Leslie Ehm— Unlocking the Swagger of Leaders from Some of the World's Biggest Brands (#33)

ABOUT TODAY'S EPISODE

What do YOU call that X-Factor, that when you have it— creates influence, connection, and an unwavering belief in what you’re saying or asking for? 

 

Is it influence? Confidence? Authenticity?

 

Leslie Ehm calls it Swagger.

 

A former TV host and professional singer, Leslie spent decades traveling the globe with her award-winning company Combustion, training leaders from places like Google, Disney, Pepsico, Uber, HBO, and more. Her workshops have turned technologists into creative forces, bankers into incredible storytellers, and has created serious levels of discomfort, disruption, and breakthroughs into boardrooms everywhere.

 

Leslie has a fierce passion for human potential. She’s the author of the brand-new book Swagger – Unleash Everything You Are and Become Everything You Want. 

 

She has been called “better than therapy”, “a rock star”, “ass-kicking”, “a force of nature” and even “a witch”.

 

This conversation was a blast. We talk about her truly legendary Mom who created a global movement around female solo travel.

 

 

 We get into the connection between extreme discomfort and personal transformation. Leslie also details the specifics about how to tap into your own Swagger, and how to leverage it as fuel for your personal brand.

 She also covers everything she learned from stepping into the boxing ring, and why her walk-on song is “Momma Said Knock You Out” by LL Cool J.

 

I mean, who couldn’t use a little more Swagger? Enjoy this far-ranging conversation on tapping into your authentic voice with Leslie Ehm.

 

 

 Read an excerpt of Leslie’s 
brand-new book on Amazon.

 

 

CONNECT WITH LESLIE

  Pick up Swagger (USA) on Amazon

Pick up Swagger (Canada) on Amazon

Official Site: www.leslieehm.com

Coach with Leslie: Coaching Page

On Facebook: Leslie Ehm Speaks

On Twitter: Follow Leslie here

On Instagram: Follow Leslie here

 

 

 

HEAR MORE + SUBSCRIBE

This podcast shares ways to expand your container as a business leader, and as a human being— to hold more MAGIC, as we continue to navigate so much change and uncertainty.

Our show explores 4 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark, and Permission to Glow in The Light. Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter).

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter). Learn more: thisepiclife.com

 

 

 

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

Melissa + Doug’s Co-Founder, on her Journey from Profound Darkness to Radiant Light.

ABOUT TODAY'S EPISODE

Thirty-two years ago, Melissa Bernstein cofounded Melissa + Doug toys with her husband, Doug. Since then, the company Melissa + Doug has created over 5,000 children’s products and sold billions of dollars of toys.

 

Throughout her long and incredible career, Melissa kept a secret that had been plaguing her since childhood.

 

A couple years ago, on my friend Jonathan Fields’ Good Life Project podcast, Melissa revealed that she has struggled with acute anxiety and existential depression. Suffering largely in silence, she was still able to build a life many of us would consider ideal. Six kids, a successful, beloved children’s brand, and working side-by-side with her best friend, husband, and business partner Doug.

 

In her incredible new book LifeLines— An Inspirational Journey from Profound Darkness to Radiant Light, Melissa shares hundreds of poems she has written since was a child. Each verse and couplet working with the opposing forces of darkness and light.

 

The book really is kind of breathtaking. 650 pages, with hundreds of full-color images, exploring the tragedy and transcendence of being human. Poetry, nature, music, and a handful of other themes she explores in great depths became her lifelines, and her healing.

 

In our conversation today, we talk about the duality of producing so much great work, while suffering so deeply. We hear how she turned her darkness into fuel for achievement, her daily practices, and how she gives her mind a much-needed break. (I call this Permission to Chill).

 

We spend a good amount of time exploring her new community, and the movement Melissa and her husband Doug have created to coincide with the book— LifeLines. This conversation is a great reminder that we are never alone in our suffering, and that there are proven ways out. 

 

LifeLines has also launched a new community and website to get people connected to resources, awareness, and to one another.

 

Melissa’s husband Doug may have written the sweetest About the Author page I’ve ever seen. 

 

In it, her perfectly summarizes this long-form interview you’re about to hear: “Melissa shows us that when darkness descends, and it seems there’s no escape, there actually is a way out, there actually is hope, and there actually is a path that can lead to meaning and purpose.”

 

 

Please enjoy this vulnerable, and ultimately joyful conversation with of my longtime Sheroes, and new friends— Melissa Bernstein

 

 

In our conversation, you will learn:

 

 

1. How her and her husband Doug founded, and built their toy empire Melissa & Doug.
   
   
2. How she discovered she her sensitivities and existential depression.
   
   
3. Her big “coming out party” on Jonathan Fields’ Good Life Project podcast episode.
   
   
4. How her family supports her new calling, and some of the challenges.
   
   
5. How to turn some of your struggles into meaning and purpose through community, non-judgment, and personal practice
   
   
6. Her daily creative mantra for staying curious and getting into the heart.

 

 

 

Read an excerpt of Melissa’s
brand new book on Amazon

 

CONNECT WITH MELISSA

 

Send Melissa a direct message

 

www.lifelines.com

 

www.melissaanddoug.com

 

www.instagram.com/seeklifelines

 

twitter.com/seeklifelines

 

 

HEAR MORE + SUBSCRIBE

This podcast shares ways to expand your container as a business leader, and as a human being— to hold more MAGIC, as we continue to navigate so much change and uncertainty.

