Made to Thrive

#059 - What's your magic number?  If you watch TV at all, you've likely seen a financial planning commercial that asks you what you need to retire.  Many people target a certain amount of money by age 65 and start saving and investing.  And other people set that plan on fire!

If you're familiar at all with the FIRE movement - Financial Independence, Retire Early - you might have heard of Brad Barrett and his...

For anyone who struggles with issues of identity - especially if you are mission-driven or aspire to do bigger and better things - there's a quiet, condemning voice that challenges you with these questions: "Who am I to think that I can do more that what's expected of me?" and "What happens when people find out that I don't have it all figured out?"

This mental battle, commonly known as ...

#014 - Do you have big dreams?  Are you called to do something more with your life but you're not sure what it is or even how it's going to happen?  Today's guest, Mitch Matthews from the Dream. Think. Do. podcast, shares his story of going after a big dream and finding something even better when it seemed like the dream was no longer possible.  Mitch comes with a perspective of having interviewed more than 300 dream...

#004 - Aaron Walker had it all: a great family, a string of successful businesses, and enough money to retire... twice!  But something happened in his life that caused him to question whether any of it mattered.  Was he living in significance?  In our interview, Aaron shares the keys to his success and how living for significance has enhanced all areas of his life as he now builds up others through his book View from the Top and hi...

#080 - If you're at all familiar with personal development, you've likely heard of Napoleon Hill's classic Think and Grow Rich.  In it, he popularized an age-old idea of a mastermind group as a means of solving problems, coming up with new ideas for business, and in general elevating one's level of existence.

Fast forward ninety years, and many of what are called "masterminds programs" today a...

#079 - What is the most important identity you can have?  Is it what you do for work?  Is it your role within your family?  What about the legacy you'll leave behind? 

While these are all important, today's guest proposes that our identity is something deeper and - ironically - simpler.

David Ask's identity shows up in many ways: as an entrepreneur, a husband, a father, a facilitator, and as a frie...

#078 - What's the biggest career decision you've had to make?  Was it going for a promotion that would put you in a leadership role?  Maybe it was moving across the country to work for a startup?  How about leaving the world of employment altogether and striking out on your own?

Today's guest, Daniel Earhart, decided to leave behind what was by all accounts a pretty good job to pursue a business of his own, ...

#077 - Who are the people who have made the biggest impact on your life?  The ones who were available to give you advice when you had a difficult decision to make or who you could reach out to when you weren't sure how to handle a situation.

Or maybe you didn't have that.  Like so many people today.

Today's guest, Robin Jennings, believes that whether or not you've had a mentor for the big mom...

#076 - What is it that companies want most from you?  Is it your loyalty?  Sure, that would be nice.  How about your money?  Getting warmer!

What if I told you that the thing companies most want from you is your attention? 

While having corporations work overtime to get your attention might not seem that pernicious, today's guest argues that our lack of awareness about this practice and the impact attention ...

#075 - For years I followed politics - usually at the national level - but I eventually directed my attention elsewhere because I felt stuck.  It didn't seem there was anything I could do to make a difference. 

• I wasn't going to run for office.  
• Taking to social media didn't seem to be changing anyone's minds or behavior.  
• My frustration didn't have an outlet. 

So I disengaged.  I stopped watching th...

#074 - What is success to you?  Is it career achievement?  Financial net worth?  Status among those you admire?

What if it's something seemingly less... that actually means a whole lot more?

Author, podcaster, and executive coach Tim Winders joins us today to share insights from his new book, Coach: A story of success redefined; rather, he shares insights from his life that show up in the pages of the novel...

#073 - Have you ever wanted to make a change in your life but didn't know what you wanted to change?  Or you had a clear vision for what you wanted but didn't know how to get there?  Or maybe you were just too afraid to start?

Many people just like you and me are faced with a real problem that sits quietly in the backs of our minds every day: we don't know how to read the maps of our lives so we can get to ...

#072 - Have you ever had a truly honest moment with yourself and asked, "Why aren't I living at a higher level?"

If you have, the next question has to be: What's keeping me back from operating at my potential?

On today's show we're joined by leadership and transition coach Dennis Volpe, who has experienced every point on the potential continuum in his more than twenty years as a nava...

#071 - What if you had to choose between making a deal worth millions of dollars and living a life of integrity?  At face value, you'd likely choose the life of integrity, but for the main character in The Sale, a new book by Alex Demczak and Jon Gordon, the decision isn't that easy.

Alex joins us today for an engaging discussion about his latest book and the experiences that led to writing it.  The characters i...

#070 - What if I told you there's a way to improve your career, your health, and your overall satisfaction with life?   Would you want to know what it is?

According to today's guest, Adam Connors from NetworkWise, the key to improving your life in all sorts of areas is a surprising simple one: better relationships.  Adam started his company after reflecting on his life and realizing how much personal and career r...

#069 - Do you have permission to be a man?  In a world of toxic masculinity, emasculated men, and a "first do no harm" mentality that results in not doing much at all, there is a growing need to redefine manhood from an eternal perspective.

Today's guest, JD Crouse from the League of Elite Men, has lived on every point of the masculine continuum, but it wasn't until a few years ago that he discovered a...

#068 - If you're anything like today's guest - and, admittedly, the host - you would love to take a break from work but you don't know how you could.  I mean, with as busy as you are and how reliant others are on you to deliver on a consistent basis, how could you step away for even a week's vacation?

How about a two-month sabbatical?  Is that even possible?  It is when you see someone else do it.
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#067 - If you're like most parents, it's hard to tell whether you're winning or losing.  One moment it seems you have everything figured out, and the next you're picking up the pieces from a meltdown you never saw coming.   Maybe that's just me.

Today's guest, Christine Bright, has a bold proposition: you can win at parenting.  She created Parenting Game Wins after years of working with paren...

#066 - If you've been married for more than a month or two, you've likely discovered a few ways to mess things up in your marriage.  Maybe by a thoughtless comment, an assumption of what your wife was supposed to do in a particular situation, or just not knowing how to respond when conflict arises.

Like many of us, early in his marriage Scott LaPierre tried doing things his way and, like many of us, he wasn&apos...