Failing Forward

As an 11-year-old, Kate Nelson started getting sick—really sick. Doctors eventually diagnosed Kate with ulcerative colitis that progressed into colon cancer. Her adolescent years were tough on her and her family, but looking back, she realizes that period of her life taught her not to sweat the small stuff. Today, Kate is the co-founder of Change Guides, a consulting firm that helps organizations navigate change. On episode 45, she discusses how her self-published book became a best-seller on Amazon and why we all should embrace the hard situations in life. Find more information about “The Change Management Pocket Guide” and other books Kate Nelson has co-authored here: https://www.changeguidesllc.com/products/books.html

Cincinnati native Pete Ruppert believes there are no straight lines to the top—even for a successful executive and Harvard Business School graduate like him. One of his first trials was as a student at DePauw University when he was academic probation and nearly missed the chance at an internship that later changed his life. And like most every entrepreneur, Pete has had his businesses fail, too. On episode 44, the St. Xavier High School alum and current CEO of Fusion Education Group talks about overcoming his fear of asking for help, the champions who have helped him through his failures and his mini-book, Limitless: Nine Steps to Designing Your Extraordinary Life. Want a copy of Limitless? Email Tracy at mailto:tward@fusionacademy.com

Deni Tato doesn’t see failures. She sees mismatches between expectations and reality. The CEO of Corporate Consciousness has always been that way, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t struggled. By age 21, she had two kids and an unsatisfying relationship. Years later, she sold her commercial furniture business at the onset of the recession and had to make extreme cuts to her family’s lifestyle. On episode 43, Deni shares how she reinvented herself as a certified Enneagram teacher, trainer and coach. One of the biggest things she tells her clients—and reminds herself—is the importance of self-compassion. By not judging your actions and making time for your physical and emotional health, you can more fully step into who you are. That’s why Deni has been practicing transcendental meditation for decades. Learn more: https://www.corpconsciousness.com/ Meet the Enneagram assessment: https://www.corpconsciousness.com/about-the-enneagram/ Meditation for beginners: https://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/a24750828/medi

Cory Carlson had a successful career in corporate America, but he still felt stuck. So, he hired an executive coach and began focusing on his personal life—his wife, his children and himself—with greater intention. It might sound counterintuitive, but those changes actually helped Cory in his professional life, too. He came to work as a better leader for his team and started mentoring his direct reports to make similar changes in their own lives. Today, Cory is a full-time leadership coach and the author of “Win at Home First.” He joined us for episode 42 and discusses marriage, forgiveness, how to be vulnerable as a CEO and the importance of interrogating the internal agreements we make. Even if you don’t have a traditional 9 to 5, his story will inspire you. Order a copy of “Win at Home First” here: https://www.amazon.com/Win-Home-First-Inspirational-Work-Life/dp/173376710X/ Learn more about Cory at https://www.corymcarlson.com/.

Kamree Maull is a proud Unilever employee and founder of Unbox3d but he wasn't always showing the world who he really is. As a student at University of Cincinnati, Kamree had to learn to navigate an environment that wasn’t as welcoming to a black man like him. He lived a double life in which many of his classmates didn’t know the real Kamree, and soon, he was facing an identity crisis. How many times have you played a role or became a certain person to fit in? On this episode, Kamree reminds us to live as our authentic selves and shares how he learned to say “Nah, fuck that” to the expectations that other people might place on him through his side hustle, Unbox3d, which started in July 2018. Combining his love of storytelling and slogan T-shirts, Unbox3d seeks to challenge the status quo and inspire cultural change through personal testimonials and philanthropic initiatives. To learn more about Unbox3d, visit https://www.unbox3d.net/. Read about Meek Mill and criminal justice reform here: https://time.c

Molly Wellmann has a trademark giggle that regulars at Japps can recognize well. But before opening her own bar and being voted the nation’s best bartender, Wellmann faced a devastating loss when her fiancé was killed. Her grieving process changed her, and Wellmann learned to be gentle with herself and starts each day by asking herself: What amazing things will happen today? On this episode, Wellmann also shares how she got her start in bartending, the importance of asking for what you’re worth and why she takes Sundays off.

In 2011, Devon Blythe was in a car accident that changed the trajectory of her life. The accident activated symptoms from a brain malformation Devon was born with. That led her to discover the benefits of practicing holistic wellness and inspired her to become a holistic health practitioner with her own studio, The Balance Effect. The last time you had a bad day, did you notice that your body was physically strained? On this episode, Sarah Brown interviews Devon Blythe, who shares how feelings of failure physically manifest in the body and how to counteract that through developing mindfulness. A highly intuitive person, Devon also explains the first time she realized she was a medium. Find Devon on Instagram at @thebalanceeffect or on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/devon-blythe-959515159/

Sarah Brown interviews Lynn Watts, a diversity and inclusion speaker and facilitator. Do you ever feel ashamed of slavery, segregation or racism? Well, as Lynn says, shame is like quick sand, it gets deeper and deeper so step into courage and give people grace. She also shares a powerful story of what happened to her at Johns Hopkins while facilitating, around unconscious bias. It's a story you won't forget. We also have some bonus content on marriage. Lynn is in her second marriage and shares that marriage is a mirror -- a reflection. And if you don't fix the issue the first time, it will repeat itself. She said, you get to repeat your mistakes until you get it right. We think that happens not just in marriage but in all relationships.

