney enthusiast, and business coach for law firm owners at Altium Advisors, each episode connects familiar narratives to real-world wisdom you can actually use. New episodes every Thursday.

***Content Advisory: This episode includes a candid discussion of childhood sexual abuse and its lasting impact. Our guest speaks openly and vulnerably about his personal experience. We believe this conversation can offer real comfort and connection to listeners who've faced similar experiences — but please take care of yourself while listening, and feel free to skip or pause as needed.***

If you or someone you know has experienced abuse, support is available:

RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-656-4673 (24/7, confidential)

Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-422-4453

The Lion King and Becoming Who You're Meant to Be | Alton Fitzgerald White

What if the trauma you survived was actually preparing you for your purpose? The Lion King teaches us that we're all scarred, we're all shaped by what happens to us — but we get to decide what comes next. Alton Fitzgerald White played Mufasa on Broadway for 4,380 performances, but his real journey started in the projects of Cincinnati, where a painfully shy kid who was abused and bullied became the king. He's now an author, speaker, and mentor who helps others find the strength that was always inside them.

🎯 3 Actionable Takeaways

1. Identify One Person Who Sees Your Potential — Find someone you trust who recognizes something in you that you can't yet see in yourself, and let their belief in you become the bridge to your own. Why it works: Alton's choir teacher, his mentors in theater, and the woman who told him "your voice has something special" were the turning points. One person's genuine recognition can shift everything.
2. Set Boundaries Around Your Energy, Not Your Ambition — Schedule time for something that restores you — whether it's hot yoga, running, cooking, or time in nature — and protect it like you protect your most important meeting. Why it works: Alton sustained 4,380 performances of Mufasa by refusing to let the role consume his entire life. Balance isn't laziness; it's the infrastructure that lets you show up at your best.
3. Choose Gratitude Over Ego When Success Arrives — When you accomplish something big, immediately remember the people and moments that got you there, and let that gratitude anchor you. Why it works: Alton credits his mentors, his teachers, and his faith for keeping him grounded through six Broadway shows.

🔦 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• Growing up in public housing in Cincinnati as the only boy in a household of seven kids, and how that shaped his sensitivity and empathy
• The moment a choir teacher's simple words — "your voice, the quality of your voice. You've got something special" — unlocked his entire career
• The difference between letting trauma define you and using it as fuel: "That little painfully shy kid who was abused and teased and bullied became the king"
• Why Mufasa taught him that quiet strength and presence matter more than a lot of words
• How he sustained 4,380 performances without burning out by creating a life outside the show
• Why a mentor's advice before his first Broadway show — "don't take on other people's projections" — became the foundation for protecting his peace

👤 ABOUT ALTON FITZGERALD WHITE

Alton Fitzgerald White is a Broadway legend who played Mufasa in The Lion King for 4,380 performances, making him one of the most consistent and celebrated performers in theater history. He's performed in six Broadway shows total, including Miss Saigon, The Color Purple, and Ragtime. Beyond the stage, Alton is an author of My Pride: Mastering Life's Daily Performance, a sought-after speaker and mentor f...

Yes And Land — Show Notes

What if the gift you're looking for is actually already inside you? Encanto explores that exact question through Mirabel, who spends the whole movie waiting for a magical gift—only to discover her real power was her ability to see and unlock the gifts in everyone around her. Angie White, COO at Jolley's Corner, knows that journey intimately. She's spent her life learning to trade perfectionism for self-worth, fear of failure for curiosity, and self-abandonment for the courage to step into her own power.

🎯 3 Actionable Takeaways

🔦 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

👤 ABOUT ANGIE WHITE

Angie White is COO at Jolley's Corner, where she oversees operations and leads a team with curiosity and grace. She spent 15 years building a business from the ground up, learning that innovation doesn't require an MBA—it requires willingness to fail, learn, and keep moving forward. A mother of four, lifelong reader, puzzle enthusiast, and self-described rule follower turned safe rule breaker, Angie brings both discipline and heart to everything she does.

📺 ABOUT YES AND LAND

Yes And Land explores the leadership lessons, relationship dynamics, and hard choices hidden in the stories we love. Hosted by Ryan Gregerson, a family law attorney at RCG Law Group, Disney enthusiast, and business coach for law firm owners at Altium Advisors, each epi...

What if your marriage is falling apart because you've stopped showing up as a team? The Incredibles reveals the cost of turning away from each other instead of turning toward the problem. Bob and Helen drift into secrecy, competing priorities, and unmet needs—until they remember what actually matters. Cassie Callister, a life coach who has guided hundreds through relationship transformation and personal healing, knows that the gap between a breaking marriage and a thriving one often comes down to one thing: whether you're willing to do the work on yourself first.