Our show explores 4 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark, and Permission to Glow in The Light. Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter).

Learn more: http://thisepiclife.com

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter).
Learn more: thisepiclife.com

 

 

 

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

Have the events of the last few years made you more anxious? If so, you’re not alone. Anxiety + Stress aren’t weaknesses. Rather, they are indicators of some of the important changes we must make. We can work with anxiety using simple, timeless methods that take us back to our breath, and back into our hearts.

Our return guest Lodro Rinzler reached out about his new book at exactly the right moment. We are grappling with more uncertainty and anxiety than ever before. Lodro’s gift is to apply the practical simplicity of ancient Buddhist teachings in just about any modern context.

In our conversation, you will learn:

1. How to find “compassion in a dumpster fire”
2. Simple practices for taking back your mind when it wants to run and hide.
3. The series of events that led to writing his latest book.
4. Why this is the book that he, and so many of his students and friends needed at this time.
5. How the book pays it forward by donating 100% of the proceeds to a great cause supporting young women.

In his new book, Take Back Your Mind— Buddhist Advice For Anxious Times, 6-time author, MNDFL founder, and meditation teacher Lodro Rinzler lays out a practical path of working with our anxiety. The book is available everywhere on February 9th, 2021.

Read an excerpt of Lodro’s brand new book on Amazon:

ABOUT OUR GUEST

Lodro Rinzler is a Buddhist meditation practitioner and teacher. He took refuge in the Buddhist tradition around the age of 6, and considered monastic vows as a teenager, before choosing to stick it out in our noisy world as a teacher.

After leaving college, he was recruited to lead one of Boston’s largest meditation centers. Around this time he began leading numerous workshops throughout the United States, and to date has taught meditation at locations as diverse as Google, Harvard, and the Obama White House.

In 2015, he founded MNDFL (spelled capitol MNDFL), which is NYC’s premier drop-in meditation studio. Over the last couple years MNDFL has expanded into three studios, an online portal of teachings, and a non-profit arm which brings meditation into the education system.

It has recently been named the “best place to meditate” by New York Magazine.

Lodro is the author of six books including the best-selling “The Buddha Walks into a Bar…”, Walk Like a Buddha, The Buddha Walks into the Office…, Sit Like a Buddha, How to Love Yourself (And Sometimes Other People) and Love Hurts: Buddhist Advice for the Heartbroken.

His books translate Buddhist meditation principles for modern times, and have been featured in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, and on CBS, FOX, and NBC News.

Connect with Lodro here:

• www.LodroRinzler.com
• www.mndflmeditation.com
• www.facebook.com/LodroRinzlerSpeaks
• twitter.com/@lodrorinzler

SHOW NOTES + RESOURCES

• NEW BOOK: Take Back Your Mind: Buddhist Advice for Anxious Times
  by Lodro Rinzler| Amazon
• MNDFL Meditation Studio | Class Schedules: New York City
• VOGUE article: Introducing Manhattan’s Must-Visit Meditation Studio
• NY TIMES: So, you think you can meditate? (MNDFL)
• MNDFL Meditation Teacher Training Program
• Susan Piver Interview: “Trying to Impress Susan Piver” story

HEAR MORE, SUBSCRIBE!

Incredible leaders + creators, how they live, and how they contribute to the world we deserve. Our show explores 3 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark.

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter). Learn more: thisepiclife.com

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

 

 

What is important?

What deepens our lives?

What does it mean to be human?

 

As a teacher and practitioner of Nonviolent Communication (NVC), Rachelle Lamb has devoted over 40 years to these questions. I discovered Rachelle’s body of work while doing research for my book, and a was compelled to leave her a message that same morning. It was really inspiring to find someone so committed to creating global change, by working on a very personal level.

These themes are ever-present in our lives in 2020, as we navigate issues like a pandemic, political division, and the impact of climate change. Tackling complex and emotionally charged topics often begins in our homes, around our tables. What struck me about Rachelle is her balance between gentle compassion, and unwavering strength.

There’s a quote I love from Swami Sri Yukteswar, who was the guru of my teacher, Paramahansa Yogananda:

“Gentle as the flower where kindness is concerned. Stronger than the thunder when principles are at stake.”

 

Our world needs more kindness and strength, and it gives me hope to find a teacher like Rachelle who is so committed to training and embodying both qualities.

 

At the core of nonviolent communication is the practice of making neutral observations, identifying our feelings, clearly stating our needs, and making a request. Dr. Marshall Rosenberg developed the Nonviolent Communication framework in the 60s. Rachelle studied with, and was certified by Dr. Rosenberg, and continues to carry his work forward in so many cool ways.

