Matt Brennan is a Chicago-area copywriter, journalist and blogger, marketer, and contributor to HuffPost Parents, the Chicago Sun-Times, and numerous other websites and publications. He is also the author of Write Right – Sell Now and his most recent book, The Virus and Us: A Letter from Father to Son in the Midst of the Pandemic.

(For full show notes on this episode visit https://sickbiz.com/131)

We chatted about how a ton of parents are juggling the seismic shift of moving from FT on-campus school to either homeschooling entirely or partial in-class schooling and online learning. As an entrepreneur, Matt has run his business for years while dealing with rheumatoid arthritis--so he is s Sick Bizzer as well. As he juggles having a kiddo at home, he has changed his agenda, priorities, and how he manages his day-to-day business. The other really cool thing about Matt is that he is donating half of his royalties on his book, The Virus and Us  to the Northwestern

Medicine Covid-19 Relief Fund a Chicago-area health system.

Takeaways:

1. These crazy times are indeed bringing us closer together, no matter what that means to different people in different situations.
   
2. Never turn down an opportunity to have a Nerf gun fight right before lunch--you may not get it again!
   
3. Adjusting your schedule is necessary right now. You can find pockets of time in your day to accomplish what you want to even if that means getting up earlier or going to bed later. Being flexible just might save you and your business!
   

Matt Brennan has taken this time to examine his life and give back to his family and himself. He has done what many of us find comfort in, finding the gift in this new, weird, ever-changing reality.

To get in touch with Matt please reach out to him at matthewbrennan.com.

Check out Matt’s latest book here.

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.

Brian Will will astound you with his tenacity, fierce intelligence, innovation, and fortitude. He has been run through the wringer his whole life but he never let it get him down. Now, he has written a book detailing his come up, what he’s overcome as well as what he’s accomplished...and these are no small feats. As soon as his second book was done, he returned right back to the laptop to finish his second book! This is a man who doesn’t stop! Brian has created or co-created six booming businesses worth hundreds of millions of dollars in four industries. 

His first book, I Give the Dumb Kids Hope—Starting Life at Zero, is immediately gripping and takes you down the path of his tragic past all the way to his triumphant present. It is available on Amazon. His second book, How to Succeed in Business with No Money...No Education...and No Clue—The new Millionaire Next Door...written by an actual serial entrepreneur will be available this fall.

For full show notes on this episode, go to https://sickbiz.com/130.

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.

Today’s podcast episode is part two of the little-known secrets of healing trauma. And we’re talking about addressing it in such a way that you can live with it without it taking over your life and allowing self-sabotage or full-on destruction. You can be a survivor while you also go on to live a very successful life on your terms. And that’s the key. Trauma can feel as though we participate in it involuntarily and that we don’t have a choice but to feel pain. And while the pain will be there and can’t ever go away, the intensity of that pain is in our control.

For full show notes on this episode go to https://sickbizz.com/129

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.

Hilary hits the airwaves to discuss a few secrets about trauma. Trauma is her jam. She knows a thing or two about how to climb out of the trenches when every crab in there wants to pull you back down to live the phrase “misery loves company.” You can refuse to go there anymore, or be pigeonholed by any label. You can be who you want to be as well by simply proclaiming that in your mind.

For full show notes on this episode visit https://sizbiz.com/128

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.

When Jason Herterich got sick, he knew that he had to do more with his condition than just suffer through it and barely survive. An engineering graduate, he is now the founder of the podcast  the Discomfort Zone, featuring immersive stories on chronic illness and disability. The Discomfort Zone uncovers our collective humanity through stories of vulnerability, wellness and resilience. Naturally, Jason is also a chronic illness and disability advocate learning how to live with the beasts, fibromyalgia ME/CFS, POTS, and IBS. Thankfully, after quite a few years of sickness and exhaustion, Jason saw the light that told him his life would be different, but good.