🎯 3 Actionable Takeaways

🔦 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

👤 ABOUT CASSIE CALLISTER

Cassie is a life coach who has worked with hundreds of people navigating relationship challenges, grief, and personal transformation. A Utah native, she was married young, divorced after years of self-abandonment, and spent over a decade studying human psychology and her own life experiences to understand how we show up in relationships. She specializes in helping people—especially men and women in their 30s through 60s—develop the self-awareness and communication skills to either heal their marriages or process separation with integrity. Her work is grounded in trauma-informed coaching and the belief that the relationship you have with yourself determines the relationships you have with everyone else.

Connect with Cassie: 🌐 [Website information not mentioned in transcript]

📺 ABOUT YES AND LAND

Yes And Land explores the leadership lessons, relationship dynamics, and hard choices hidden in the stories we love. Hosted by Ryan Gregerson, a family law attorney at RCG Law Group, Disney enthusiast, and business coach for law firm owners at Altium Advisors, each episode connects familiar narratives to real-wor...

What if the strongest version of yourself comes from the hardest seasons you've lived through? Moana asks that question through a girl who sails beyond the reef despite every doubt around her. Cierra, brand manager at Minky Couture, has lived that exact story—losing a child, navigating two divorces, and stepping back into the workforce with nothing but her own conviction that she was capable of more than people believed.

🎯 3 Actionable Takeaways

1. Jump Without Overthinking — Don't let fear paralyze you into inaction. The moment you're ready to move forward, move. Why it works: Sierra shot her shot at dinner with Sandy Hendry when her marriage had just ended five days prior. Overthinking would have kept her stuck. Action breaks the cycle.
2. Don't Stop When It Gets Hard — Fear and doubt will make you want to retreat the moment something doesn't go the way you planned. Keep going anyway. Why it works: Cierra joined 14 different chambers of commerce, didn't know the business, and kept showing up. That persistence is what built her credibility and moved the needle at Minky.
3. Serve Others to Find Yourself — Being kind, having real conversations, and looking outward instead of inward is the fastest way to build trust and discover your own strength. Why it works: When Cierra stopped trying to prove herself and started genuinely connecting with people on a personal level first, the business followed naturally.

🔦 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• How losing her infant son Jack 11 years ago fundamentally changed Cierra's capacity for empathy and shaped who she is today
• The moment Cierra pitched herself to Sandy Hendry at dinner—five days after her husband left—and how vulnerability became her greatest asset
• Why her first marriage ended: not because of the loss of Jack, but because they didn't grieve him together, and grief became a wall instead of a bridge
• The mantra from Moana that Cierra repeats daily: "I am Moana. I will do this." And how mantras shift meaning as you grow
• How being a single mom with 50/50 custody forced Cierra to be radically present—because she only has half the time, she refuses to waste any of it
• The difference between being strong and being resentful of your own strength—and how both emotions can coexist
• Why kindness without genuine connection is just niceness, and how genuine relationships are built on curiosity instead of judgment
• Sierra's quote above her vanity: "She designed a life she loved"—and what that actually looks like in practice

👤 ABOUT CIERRA

Cierra is the brand manager at Minky Couture, a company that has donated $5.5 million worth of blankets to people in need over the past year. She holds a degree in communications with a minor in theater from BYU-Idaho, spent a decade raising three boys, and has spent the last four years building Minky's marketing presence from the ground up. Her story is one of resilience, genuine connection, and the belief that you are more capable than people know.

Connect with Cierra: 🌐 Minky Couture

📺 ABOUT YES AND LAND

Yes And Land explores the leadership lessons, relationship dynamics, and hard choices hidden in the stories we love. Hosted by Ryan Gregerson, a family law attorney at RCG Law Group, Disney enthusiast, and business coach for law firm owners at Altium Advisors, each episode connects familiar narratives to real-world wisdom you can actually use.

New episodes every Thursday.

What happens when the worst moment of your life becomes the catalyst for your greatest strength? Encanto answers that question through Casita, the house that holds a family together through impossible loss. James experienced his own darkest moment on a regular Tuesday in Anaheim—a car accident that took his pregnant wife, Yesenia, but miraculously saved his newborn daughter. Now, five years later, he's using that tragedy to inspire thousands, proving that the miracle isn't some external gift. The miracle is you. James is a devoted father, ultrasound technician, and content creator whose story of grief, resilience, and radical love has touched countless lives online.

🎯 3 Actionable Takeaways

1. Dedicate at least 20 minutes of your day to the people who matter most — Give them your full, undivided attention, even if you've been away for eight to ten hours. Why it works: Children don't measure love by the hours you're gone; they measure it by the quality of the moments you're present for them.
2. Reframe your hardest moments as opportunities to show up — When you're exhausted, grieving, or overwhelmed, choose to be the person your loved ones need you to be. Why it works: James learned that his daughter's fight for life gave him permission to fight for his own purpose; your struggle can become your strength.
3. Notice the signs that your loved ones are still with you — Whether it's a butterfly, a hummingbird, or an unexpected moment of clarity, pause and acknowledge the presence of those you've lost. Why it works: Honoring connection—even in grief—keeps you grounded and reminds you that love transcends loss.