 

 

About Rachelle Lamb

 

Rachelle Lamb is a recognized speaker, poet, and “relationship whisperer”. She draws on decades of study of cultural anthropology, history, psychology, mythology, poetry, storytelling and ecology. In the conversation you’re about to hear, pay attention to her ability to look deeply into any area that empowers a more transformational dialogue. If this sounds too intellectual, please remember that all of this is in service of fully seeing and understanding ourselves, and whomever we’re communicating with.

My hope is that we can get more committed to practicing nonviolent communication in our homes, within our teams, and in our communities. This is a huge opportunity to learn the basics, and they absolutely work. I remember feeling deeply connected to myself, and to Rachelle’s teaching after this conversation.

Rachelle lives in Victoria BC, Canada, where she’s constantly delivering learning experiences her students call “profound, and life-changing.”

 

Connect with Rachelle Lamb

Official Website

Free Tools for Nonviolent Communication
*Excellent* Resource – KC

Rachelle’s Coaching + Workshops

LinkedIn

Facebook – Breakthrough Conversations

Youtube Channel

Instagram

 

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You will learn in this conversation:

.

• The 4 obstacles to Nonviolent Communication, or what Rachelle calls “types of alienating communication”
• A different approach to helping those we love put down their phones(that may actually work)
• The essential pieces of Rosenberg’s NVC framework, and how to practice.
• How our language is connected to the state of our environment, and how we may heal it through practice.

About our Host

Kristoffer Carter (“KC”) is a coach for founders and executives, and meditation teacher for organizations. He is also the founder of This Epic Life, and creator of the Full-Life Integration Framework. 

​As a meditation teacher, KC has over 33,000 active students on Insight Timer. As a workplace culture consultant, he has designed, or is delivering conscious leadership programs for AT&T, Avery-Dennison, Good Life Project, Litera Microsystems, and more.

KC’s Mission + Values-centric programs have been featured in Business Insider, onstage at TEDx (“What if change was FUN?”) and Wisdom 2.0, and in countless conferences and podcast interviews. 

        

HEAR MORE, SUBSCRIBE!

Incredible leaders + creators, how they live, and how they contribute to the world we deserve. Our show explores 3 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark.

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter). Learn more: thisepiclife.com

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

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Our lives and well-being are intimately connected to the people we interact with the most. With the leaders I coach, their lives and businesses are held together by relationships. We talk a lot about our families at home, our families at work, and how important it is to stay in sync with the people closest to us.

The quality of lives is directly correlated to the quality of our relationships.

Alex Jamieson and Bob Gower have been working with entrepreneurs and  organizations for decades. I’ve observed them as a married couple.  They have always been fiercely committed to creating a high-level of transparency and connection in their relationship. 

They have taken these values for clear communication, and wrote a book for leaders called Radical Alignment— How to have game-changing conversations that will transform your business and your life.

The book comes out on August 11, 2020 on Sounds True. This Epic Life Podcast subscribers can grab the exclusive cheat-sheet for the book below! 

In their new book “Radical Alignment”, Alex & Bob share a powerful 4-step framework for a structured conversation. The “All-In Method” (AIM) is a simple, guided conversation that helps all parties gain clarity about a tough topic.

GRAB THE EXCLUSIVE
CHEAT-SHEET

From the book: “The All-In Method is appropriate for any topic that feels important and that’s likely to raise deep emotions. It is best to use AIM at the beginning of a project and before emotions are running high. However it is appropriate any time you want to connect and more deeply align with your teammates, your partner, or even yourself.”

$3500 IN PRE-ORDER BONUSES!

About our Guests

Alexandra Jamieson is the bestselling author of five books, and co-creator / co-star of the Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me. She is a highly-sought-after success mentor and motivational guide for thousands and has made it her mission to empower women to create epic lives. Her work has been praised by Oprah, The Today Show, Dr. Oz, Goop, Martha Stewart Living, the New York Times, CNN, USA Today, People, and many others. Alex hosts Her Rules Radio, a #1 rated podcast and an award-winning watercolor painter. Her wellness expertise has grown out of a decade of experience, as well as her education at the Natural Gourmet Institute, the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, and a certification in Applied Positive Psychology.

Bob Gower is a New York-based consultant, writer, and speaker. He is a contributor to Inc. magazine and the author of the books Agile Business: A Leader’s Guide to Harnessing Complexity. He is a sought-after speaker and teacher, having keynoted gatherings on four continents and lectured at Columbia University, NYU’s Stern School of Management, the Berlin School and many others. Bob has worked with leaders at organizations from multinationals like Chanel, Ericsson, Ford, and GE to non-profits like New York Public Radio, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Wikimedia Foundation, among others. Bob holds an MBA in Sustainable Systems and a certification in Applied Positive Psychology.

Connect with Alex & Bob, and their work…

Radical Alignment Website – Pre-order the book

Radical Alignment on Amazon

Radical Alignment on Barnes & Noble

Her Rules Radio (Alex’s Podcast)

Alex Jamieson official website

Bob Gower official website

.

You will learn in this conversation:

.

