Guest Dawn Cook Causey:  “Empathy, which is the key dimension of EQ–emotional intelligence–has been until quite recently so dramatically underutilized in our day-to-day communications, in spite of the fact that it is the root cause of so many communications issues. With almost every client I have worked with over the many years I have been coaching, I find that I spend a large amount of time helping them understand and then improve their capacity for empathy. A while back I even coined the idea, ‘Empathy is the difference between compliance and commitment.’ I truly believe that. If you are unable to meet somebody half-way during a discussion or debate, you will find it exceptionally difficult to influence them.”

Dawn Cook Causey is an ICF certified professional executive coach with six certifications in emotional intelligence. Her mission in life is to raise the bar on emotional intelligence in leaders around the world. She likes to say she is in the polishing business, helping leaders and teams shine their brightest by making the best choices every moment of every day. Her personal motto is, it’s your choice, so make it count.

"The challenge for most people is figuring out where is the intersection of 1) what they love to do, 2) what they are also really good at doing, and 3) what will people legitimately pay for."

Jennifer Allwood has built her business in phases into what she considers a dream life. It all began with her fascination with HGTV, her love of decorating, and a trip to a Home Show. And yes, from being laid off her job as a software analyst. A passionate cheerleader of women, she adds biblical truth to the modern day “dream big” mantra. Her no-nonsense approach to doing things you are scared to do and saying yes to God is helping women everywhere build the life and business of their dreams. When she’s not coaching her nearly 3,000 clients each month, she’s living the dream in Kansas City with Mr. Magic (her husband, Jason) and their four wild kiddos—Noah, Easton, Ava Grace, and Ariana. Oh, and their Goldendoodles, Stella and Lola, the best dogs on earth.

"The New York office asked me if I’d like to transfer there as supervisor and a pay raise that was literally three times greater than what I was earning at the time as a 25-year-old ‘newbie' in the world of advertising. My immediate response was: 'No thank you, I want to make movies.' Soon thereafter I accepted a job as a production assistant on a TV show called 'Dream On' which was featured on HBO, for a tiny fraction of the salary I was offered in the ad business. My gut told me that if I took that high-paying job, I would be shackled by the proverbial ‘golden handcuffs’ and never be able to pursue my passion for the film and TV industry. My gut was spot on and I have been creating a career that I love every day ever since.” Tim Tortora has spent his impressive career in the entertainment industry garnering extensive financial and producing experience before releasing his second book “An Effective Guide to Build Your Path in The Film and TV Industry.” His latest book and companion Community guides aspiring filmmakers through the black box that is building a durable network in film and TV production.

Anthony Schembri is a distinguished former police commissioner with a background in homicide and forensic evidence. He has held several leadership positions in law enforcement. Schembri’s dynamic career and accolades include an Innovations in Government award from Harvard. He is a Fulbright scholar and the author of several books on criminal law and leadership. His first novel, In Russia: A Brooklyn Solution, follows Lieutenant Anthony Migali of the NYPD on an international web of deceit and murder as he is tasked with solving Moscow’s first-ever serial killer case. The book is full of Schembri's real life adventures.

A Few More Interesting Facts

• Anthony Schembri was a NYC police commissioner for almost 15 years.
• ABC’s 1990s crime drama “The Commish” is based on his life. He wrote several episodes for the series. (The first season of the TV show is available through Amazon.)
• He took a professorship at the University of Florida to teach courses on serial crime.
• Governor Bush asked him to take the job of Secretary of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (the juvenile prison system) where at that time they admitted 128,000 juveniles a year. His responsibilities also included 26 detention centers, 1,400 probation officers, and 164 prevention programs.

“It’s just not easy to find what we love, let alone do what we love and being financially rewarded for that. It does require a ton of courage. It takes us out of our safety zone. A job is giving us the most basic need on the hierarchy of needs, which is to feel safe, to survive. For a successful entrepreneurship or doing what we truly love, we just have to get okay with uncertainty and going out of that safety zone. Our brain is not designed to do that. The change is not easy.”

Born in Slovakia, Lenka Lutonska moved to the UK at the age of 19 with a dream to “change the world.” From humble beginnings working for McDonald’s, she is now an international business and mindset strategist for women entrepreneurs, an international trainer of NLP, a professional speaker and a passionate believer in every woman’s right to have the life and business she truly loves. Author of “Energetic Selling and Marketing,” Lenka has also been featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur and other international business publications and has been described by many as deeply knowledgeable and an inspirational trainer and coach.

“I love to go out there speaking and educating–on top of the franchising. It’s a great time to be exploring franchising. Our placements year-to-date are up over 50%, which was up 50% over the previous year. Whether you are thinking of switching careers or getting a side hustle going or looking at expanding your investment portfolio, I just think the time is ripe. A lot of people coming out of Covid have said, ‘Now’s the time to have a little more control of my life. I’ve always thought about business ownership, but it is risky.’ The fact is, working for somebody may be even riskier. There has definitely been a large shake-up out there. I often give talks to investors about franchising as an asset. There are tax benefits and all kinds of benefits that come from business ownership. I love being able to help others and later hear them tell their success stories.”