Takeaways:

1. How to get out of bed when you have been bedridden for a long time.


2.  Why other people need to hear your story.


3. How to start and keep an exercise regimen when you have chronic fatigue syndrome.


Jason took a very dark time and turned on the light so he could see where he was going and what he wanted to focus on, even in the midst of terrible pain and discouragement. And now he has found a deeper meaning because he chose to center on the outside, where people needed him, versus the inside, where all the pain is. It’s not to say that Jason isn’t confronted with pain and that he doesn’t have to manage it. But he knows he is more than his conditions. In fact he is so much more, who he is spills out of himself and onto the rest of the world. Make sure to follow his podcast the Discomfort Zone to hear stories that will move you as you get to know the magic that is Jason :)

Bio: Jason is the host/producer of Discomfort Zone podcast. He lives with fibromyalgia, POTS, IBS and ME/CFS. He was born and raised in Toronto, Canada. He is the youngest of three kids and the proud uncle of his nephew and niece. He currently lives at home with his mom and dad. On occasion, he helps with the dishes and does his own laundry. 

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.

Mia Voss aka “The Accidental Entrepreneur” is a human ray of sunshine who has a unique handle on life. Her company, Mia on the Go represents women over 40 going on kickass travel adventures. (Spoiler alert: you’ll learn how to adapt your travel and what kind of travel works in the apocalypse). Mia is a travel blogger, life lover, brand ambassador, spokesperson, social storyteller, burgeoning podcaster of Shit We Don’t Talk About, and she speaks with a focus on female buying power. She has also kicked anxiety to the curb and is a veteran of walking into her triggers.

For complete show notes on this episode visit https://sickbiz.com/126

Takeaways:

1. Why you need to pivot in a pandemic--and where you should put your efforts. What is your business ripe for doing right now?
   
2. What the hell and ambivert is. Q: Are you one?
   
3. How to confront your anxiety and do the opposite of what your fear wants you to do.
   

Mia Voss is proof that you are the architect of your life. That you hold the blueprints and can reinvent yourself as many times as you desire. There is a niche out there for you. Your people are out there. The ones who want to hear your story and will even look up to you are waiting for you. We all have the responsibility to follow our passions. Mis doing just that. Check her out on Facebook at “Mia Voss on the Go.”

Bio: Mia Voss is a super opinionated lifestyle blogger and activist, brand ambassador, speaker, and entrepreneur. Her main superpowers? Storytelling & people connecting. And drinking wine.

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.

On a former SBB podcast, Drew Linsalata talked about a radical way to manage and decrease your anxiety attacks. Now, he is going to tell you more about his journey that led him to write two fresh new books in the last 18 months!

Both of these books, The Anxious Truth: A Step-By-Step Guide To Understanding and Overcoming Panic, Anxiety, and Agoraphobia and An Anxiety Story - How I Recovered from Anxiety, Panic And Agoraphobia, became immediate bestsellers and for good reason. Drew is lighting up anxiety and sharing where he has come from. He is his own testimonial. And amidst everything that felt like it was attacking him, Drew did an about-face and confronted his anxiety. That’s how tired of it he was. Of course he did this all while running his own businesses...which is why this show is perfect for all the Sick Bizzers.

For full show notes on this episode go to https://sickbiz.com/125

Takeaways:

1. Drew’s healing process through the only proven methodology to truly manage and control their anxiety. Hint: he is not suffering with it anymore. Hint #2: Your brain is a liar.
2. Using his approach, which is heralded by modern and traditional psychology, you can actually have an anxiety attack and not care. You will register that you are having it, but it won’t really bug you.
3. From a business perspective Drew shares the golden egg of book marketing, which is something that every author should practice. It involves taking imperfect action and working in your genuine passion (a word Drew hates, lol).

Some people find the answer to what they are looking for and turn inward, keeping it to themselves and feeling that’s enough. Self-professed behavioral science nerd, Drew Linsalata said that’s not enough. He states, “If I am suffering, there are others who are suffering as well.” Sharing his solution has now benefitted nearly a million people. If anxiety is tangling up your life, then you owe it to yourself to listen to Drew’s podcast, The Anxious Truth, and check out his FB group, The Anxious Truth: THAT Anxiety Recovery Forum.