• A behind the scenes look at tackling a major creative project (like a book) with your spouse.
• The “All-In Method” for game-changing conversations.
• How they used the method to get into alignment before committing to the book project.
• A step-by-step walk through of how to use the method.

GRAB THE EXCLUSIVE
CHEAT-SHEET

About our Host

Kristoffer Carter (“KC”) is a coach for founders and executives, and meditation teacher for organizations. He is also the founder of This Epic Life, and creator of the Full-Life Integration Framework. 

​As a meditation teacher, KC has over 33,000 active students on Insight Timer. As a workplace culture consultant, he has designed, or is delivering conscious leadership programs for AT&T, Avery-Dennison, Good Life Project, Litera Microsystems, and more.

KC’s Mission + Values-centric programs have been featured in Business Insider, onstage at TEDx (“What if change was FUN?”) and Wisdom 2.0, and in countless conferences and podcast interviews. 

        

HEAR MORE, SUBSCRIBE!

Incredible leaders + creators, how they live, and how they contribute to the world we deserve. Our show explores 3 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark.

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter). Learn more: thisepiclife.com

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

 

 

 

 

Motivating ourselves, even in “normal” times can be challenging enough. We’re constantly talking ourselves out of doing the harder, brave work, or maybe we start it only to self-sabotage.

But what about when the whole world as we knew it hits the pause button?

Many of us have been realigning our schedules, figuring out how to stay productive with a houseful of kids, or reexamining our relationship to being productive altogether.

Today’s guest is fellow ontological coach, and a best-selling author of 8 books. Jenn Louden and I have been on a collision course for years, since we have so many mutual friends. I’m so grateful it happened now, during COVID-19.

Since the world shifted a couple months ago, I’ve found myself asking that Supreme Ruler of all demotivating questions— “Why Bother?” We ask it in subtle ways, like “is this really worth it?” or, “Is this the right time for this thing I want to do?”

Jennifer’s latest book reframes that classic question as a gateway back to power, and purpose. In healing her own life since the passing of her Father, Jennifer traveled a painful path creatively, writing more than 500 pages of a memoir her agent and publisher wouldn’t accept. Along the way however, she had to answer the question— Why Bother.

In our conversation today we talk about the courage it takes to sit down and write after feeling lost. She shares her joyful curiosity in discovering what life really wants from us, and the many ways we can practice deepening our being during a challenging time.

If you’re feeling called to discover What’s Next, and you’ve felt demotivated recently, this interview is for you. Jennifer is a Master at asking brave questions, and then sitting down for as long as necessary— years in this case— to discover a more meaningful path forward.

I love her latest book, and we spend time digging into how she knows it’s her best. In fact, she’s not sure at this point she needs to write another one! That’s rather BOSS. Feels like a mic drop.

 

 

 

About Jennifer Louden:

Jennifer Louden is a personal growth pioneer who helped launch the concept of self-care with her first bestseller, The Woman’s Comfort Book. Since then, she’s written seven additional books on well-being and whole living, including The Woman’ s Retreat Book and The Life Organizer, with close to a million copies of her books in print in nine languages. She has spoken around the U.S., Canada, and Europe, and has written a national magazine column for Martha Stewart magazine.

Jennifer’s work has been profiled or quoted in dozens of magazines; Brené Brown’s books, Daring Greatly and Dare to Lead; and Jennifer has appeared on hundreds of TV, radio shows and podcasts—including The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Her newest and most personal book Why Bother? Discover the Desire for What’s Next was released in April to stellar reviews.

Jennifer has been teaching workshops and retreats since 1992. She writes weekly to her email list of 20,000, and hosts an online community of over 600 members. She lives in Boulder County, Colorado.

 

Connect with Jennifer + Her WOrk

Official Website

Order ‘Why Bother?’ on Amazon

‘Why Bother’ on Barnes + Noble

Jennifer Louden on Good Reads

Facebook

Twitter

.

You will learn in this conversation:

.

• Who’s in Jennifer’s all-star mastermind group, and what has kept them going for 14 years.
• The origin of the Why Bother question from a place of demotivation, and answering the question as a breakthrough to personal power
• How to reconcile ‘desire’ with the path of meditation and reflection. Does it cause suffering? Or is it attachment?
• How getting her 500-page memoir turned down led to her favorite book that she’s written.
• How an early appearance on Oprah’s couch wasn’t quite good enough, and where it led her career.

About our Host

Kristoffer Carter (“KC”) is a coach for founders and executives, and meditation teacher for organizations. He is also the founder of This Epic Life, and creator of the Full-Life Integration Framework. 

​As a meditation teacher, KC has over 33,000 active students on Insight Timer. As a workplace culture consultant, he has designed, or is delivering conscious leadership programs for AT&T, Avery-Dennison, Good Life Project, Litera Microsystems, and more.

KC’s Mission + Values-centric programs have been featured in Business Insider, onstage at TEDx (“What if change was FUN?”) and Wisdom 2.0, and in countless conferences and podcast interviews. 

        

HEAR MORE, SUBSCRIBE!