Jon Ostenson is a certified franchise consultant, owner/investor, author and international speaker specializing in the area of non-food franchising. He draws on his experience as both the President of an Inc. 500 franchise system and as a multi-brand franchisee in serving clients across these capacities. He serves as CEO of FranBridge Consulting where he helps clients understand all aspects of non-food franchising in the process of introducing them to opportunities from the over 300 high growth brands that he represents. Additionally, Jon oversees FranBridge Capital where he and his partners own 17 territories across 5 property service franchises.

Several years into a successful chiropractic practice, Mitchell Mays puzzled over the patients who kept returning with recurring conditions, no matter what he tried. Then, he had an “ah-ha!” moment that took his practice in a whole new direction.

Dr. Mays is the #1 best-selling author of MIND GATE: Demolish Fear, Overcome Anxiety and Create the Life You Want. He’s been a licensed chiropractor since 1978 and is a certified master hypnotist and hypnotherapist employing functional medicine, biofeedback, nutrition, guided imagery and hypnosis for chronic anxiety, stress and pain. He and his wife Terry, also a hypnotherapist and mind/body practitioner, maintain a busy practice in northern California.

Morgan Gist MacDonald began her career in academia, as a Sociologist, but soon found the entrepreneurial pull to take her skills as a researcher, writer, teacher, and leader into building a publishing company, from the ground up.

She is an author, speaker, and the founder of Paper Raven Books, an innovative publishing company designed to help first-time and experienced authors alike through the writing, publishing, and marketing process so they can get their books published and build a loyal readership and a long-term career as an author.

Morgan believes that even an unknown debut author with no connections, platform, or following truly can sell tens of thousands of copies of a book, gather thousands of reviews, and attract fans of their work that will come back for more, year-over-year.

"You have to be open to unexpected opportunities to grow your audience. When the Olympics came to Atlanta in July of 1996, a photographer friend of mine was offered a space to curate her own show. She asked me and a few other artists to exhibit as well. I created 13 new works in the span of a month after my day job in a frame shop. I sold all my paintings and that launched my art career in Atlanta."

Jennifer J L Jones is an American artist known for her elegant multi-layered glazed abstract paintings inspired by nature. Her work is exhibited and sought after worldwide by private and public collectors. Jones was born in 1971 in Alexandria, Virginia, and received her BFA from the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She works full time as an exhibiting artist going on 21 years. After living in cities growing her career, Jones now resides in Port Royal, SC. When Jennifer recorded this interview, she was working on her second coffee table book, memoir and preparing for several upcoming shows. 

Captain Maria Yturria, since the original recording of this episode, has been named Deputy Chief of the Professional Development Unit of the Richmond County Police Department. She is an FBI National Academy graduate. She has been in law enforcement since 2003, before that serving in the U.S. Army. Her assignments have included uniform patrol deputy, investigator, victim services, and Public Information Officer for the Richland County Sheriff’s Department (RCSD). She has served on the Deputy Advisory Council and been the team leader of the Crisis Management Team. Maria has worked with federal, state, and local agencies on illegal immigration, drug prevention and human trafficking. Her certifications include Hostage/Crisis Negotiator, Statewide Peer Support Team Leader, Self Defense Instructor and board member for the AUSA SC Palmetto Chapter. She’s received numerous awards throughout her career.

“I think that, number one, we are in a customer service role. Over 95% of our interaction with people requires the highest possible communications skills. That's what you're there for. You're there to communicate and find out what they're scared of, what they need, what their wants are, what their likes are, how you can help them. But without being able to communicate, how do you connect with people? This is foundational to our occupation.”

“I have always been very vocal about sharing my black experience with my friends and family members, and as I’ve mentioned, I have been a natural leader in bringing people together. So, I decided to go public with my own video about what it's like raising black boys in this country, and what some of the experiences are that we go through, as well as the talks I have to have with my boys to keep them safe. That video ended up with 20,000 views within two days on Facebook–all organic. It was just off the cuff: I set up my phone and started speaking. Lieutenant Governor Cox, who was then running for governor of Utah, got wind of the video. His campaign reached out and said he and his running mate for Lieutenant Governor, Henderson, had seen my video and wanted to come chat. They came over, along with now First Lady Cox, and I was very frank with them. I said, ‘I know you are a politician and I’m sure that you have an angle–I’m not here to play that game. However, if you are going to help get the message out in a good way, that I can get behind. I began sharing some of the stories and experiences of my family and we ended up with this deep connection and became very good friends. Once they won the election, they commissioned me to serve on Project Gateway: Equity and Opportunity Commission for Utah.”

Aundrea DeMille is the author of “Is It Racism? How to Heal the Human Divide.” She's an International Keynote Speaker, Trainer, and Podcast Host of The Wake Up Stories. She is a business owner with years of study in diversity and inclusion and has a degree in community health and human services. She has been appointed to serve on Project Gateway: Equity and Opportunity Commission for Utah. Aundrea is a maker of men (she has 5 boys), lover of peanut butter and hater of chocolate. She feels most like herself when she is barefoot and connected to nature.