Check out his books here.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

Joe Ryan has been on a lifelong journey of overcoming shame and the demons that plague him from his childhood. And now, he has turned his mission outward, helping other people to conquer their traumatic pasts. It’s so admirable when people look beyond themselves. He shares some very insightful perceptions about recovery, what’s standing in your way and why you are so drawn to your fear. In this ridick pandemic age, Joe’s recovery slowed to a degree and with the lack of connectivity to other humans, he had to do more work to keep healing. So he also shares with you how you can keep going even in the face of COVID and so much more. Everything you hear today is designed to help you grow and at last rehab your soul.

For full show notes on this episode go to https://sickbiz.com/124

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.

Jake Schaap has been through the living hell of agonizing chronic illness and forced to work for himself and find a way. Now, he is a successful entrepreneur, is free from his physical pain, and is turning his efforts toward helping our very special community. He knows there is a way to make it all work: sickness, business, profitability, life, relationships, and so on. His tagline is: I help people with autoimmune create simple income solutions. Naturally, he is the perfect fit for Sick Biz.

For full show notes on this episode go to https://sickbiz.com/123

Takeaways:

1. Memorize what Jake says about what chronically ill entrepreneurs don’t do that hurts their business.
2. Jake shares the mistake in business he made for you--so you don’t have to make it! It might be something you’re doing today...so don’t miss this tip.
3. The lessons that Jake learned every day from being sick.
   

Jake has the advantage of having worked with incredible debilitating pain--and what an advantage, huh? Now, being out of that pain and seeing through the lens of working with the most accomplished entrepreneurs out there, he is dedicated to helping you dissect your business and reassemble it so it is the most profitable model possible. To get in touch with Jake, please reach him at jakeschaap.com.

Bio:

Jake Schaap is one of the rare few that can honestly say he used to be chronically ill. Having an autoimmune disease did leave a lasting impact on his life after illness. Jake uses his decade of experience in the entrepreneur world with a unique perspective and empathy for people with autoimmune diseases, to help them find the right fit for an online business plan.

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.

V  said enough is enough when it came to veterans’ pain. As a vet herself, she put her education to work and to solve her own pain through the use of CBD and terpenes.

For full show notes on this episode, go to https://sickbiz.com/122

Since she started to resolve her ills, she went on to do what she does, combine her love of cooking (you have to check out her recipes--edible and regular) and the products that help her live her life with reduced pain.

Your three takeaways for this week’s episode:

1. You can heal your pain from the inside out through the use of CBD and terpenes--ingesting one and using the other topically.
2. There are many strains of CBD and cannabis that can be specially formulated for your type of pain and condition.
3. Be open to combining pharmaceuticals with CBD and terpenes to see if it best affects your pain. The truth is always somewhere in the middle.

Do you know what makes our world beautiful? What brings real change to our lives? It’s when people step up and see a way to make an improvement. V Edwards has done just that. Spurred on by her need to eradicate pain in her life, she expanded her mission to include other people. And this is the most beautiful kind of helping you can do. To get in touch with her and learn more, check out her site at https://www.cannavihemp.com.

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.

Janell Marie had a dream that changed her life. In her dream, she connected colors to emotions and saw the picture that connected every human. She saw the unifying threads of who we are meant to be to help each other.

For full show notes on this episode, visit https://sickbiz.com/121

Beautifully Unbroken is nearly finished. It’s a polyamorous marriage of concepts. The concept of color and even being a living, breathing kaleidoscope that houses all those colors. Combine that with her Freedom Formula for breaking free of whatever has you stuck and you very nearly have the makings of a human manual.

Your three takeaways for this week’s episode:

1. We are united through feelings.
2. Making decisions is always more effective when you do it non-emotionally. Try Janell’s Freedom Formula and learn how quickly you can make even the most complex decisions.
3. Always, always, always believe in yourself and your dreams and put them in motion!

In a world crying for some sort of unity and commonality, Janell Marie’s kaleidoscope concept is it. We are all people feeling these specific colors she has outlined in her new book Kaleidoscope, Beautifully Unbroken, available on Amazon on 7/20. You can pre-order it here: Kaleidoscope, Beautifully Unbroken.

Catch the sickest podcast around and learn how to turn your pain into purpose and profit every week on Sick Biz Buzz. Tune in wherever podcasts are available.

To purchase your copy of Hilary’s book Sick Success click here.