Incredible leaders + creators, how they live, and how they contribute to the world we deserve. Our show explores 3 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark.

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter). Learn more: thisepiclife.com

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

As we navigate our current waves of uncertainty, we may confront our need for healing on some level. In more predictable circumstances, we can often get away without having to look in our darkest corners.

Today’s guest was on a collision course with childhood trauma, and once he was able to see it, his life had become dangerously unsustainable. By outward appearances, he was a successful start-up founder and entrepreneur. On the inside, he constantly battled suicidal thoughts and addiction.

As we will hear, healing came in the form of writing, meditation and surrendering to the love of family. 

When Robert Imbeault began writing his new book Before I Leave You— A Memoir on Suicide, Addiction, and Healing, he planned on it being a suicide letter. He was in the midst of a five-year drug and alcohol binge that began after the sudden resurfacing of horrific childhood trauma he experienced as an 8-year old. Not having the tools to heal himself, he turned to writing.

As Rob discovered meditation and therapy to help process his trauma, he kept finding reasons to keep writing. Eventually found his way to sobriety. Along the way he regained his health, lost 70 lbs, and retired from his fast-paced life as an entrepreneur to help his wife raise two young daughters.

His new memoir shares his real and visceral account of how he clawed his way back from the brink, forgave himself, and wrote an incredible new ending to his story.

About Robert Imbeault:

Robert Imbeault is a successful entrepreneur and childhood sexual abuse survivor. Robert was raised by a single mother in a failing steel town, straddling the line between poor and destitute,. Through his life, Robert has gone from sleeping on the street to building and selling successful startups, and even meeting the Queen of England.

He’s had an essay published in The Globe and Mail, was profiled in Courage Magazine for his pioneering work with the Cancer Foundation, and was a recipient of the 2010 Business Journal’s Forty Under 40 Award. Recently retired, Robert spends time writing, reading, and enjoying his wonderful wife Elmira, and their 2 young daughters.

We profile his brand-new book today, Before I Leave You— A Memoir on Suicide, Addiction, and Healing.

Connect with Robert + His Work

Official Website

Before I Leave You on Barnes + Noble

Before I Leave You  – Good Reads

Essay on  discovering a sister
he never knew existed… (Globe & Mail)

Facebook

Twitter

.

You will learn in this conversation:

.

• His backstory in reverse-chronological order, beginning with his current happy ending, and traveling through 4 years of sobriety, the years of workaholism and partying that preceded it, recalling his trauma, and eventual healing.
• We go deep into how meditation has helped his healing from trauma and addiction.
• We talk about the many tolls addiction takes on relationships, and how to heal those relationships.
• The power of writing as a vehicle for healing.
• His family’s lifestyle design, traveling all over the world.

CONNECT WITH FELLOW SOUL-DRIVEN,
CONSCIOUS LEADERS

Video Overview | Waiting List

About our Host

Kristoffer Carter (“KC”) is a coach for founders and executives, and meditation teacher for organizations. He is also the founder of This Epic Life, and creator of the Full-Life Integration Framework. 

​As a meditation teacher, KC has over 33,000 active students on Insight Timer. As a workplace culture consultant, he has designed, or is delivering conscious leadership programs for AT&T, Avery-Dennison, Good Life Project, Litera Microsystems, and more.

KC’s Mission + Values-centric programs have been featured in Business Insider, onstage at TEDx (“What if change was FUN?”) and Wisdom 2.0, and in countless conferences and podcast interviews. 

        

HEAR MORE, SUBSCRIBE!

Incredible leaders + creators, how they live, and how they contribute to the world we deserve. Our show explores 3 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark.

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter). Learn more: thisepiclife.com

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

What do you recall about being a teenager? Was it fun for you? I recall having big dreams, while also being relentlessly uncomfortable with myself.

Many clients, friends, and fellow parents have taken an interest in our 15 year-old daughter Elliott’s emerging career as a professional singer, and songwriter. Elliott first performed alongside me when she was 8, singing “Hallelujah” to our packed yard of neighbors during Akron’s PorchRokr event.

A clip of her magical, first-attempt at public performance is included in today’s episode, along with other snippets of her musical evolution.

…And she has never stopped.

In the last 7 years, Elliott found her “soul-bro’s” in their band Detention, which has garnered regional radio play, and plenty of press as winners in the 24th Tri-C High School Rock Off at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

About their winning performance, Barry Gabel, Senior VP for Live Nation said: “The band was tight, fun, exciting, and had the audience going crazy!” 

Although SXSW was postponed this year, Detention was invited to showcase, and has been drawing more national attention since their Rock Hall win.

The most fascinating piece for us as parents, is watching Elliott find, and own her authentic voice. It’s one thing to sing in tune, and another thing to inspire fellow young women, or navigate ways of working with her 3 bandmates. Through it all we are witnessing the becoming of a true music-obsessed artist.

Elliott performs a brand-new song she wrote at the end of this episode.