🔦 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• The moment James found out he was going to be a father after trying for over a year—and how that joy was shattered just weeks later on a Tuesday walk near Disneyland
• The emergency C-section that saved his daughter's life after she went 20 minutes without oxygen in the womb, while his wife, Yesenia, did not survive
• His daughter's fight through the NICU: breathing apparatus, jaundice, a small stroke in the frontal lobe, and a therapeutic cooling procedure—and how her strength became his strength
• The brutal reality of single parenthood: zero sleep for a week, learning to change diapers (including a memorable blowout), and discovering that those mundane moments are actually the most sacred
• How Encanto's message—"The miracle is you"—mirrors his own journey: his daughter is the miracle, not because of some gift or power, but simply because she is
• Finding love again five years later, becoming a father to a newborn son, and watching his daughter embrace her role as a big sister
• The superstitious signs that keep him connected to Yesenia: white butterflies and hummingbirds that appear when he needs them most

👤 ABOUT JAMES

James is an ultrasound technician, devoted father, and content creator who has transformed unimaginable grief into a message of hope and resilience. After losing his wife, Yesenia, in a car accident while she was 36 weeks pregnant, James became a single father to a miracle daughter who survived against impossible odds. He now shares his story freely—not for publicity or financial gain, but to inspire others navigating loss, grief, and the search for purpose. His journey from devastation to joy, and his unwavering commitment to being present for his children, has touched thousands online.

Connect with James: https://www.instagram.com/jameslalvarez/

📺 ABOUT YES AND LAND

Yes And Land explores the leadership lessons, relationship dynamics, and hard choices hidden in the stories we love. Hosted by Ryan Gregerson, a family law attorney at RCG Law, Disney enthusiast, and business coach for...

The Little Mermaid and the Art of Real Communication

What happens when a parent refuses to listen to their child? The Little Mermaid shows us the cost. King Triton's unwillingness to have a genuine conversation with Ariel—his refusal to ask questions, to understand her perspective, to meet her where she is—doesn't protect her. It pushes her straight into Ursula's arms. Chalise, a certified financial planner and certified divorce financial analyst, knows from her professional practice that communication breakdown is often the root cause of everything else that falls apart. Today we're breaking down the TALK framework from Harvard communication expert Allison Woodbrooks, and learning how to have conversations that actually build connection instead of destroy it.

🎯 3 Actionable Takeaways (Pulled directly from Chalise's closing segment)

1. Practice T, A, L, and K Consistently — Spend time studying and improving the TALK framework (Topics, Asking, Levity, Kindness) in your everyday conversations. Why it works: The more you practice these four elements, the better communicator you become, and that improvement trickles into every aspect of your life—relationships, parenting, work, everything.
2. Prepare Topics Before Important Conversations — Spend a little time beforehand thinking about a few things you can bring to the conversation, even just 30 seconds of mental prep. Why it works: Being prepared reduces anxiety, makes everybody more relaxed, and helps the conversation flow better from the start.
3. Ask Better Questions and Listen Actively — Ask follow-up questions, show the person you care by making eye contact and being present, and listen to understand rather than to respond. Why it works: Active listening demonstrates that you genuinely value what the other person is saying, which builds real connection and trust.

🔦 EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS

• King Triton's refusal to have a conversation with Ariel mirrors what happens in real divorces—communication breakdown is often the root cause of everything else that falls apart
• The TALK framework: Topics (prepare), Asking (follow-up questions), Levity (sparkle and fizz), Kindness (the most important element)
• How asking "What do you need from me?" can be one of the most effective questions in hard conversations
• The difference between genuine curiosity and asking questions just to steer the conversation back to yourself
• Why body language matters more than words—Ursula's threatening body language creates distrust before she ever speaks
• How to break through one-word answers from your kids by naming it with humor and levity, then reloading the conversation
• The power of acknowledgment first: "It makes sense that you're feeling this way" opens the door to real dialogue

👤 ABOUT CHALISE WESTENKOW Chalise Westenkow is a Certified Financial Planner and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst who helps people make good financial decisions when the stakes are high and emotions are high. A Sandy, Utah native who studied economics at the University of Utah, she brings both analytical rigor and deep empathy to her work—whether she's helping families navigate retirement planning or guiding clients through the financial complexity of divorce. Her professional practice has taught her that communication breakdown is often the thread that, when pulled, unravels everything else.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/chalise-westenskow/

📺 ABOUT YES AND LAND Yes And Land explores the leaders....