In this episode Sarah Brown speaks with Neal Tew, Founder of The T Squash Academy, about his struggle and road to health with Bipolar Disorder. Diagnosed while a student at Harvard, Neal was pre-med, Phi Beta Kappa, captain of the squash team and externally everything looked great. But he wasn't. Neal gives us a unique perspective into the disease and de-stigmatizes mental health disorders. As he says, one way to understand this illness is as the brain's attempt to reach for order. Fascinating stuff! Also, for more on Neal's story, check out this post: http://neverapologizeforpassion.blogspot.com/

Ryan Morgan is the owner of 16 Bricks Bakery. He grew up in Norwood, Ohio, a working class neighborhood, was in and out of juvenile detention. And although he appears to be a tough, motorycyle loving dude, I love that you can hear the kindness in his voice when he talks about his brother who had Down Syndrome, his son and how he seized the opportunity to partner with Klosterman bakery. https://sixteenbricks.com/

Dave Jenike, the COO of the Cincinnati Zoo, talks about the revitalization of the Cincinnati Zoo from the death of Harambe, the gorilla, to the birth of Fiona, the Hippo. The zoo has had it's ups and downs but Dave and the leadership of Zoo continue to focus on the serving guests as well as caring for the animals. He also talks about his favorite and least favorite animal. His least favorite animal is pretty lame but don't worry, Sarah let him know that. His defense: he would have some pretty upset keepers!

Jamie Smith, publisher of the Cincinnati Business Courier, talks about how sharing his story has had huge impact on others - more so than he expected.

When Dr. Rekha Chaudhary M.D. first started working with cancer patients, she didn’t believe food or stress reduction impacted cancer. She didn’t believe lifestyle changes made a difference. She was one of the physicians who said to her patients, eat the ice cream, it doesn’t matter and now she is embarrassed by that. After reading the research, she discovered that processed meat is as dangerous as cigarette smoking. In another research study, for those who ate a mediterranean diet, there was a 30% reduction in cardiovascular disease and a 62% reduction in breast cancer. And so her passion is getting this data out to physicians and to patients. She educates - if we reduce stress via meditation, exercise, spending time with friends and eat a plant based diet, there is a reduction in cancer. We asked, how do we fail forward around managing our stress and diet? She said this is a journey and don’t stress about changing them overnight. So lean into meditation and exercise and for the plant based diet, try

Roger David, CEO of family run Gold Star Chili, speaks to us about his family's immigrant journey to Cincinnati and how franchising Gold Star Chili helped many immigrants from Jordan start a new life in America. He also talks about the challenges of being the only living son and the responsibility after his father died young. He did not stay in the family business, he actually left contrary to his mother's wishes. But it all worked out because it was those other work experiences, that he believes, has made him a more successful CEO.

Caitlin Steininger is relentless and only dreams big and that’s why she is not only the owner of Cooking with Caitlin and Station Family BBQ but she is a contestant on Bravo’s Top Chef. We love her tip: when you have a dream tell as many people as possible so they hold you accountable.

With our theme of “leaning into discomfort”, Jamie Smith, publisher of the Business Courier, talks about how he came out after 20 plus years of marriage. His greatest gifts from it were: learning about love; live every day like the last; cherish the little things and his 3 successful children. His favorite quote is from his mother: be true to you, be true to others and you will prosper.

Karen Bosse, a 2 time cancer survivor and speaker talks about self induced healing; that our molecules respond to our thoughts and we create our own healing. She teaches us that neurons that fire together wire together. We have ability to change our pathways of the brain through our thoughts, affirmations or choosing a different thought. Anything that follows “I am” is what I become. You can choose to be a half empty or half full person. We make a choice every moment of the day as to how we are going to respond. It is a choice. If you have a negative thought - make a different thought. Catch yourself and say, wait, there is a reason because everything is for a higher reason and that is to teach us something. Want to change the channel of your mind? Be aware of your thoughts and purge the negative ones via journaling. Journal a daily gratitude list and meditation helps you change the channel of your mind. For more info on Karen Bosse: https://www.karenpbosse.com/ https://www.instagram.com/karenpbosse/

Mike Sipple, President of Centennial and Founder of Talent Magnet Institute TM talks about what he calls the fear of man. The fear of man is about letting others dictate what you do because you are fearful of what they might think vs. being who you are. He also gives us some great wisdom around understanding what your authentic self is, especially when doing a job search. Finally, he teaches us the importance of setting goals and the power of focus using The Full Focus Planner. It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you stay the course regardless of ups and downs.

Anne Chambers is a CEO, an entrepreneur and an activist. She teaches us that you can be an activist by activating a business. She has activated many businesses like Red212, an advertising and marketing business, a food business called Ma-Me and now Certifiably, a business that connects certified companies for purpose-driven purchasing. She shines a new light on how to look at failure. It’s about the life cycle of a project; and the start of something new. And the importance of shepherding an idea. She said, don’t worry about how it’s going to happen, just focus that it will happen.

Tracy Brumfield, executive director and founder of Rise Up news talks about how she is serving the incarcerated who don't have resources to re-enter society. Her recovery story is remarkable and listen when Sarah asks her what to do when you see a homeless person asking for money. It is a great reminder about humanity.