As you may hear, I’ve never been more uncomfortable in an interview. We want the best for our kids, we hope we’re not screwing them up, and we have zero idea what’s about to come out of their mouths next! LOL…. grrrrrroan. My goal was to provide an unfiltered view of modern-day parenting, as well some ideas on how to engage the people we love into becoming the highest version of themselves.

We cover communication, the thin line between parenting and coaching, where we completely disagree, and the bridge of love and infinite possibility that is music.

Semi-ProTIPS: Make music accessible everywhere. Crank the vinyl. Leave instruments around that are in-tune and ready to be played. Create the environment where kids can let themselves get lost in the love of practicing. 

Please enjoy this far-ranging conversation with our amazing daughter, and resident Young-Woman-Rockstar— Elliott Rose Carter.

About Detention

Detention is a young rock band from in, and around Akron, Ohio.

But how are these four high-school and middle-school-aged hellions making such strides? 

They’ve already been together for years creating their own sound. There’s an almost addictive, infectious energy in a band playing at the edge of its abilities, while staying fully committed to its potential. 

The band recently won the 24th Annual Tri-C High School Rock Off at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, OH. Detention has also performed a packed show at the world-famous Whisky a Go Go in Hollywood, CA, which led to a showcase performance during the (postponed) SXSW Music Festival in Austin, TX.

The band regularly packs shows around Northeast Ohio, and is starting to create a regional footprint – driven by consistent radio play of four self-released singles, “Devilberries”, “Emphatic YES!”, “In Reverse”, and their latest single “Thermo”.

Detention has performed on-air for a sold-out live performance for “Studio Session C” on WAPS 91.3-FM The Summit and as featured guests on “The Really Big Show” with Tony Rizzo on WKNR ESPN Radio, Cleveland. Rizzo heard their version of “Helter Skelter” and wouldn’t stop talking about “these kids from Akron”.

Detention’s music is a mash-up of its collective influences, which range from Foo Fighters to Twenty One Pilots, Green Day to Ani DiFranco and Billie Eilish. The result is part teenage angst and humor and part life growing up in the post-industrial Midwest. In performing “Dead Malls”, singer Elliott Carter warns us: “Look around, it’s falling down / our London bridge, this broken town / where ivy crawls inside these walls / ’til kingdom calls, burn it down.” 

Founding members Fritz Dannemiller (bass) and Luke Konopka (drums) lock into heavy, pulsing grooves on tracks like “Emphatic YES!” and “Thermo”, while Evan Cox adds textured guitars, with pops of frenetic, shredding solos.  The band’s high-energy spin on covers like Devo’s “Uncontrollable Urge” and The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter” have also received wide praise and radio attention.

The band continues to hone its explosive live show to back it all up and have had heroes like Gerald Casale from Devo sit in on a show. In fact, Detention has been invited to be the house band for Devo’s 5K Race in downtown Akron and will be in the lineup for the “DEVOtional 2020” concert at Beachland Ballroom.

Connect with Elliott

Detention’s Official Website

Reverb Nation –
Electronic Press Kit

Detention on Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

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You will learn in this conversation:

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• Parenting teenagers, and opportunities to connect and learn from one another.
• The pros and cons of introducing your 4th grader to Eminem’s music. (lol)
• Ways of inspiring creative, or artistic expression in children, or others such as clients
• Overcoming adversity and letting it rip in the face of fear
• Ways of showing up as a leader when you don’t feel prepared
• The importance of practice, and falling in love with improvement
• How to to attack a dream with reckless abandon, while not over-thinking it.

CONNECT WITH FELLOW SOUL-DRIVEN,
CONSCIOUS LEADERS

Video Overview | Waiting List

About our Host

Kristoffer Carter (“KC”) is a coach for founders and executives, and meditation teacher for organizations. He is also the founder of This Epic Life, and creator of the Full-Life Integration Framework. 

​As a meditation teacher, KC has over 33,000 active students on Insight Timer. As a workplace culture consultant, he has designed, or is delivering conscious leadership programs for AT&T, Avery-Dennison, Good Life Project, Litera Microsystems, and more.

KC’s Mission + Values-centric programs have been featured in Business Insider, onstage at TEDx (“What if change was FUN?”) and Wisdom 2.0, and in countless conferences and podcast interviews. 

        

HEAR MORE, SUBSCRIBE!

Incredible leaders + creators, how they live, and how they contribute to the world we deserve. Our show explores 3 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark.

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter). Learn more: thisepiclife.com

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

 

I wonder how many more of us would become masters of our craft— if we only had the patience it takes to get there, while sometimes sucking at it.

In the coaching industry over the last few years, there have been few people mentioned more often than Michael Bungay Stanier. Michael’s juggernaut success with The Coaching Habit inspired hundreds of thousands busy managers to ask better questions, rather than telling people what to do.

Michael gave me an advance copy of The Coaching Habit when we first met in 2015 through our mutual friend Karen Wright. Since that time, it’s been amazing to watch the book set a new standard in business books that are actually fun to read, while also becoming a case-study in successful self-publishing— with nearly 3 quarters of a million copies sold.

This week Michael is back with his latest book, The Advice Trap: Be Humble, Stay Curious, and Change the Way you Lead Forever.

We get into his approach to following-up such a career-defining success. We also go deep into ways to stay curious just a little bit longer, versus offering more advice to people. This seems simple, but its benefits are profound. Michael shares what’s on the other side of a life built from curiosity. Michael is also one of the funniest, most genuinely kind people I’ve ever met.

We also cover his quirky origin story, which led from Rhodes Scholar to Coaching Rockstar.

A little about his formal bio:

Michael Bungay Stanier is the author of six books including The Advice Trap and The Coaching Habit, the best-selling coaching book of this century. Named the #1 Thought Leader in Coaching in 2019, Michael is the Founder of Box of Crayons—a company that’s trained more than 100,000 leaders, managers and individual contributors around the world to be more coach-like. 

In 2019, he was named the #1 thought leader in coaching, and was shortlisted for the coaching prize by Thinkers50, the “Oscars of management”. Michael was the first Canadian Coach of the Year and has been named a Global Coaching Guru since 2014. Michael was a Rhodes Scholar.

In his words, his goal is simple but difficult: “to help people stay curious a little bit longer, and rush to action and advice-giving a little more slowly.”

ORDER THE ADVICE TRAP

Connect with Michael

Official Website (About Michael)

LinkedIn

Instagram

Twitter

 

About our Host

Kristoffer Carter (“KC”) is a coach for founders and executives, and meditation teacher for organizations. He is also the founder of This Epic Life, and creator of the Full-Life Integration and 3 Permissions Frameworks.

​As a meditation teacher, KC has over 33,000 active students on Insight Timer. As a workplace culture consultant, he has designed, or is delivering conscious leadership programs for AT&T, Avery-Dennison, Good Life Project, Litera Microsystems, and more.

KC’s Mission + Values-centric programs have been featured in Business Insider, onstage at TEDx (“What if change was FUN?”) and Wisdom 2.0, and in countless conferences and podcast interviews. 

        

HEAR MORE, SUBSCRIBE!

Incredible leaders + creators, how they live, and how they contribute to the world we deserve. Our show explores 3 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark.

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter). Learn more: thisepiclife.com

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

Every once in a while, someone nails an idea we desperately need to hear. How much of our lives are spent battling the clock? Time scarcity shows up everywhere, and once we’re hooked into believing there’s never enough time, we struggle, and the quality of our work follows suit.

In coaching, just about every client I work with needs to work through time scarcity. Those of us who shift, or even master our relationship to time aren’t only the most productive— we’re the happiest, and often most relaxed.

Today’s guest is artist, and author Bridget Watson Payne. She recently released her 7th book on Chronicle books, How Time is On Your Side.

How Time Is on Your Side is a simple handbook to help anyone reframe their relationship with time. It includes inspiring stories of real people who’ve discovered how to make time for the things that matter to them, and it shows how we can all start thinking of time differently— as an abundant resource.

In our conversation, Bridget shares the story of a busy working mother, who wrote 2 children’s books on her phone, while commuting to and from her day job. Bridget also sheds a lot of light on how privilege influences our relationship with time, and what we can do about it.

What I love the most, is that Bridget herself is an in-demand working mom who makes time for what matters most to her. She also has a really infectious laugh, which in my experience is an indicator of someone who has a healthy relationship to time.

Official Bio

In addition to How Time Is On Your Side, Bridget Watson Payne is the author of How Art Can Make You Happy, The Secret Art of Being a Grown-Up, The Secret Art of Being a Parent and many others.

With more than fifteen years of experience in the publishing industry, Bridget has helped many other authors and artists bring books into the world.

She serves on the board of Bay Area Women in Publishing, is a Senior Mentor for Representation Matters, and helps facilitate Chronicle Books’ Diversity and Inclusion Group.

As an artist, Bridget has taught at Handcraft Studio School, the ICON Illustration Conference, and on CreativeLive. She’s been a featured speaker at the Book Manufacturer’s Institute, San Francisco Writer’s Conference, California College of the Arts, and many more.

Her eclectic, vibrant artwork has been shown in San Francisco’s Rare Device, and Open Studio. She lives in San Francisco with her husband and daughter.

Are you ready to find more time for what matters most?

Please enjoy this far-reaching, and important conversation with Bridget Watson Payne.

Connect with Bridget

Official Website (About Bridget)

Bridget’s Blog

Instagram

Twitter

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You will learn in this conversation:

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• How Bridget applied much of what she learned in her exploration of time to delivering her 7th book, while balancing her art and family responsibilities. 
• How privilege impacts our relationship to time, and what can be done about it.
• The important relationship between time and creativity, and how others have approached it.

Landing page | Register now | Book a call 

In Costa Rica we’ll design a path forward for the next decade— and we’ll leave committed to the spiritual, physical, and relationship practices to get us there. 

Charlie Gilkey will co-lead on creating a powerful map to your decade ahead, and our community will coach and empower you to make it a reality.

About our Host

Kristoffer Carter (“KC”) is a coach for founders and executives, and meditation teacher for organizations. He is also the founder of This Epic Life, and creator of the Full-Life Integration Framework. 

​As a meditation teacher, KC has over 33,000 active students on Insight Timer. As a workplace culture consultant, he has designed, or is delivering conscious leadership programs for AT&T, Avery-Dennison, Good Life Project, Litera Microsystems, and more.

KC’s Mission + Values-centric programs have been featured in Business Insider, onstage at TEDx (“What if change was FUN?”) and Wisdom 2.0, and in countless conferences and podcast interviews. 

        

HEAR MORE, SUBSCRIBE!

Incredible leaders + creators, how they live, and how they contribute to the world we deserve. Our show explores 3 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark.

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter). Learn more: thisepiclife.com

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher

 

 

Mark Smucker is the President and CEO of The J.M. Smucker Company, and the sixth CEO in the Company’s 120+-year history— succeeding his father and uncle, in 2016.  

 

 

Smucker is a well-known manufacturer of jam, peanut butter, pet foods, coffee and other products. Founded in 1897, Smucker has expanded into a portfolio of brands, which grossed an estimated $7.84BB in sales in fiscal year 2019.

 

 

After his early career as a middle school science teacher, Mark reentered the business when Smucker was a growing, mid-sized company.

 

 

Mark’s path to leadership happened during a period of massive expansion and change.

 

 

In our conversation, Mark shares the inflection point and key insight which allowed the company to grow exponentially.

 

 

Brands which Smucker either acquired, or launched include JIF peanut butter,  Uncrustables, Folgers, Café Bustelo coffee, and in the pet category— Rachael Ray Nutrish pet food and snacks, and Milk-Bone dog biscuits.

 

 

Prior to being named President and CEO, Mark held many leadership roles, including President of the U.S. Consumer and Natural Foods divisions, and the Coffee division.  

 

 

He holds a bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary and an MBA from the Arizona State Thunderbird School of Global Management. He lives in Akron, Ohio with his awesome wife Katie, and their two children.

 

 

We cover so much great stuff in this conversation. What I love about Mark is how he shows up authentically in all areas of his life and business.  As you’ll hear, he’s incredibly passionate about people, workplace culture, and corporate responsibility. Under his leadership, the company continues to meet aggressive goals to reduce waste, and water use, while educating suppliers on more sustainable farming practices.

 

 

Mark also has an intense passion for music, and DJ’s house music regularly as DJ Mind.E.  We discuss the opportunity of bringing more of ourselves to work, and why it’s so important.

 

How Mark shows up to his many roles— as a family guy, CEO, and a House DJ— is a great example of Full-Life Integration. 

This Epic Life Presents Mark Smucker.

 

 

 

Additional Links

• Mark Smucker on LinkedIN
• Smucker Company on LinkedIn
• Smucker Company on Instagram
• DJ Mind.E on Instagram
• DJ Mind.E on Mixcloud
• About The Smucker Company
• Careers + Culture at Smucker

.

You will learn in this conversation:

.

• A day in the life of a Fortune 500 CEO, and how he thinks about rallying people around change.
• The importance of aligning business strategy to core principles.
• The key insight the Smucker company discovered during a period of slow growth, that allowed them to more than 10x the size of their operations and revenue.
• The back story of the Smucker family, and what each of the 6 generations of leadership contributed to the company.
• What bringing your whole self to work can look like, even at the highest level of executive leadership.
• Mark’s passion outside of work as a DJ of house music, and the ways that brings him joy.
• Why he chose Beastie Boy’s Paul’s Boutique to test his new sub-woofer
• How he thinks about corporate responsibility and sustainability— reducing the company’s landfills, water usage, and energy use by 95% in some cases.

 

Landing page | Register now | Book a call 

 

In Costa Rica we’ll design a path forward for the next decade— and we’ll leave committed to the spiritual, physical, and relationship practices to get us there. 

Charlie Gilkey will co-lead on creating a powerful map to your decade ahead, and our community will coach and empower you to make it a reality.

 

About our Host

Kristoffer Carter (“KC”) is a coach for founders and executives, and meditation teacher for organizations. He is also the founder of This Epic Life, and creator of the Full-Life Integration Framework. 

As a meditation teacher, KC has over 33,000 active students on Insight Timer. As a workplace culture consultant, he has designed, or is delivering conscious leadership programs for AT&T, Avery-Dennison, Good Life Project, Litera Microsystems, and more.

KC’s Mission + Values-centric programs have been featured in Business Insider, onstage at TEDx (“What if change was FUN?”) and Wisdom 2.0, and in countless conferences and podcast interviews. 

He lives in Akron, OH with his wife of 20 years, and their 3 children.

        

HEAR MORE, SUBSCRIBE!

Incredible leaders + creators, how they live, and how they contribute to the world we deserve. Our show explores 3 powerful permissions with guests and listeners: Permission to Chill, Permission to Feel All the Feels, and Permission to Glow in the Dark.

Emceed by yogi, Dad, and executive coach KC (Kristoffer Carter). Learn more: thisepiclife.com

Access all of our episodes:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitche