Ehab Bandar is a sought-after product design consultant for startups and fintech. What's amazing about his career is that he's managed to do it while being both an outsider and an insider in remarkably distinct ways. Ehab attributes credit to his early life as an immigrant to the US from Lebanon at the age of six. His family moved yearly until he was in seventh grade. Ehab was a shy kid with a stutter, yet he was also a natural observer and listener, taking in different cultural norms and personalities. He recalls endearing himself to fit in with new people by throwing a joke into random conversations, noting how fortunate he was to be warmly received as he started the year at each new school. Ehab describes these characteristics as shy self-reliance while being quietly engaged. Ehab had to invent his own career to become a design leader himself. Educated as a city planner, Ehab started his career as one of the youngest technology managers at Wells Fargo. He then left corporate and went on his own to advise and lead design at fast-growing startups in Silicon Valley, digital agencies, and corporate giants.  Ehab uses city planning tools and curiosity to hone his craft in the tech world. He explains how a quarterly print newsletter he started in grad school out of boredom led him to work in the dot-com boom and how being an outsider as an immigrant from Lebanon made the act of observation and discovery a daily habit.  Today, he's the founder of big table.co, an experience-led design agency that partners with product teams to build human-centered designs at scale. They merge hands-on product knowledge, customer insights, and experience strategy to transform ideas into a tangible product vision.   In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Ehab’s journey: Ehab conquered his stuttering by joining the radio station in college as a news reporter. He has helped dozens of organizations, including Charles Schwab, Wells Fargo, Bank of the West, Boost Mobile, Intuit, and Airbnb, design new digital products and successfully launch them into the market. Learn more and connect with Ehab here:    http://ehabbandar.com http://linkedin.com/in/ehabbandar https://www.instagram.com/ebandar/ https://twitter.com/ehabbandar?lang=en Make to Know: From Spaces of Uncertainty to Creative Discovery - by Lorne M. Buchman

​Chris Fenning​ makes it easier for us to communicate at work. He helps experts talk to non-experts, teams talk to executives, and much more. Chris's practical methods are used in organizations like Google and NATO and have appeared in the Harvard Business Review. Helping people retain and apply what he teaches led Chris to write the book ​39-ways to Make Training Stick: What to Do After Trainees Leave the Room​. He has also authored multiple books on communication and training that have been translated into 15 languages. Chris grew up in what he describes as a traditional nuclear family in the UK. As our podcast interview unfolded, he shared that his parents worked hard to provide sufficient food for their family. As a child, Chris was unaware of how careful they were to ensure there was enough food. He thought all parents put dates on their canned beans. At age 7, he was awarded a scholarship to attend a private school. Chris saw the distinction between his life and that of his classmates. Adding to his experience of differences, he was elevated two grade levels to a class with students who were 9-years-old.  Chris always did well in school without much effort. Then his perspective changed. At 15, he was struck by a car, sustaining serious injuries. After that, he took nothing for granted. Attending university, he majored in aeronautical engineering, and worked 2 to 3 jobs to support himself. Throughout his engineering career, Chris leveraged his problem solving skills by applying them to challenges wherever he saw a need. He was especially drawn towards translating communication between technical and business teams. Chris’s ability to translate and communicate is the common thread in his work today. When he left full-time employment to start his own business, Chris moved into communication, bridging the gap between technical and business teams and between experts and non-experts. In this week’s ​Work From The Inside Out podcast,​ learn more about Chris’s journey: Chris attended flight school with the intention to join the Royal Air Force, but he realized he did not like being told what to do.When he was a university student, he also competed in target rifle shooting, an expensive sport, which he supported by his multiple jobs. Learn more and connect with Chris here:  https://chrisfenning.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-fenning/ https://www.facebook.com/cfenning1 https://twitter.com/CMFenning https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmIXD8AIH-LUV-B1V5KJ4Ww

​Erika Wasserman​ was always good at math. As a teenager, she and her Dad would sit in front of the family computer (then, households had one computer), dial up AOL (America Online), and check out the latest stock market figures. Dad, an optometrist, was keenly interested in the markets and enjoyed bonding with Erika over all things involving numbers. Erika studied finance and international economics in college, and following graduation, she took a finance role at IBM. Early on, she discovered the advantages of being in a large company where opportunities for mobility were readily available. Erika moved to the consulting side of the business, serving clients, becoming a project manager in a variety of functional areas, and developing her leadership chops. Interspersed within that time, she married, lived in Asia, had her first child, and moved nine times in ten years. Needless to say, Erika’s personal and professional journey was not a linear one. For her, there were many changes: growing up in a household where money was an exciting dinner topic, getting married, having three children, getting divorced, living abroad, moving nine times for a job, and losing a parent. Erika found herself at a crossroads. After a successful decade at IBM, Erika left her corporate role to work on emerging organic food brands, transforming them from innovative products to household names while raising her growing family. Along the way, Erika noticed a gap in how people all over the world talked — or didn’t talk — about money, both within family structures, relationships, and workplaces. Erika then discovered the field of Financial Therapy and decided to pursue her graduate Certificate in Financial Therapy from Kansas State University. Today, she works with individuals, couples, families, teams, and corporate wellness programs to improve communication and relationships regarding money. Partnering with her clients, Erika helps them transform their mindsets and beliefs about money, paving the way to clearer choices and new options. In this week’s ​Work From The Inside Out podcast,​ learn more about Erika’s journey: Erika created the ​Let’s Talk Finances, Baby! ​Financial Wellness Conversation Cards, which allows people to explore the topic of money with 50 thought-provoking questions.Her expertise has been featured in The New York Times, Yahoo! Money, and Time. Learn more and connect with Erika here:  www.yourfinancialtherapist.com https://www.linkedin.com/company/your-financial-therapist/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCam5mLhzUv_7HIeDeiYtZA https://twitter.com/Fin_Therapist https://www.facebook.com/yourfinancialtherapy https://www.instagram.com/yourfinancialtherapist/

Catie Harris is a nurse practitioner who believes nurses are uniquely qualified to be entrepreneurs. As the CEO and owner of NursePreneurs, a mentorship program that empowers nurses to monetize their knowledge and develop business skills, Catie inspires them to change how healthcare is perceived and delivered. Through individual coaching, live events, and signature group programs, thousands of nurses have been empowered with the knowledge and skills they need to build profitable businesses of their own. ​As a child, Catie was quite introverted and didn’t socialize easily. Her family moved multiple times, which meant going to new schools, and she found this to be consistently difficult. ​At 16, Catie had a vivid dream in which she saw herself working as a nurse, and from then on, it was clear she would go to nursing school. Catie never questioned that decision to this day. What she had not anticipated was the level of interpersonal interactions she would need to engage in as a nursing student. The adjustment throughout her rotations in different clinical areas was painful, yet Catie persevered and eventually discovered the strength of her introverted personality. As is typical of most introverted people, Catie was not a small-talk type of person. She was much better at listening. So when there were families in the hospital who were identified as difficult or temperamental, Catie was assigned to meet with them because she would go in, and just listen to them. By the time they were done venting, they would express thanks for how helpful Catie had been. Catie found that it helped her too. ​Catie continued with her training to get her nurse practitioner's degree. Always curious, her nursing experience included work in multiple clinical areas. Eventually, she focused on her own business to teach and support nurses who wanted to become entrepreneurs.​ In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Catie’s journey:​ Catie strives to show nurses around the world how their hard-earned knowledge and skills can transcend the hospital system into a profitable business.Her podcast, The NursePreneurs Podcast, highlights the unique stories of men and women who have embraced adversity and overcome countless obstacles to pursue work that has greater meaning while sharing their experience of being a nurse entrepreneur. Learn more and connect with Catie here:  https://www.nursepreneurs.com/ https://www.instagram.com/nurse_preneur/ https://www.youtube.com/c/CatieHarris/videos https://www.pinterest.ph/nursepreneurs/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/nursebusiness

Donna Serdula is the founder and president of Vision Board Media, a professional branding company that helps individuals and companies tell their unique stories on LinkedIn and beyond. Donna has authored two editions of LinkedIn Profile Optimization FOR DUMMIES. Bringing dynamic brand storytelling to the masses and empowering people to dream big – that’s the ink in her pen. Donna’s website, LinkedIn-Makeover.com, is where she and her team of over 20 writers and coaches help people collide with opportunities and transform their lives via future-forward career branding. You’d never know it now, but Donna was a shy little kid. During college, she was interested in pursuing work in development and production in the film industry. While she did work as an intern in the film industry, getting established after graduation proved challenging, so she accepted an invitation from her father to join him in his business. They sold estimating software to autobody shops. Within the first few years, Donna was training people in several industries intersecting with their business on the use of the software and other tools. She realized she loved to help people discover technology, and this led her to move into other arenas, including designing websites and helping people with their LinkedIn profiles. Over the course of the next several years, Donna worked as a reseller in software sales, and she noticed a couple of patterns. While she sold the same software as her competitors, people wanted to do business with her because they could see she understood their industry, had their backs, and was willing to engage with them in ways that were not purely transactional. How did she do this? She used LinkedIn as a part of her networking strategy to make connections and develop relationships. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Donna’s journey: After being laid off from a company she had closed over $1M in business for in 2009, Donna decided it was time to start her own business. She's shared her LinkedIn expertise at global conferences, presented keynotes and workshops, and has been featured on a number of high-profile news outlets. Learn more and connect with Donna here:  https://www.linkedin-makeover.com/ https://twitter.com/donnaserdula https://www.linkedin.com/in/todonna https://www.facebook.com/LinkedInMakeover/ https://www.facebook.com/donnaserdula https://www.instagram.com/donnaserdula/

This week’s podcast features a delightful conversation I had with Doug Lennick and Chuck Wachendorfer from ​think2perform​, a leadership development firm serving many industries. Together, they co-authored the book ​Don’t Wait for Someone Else to Fix It: 8 Essentials to Enhance Your Leadership Impact at Work, Home, and Anywhere Else that Needs You​. Their experience and knowledge show readers how to be positive and impactful leaders. Doug and Chuck offer practical and evidence-based guidance through eight key principles that are essential to one’s ability to lead others: Aim to be YourselfKnow Your Real SelfIgnite Integrity and ResponsibilityEmbrace Empathy and CompassionDecide WiselyLet Go of What You KnowAchieve Purposeful GoalsEmpower Others They share many examples and lessons learned from their experiences in financial services and the stories of leaders in various industries, illustrating the book’s eight essential principles. Exercises and frameworks are threaded throughout each chapter, enabling the reader to explore their own leadership development and professional directions. Doug and Chuck conclude that the best leaders are “people-wise.” I wholeheartedly agree! In this week’s ​Work From The Inside Out podcast,​ learn about Chuck and Doug’s journeys: Before founding think2perform, Doug Lennick, a certified financial planner (CFP), was Executive Vice President – Advice and Retail Distribution for American Express Financial Advisors (now Ameriprise Financial). In that capacity, he led an organization of 17,000 field and corporate associates to unprecedented success.Chuck Wachendorfer is a renowned leadership development professional who has worked with clients including American Express, Wells Fargo, Comerica Bank, TD Wealth of Canada, and Charles Schwab. His insights on leadership have been featured in CNN Money, Forbes, Fortune, and The Denver Post. Learn more and connect with Doug and Chuck here:  https://www.think2perform.com/product/dont-wait-for-someone-else-to-fix-it-8-essentials-to-enhance-your-leadership-impact-at-work-home-and-anywhere-else-that-needs-you-lennick-douglas-wachendorfer-chuck/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/chuck-wachendorfer/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglennick/

Rimi Chakraborty and Samantha Anderson are on a mission to inspire women to redefine success by blending ancient wisdom with modern leadership. They have co-authored a book, to be released on February 14, 2024, Beyond Resilience to Rootsilience: A Revolutionary Women's Leadership Framework for Balance, Well-being, and Success.  Rimi, a previous guest on my podcast, and Samantha shared their origin stories with me, including how they met and developed the work that evolved into their book. They each made significant changes in their lives towards a deeper sense of purpose and well-being. Then, Samantha and her husband stayed at the lodge and learning center owned by Rimi and her husband in the Azores. The women made a fast connection based on their common interests in health and well-being and kept in touch weekly after Samantha returned home to the US. Rimi and Samantha began to plan a nutrition and yoga retreat for April 2020, which did not occur, yet they continued to talk, and a powerful theme surfaced. Samantha shared, “I’m tired of being told to be resilient. Resilience is not enough to deal with the stressors and challenges of the day.” They developed an online course, Going Beyond Resilience. The response from participants was so transformative that Rimi and Samantha created the term Rootsilience ("root - zeel - ience"), which informed their book.  Rootsilience takes the notion of "resilience" a step deeper and teaches us to be grounded, rooted, and able to respond to stressors from a place of stability rather than being stretched beyond our limits. We need to rise beyond resilience to Rootsilience. Beyond Resilience to Rootsilience combines three key branches: conscious leadership, healing foods, and mind-body integration. The book highlights experiences from Rimi’s and Samantha’s lives, illustrating key lessons for women leaders. Check out their Rootsilience Leadership Map to recognize the connectedness of your leadership behavior and your emotional, physical, and mental signs of ease and dis-ease. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Rimi’s and Samantha’s journeys: Rimi Chakraborty is a keynote speaker, author, yoga teacher, and leadership consulting coach for groups, teams, and individuals dedicated to developing conscious leaders. Samantha Anderson is a Certified Health and Wellness Coach and a certified Functional Medicine Health Coach with decades of experience as a nonprofit and philanthropy consultant. She speaks to women leaders about cultivating purpose and vision. Learn more and connect with Rimi and Samantha here:  www.rimichakra.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/rimichakraborty/ https://www.instagram.com/rimichakra_/ https://www.facebook.com/rimi.chakraborty/

When Jesse Janelle was in elementary school, she experienced a lot of anxiety. When feeling panicked, she went to the nurses' office, visiting there regularly. Jesse didn’t know it then, but this is where her personal and professional development journey began. One day, 11-year-old Jesse was in the nurse's office having a particularly bad panic attack. The nurse called in the guidance counselor, who was asked to help sometimes. Jesse must have been extra anxious this time because the guidance counselor shook her by the shoulders and yelled, “Stop it right now,” in her face. At that moment, Jesse became disassociated from her body. Her thoughts separated from her ‘felt sense’: her ability to know what was happening in her body. Jesse later understood this to be her sense of self-trust. Going into high school and then college, Jesse was high-performing. Attending Boston College, she got straight A's. Because she wasn't feeling connected to her body, she intellectualized many of her struggles. Jesse studied psychology and meditation, attaching deep academic and intellectual perspectives to those arenas. Around her graduation from college, Jesse began to connect with those areas in a felt way, enabling her to be more in touch with who she really was. Jesse's professional career began as an intern at Harvard Medical School's Institute of Coaching in its founding years, where she got immersed in evidence-based coaching research. As her experience and expertise grew, she consulted and coached leaders in top organizations such as McKinsey, Mass General Hospital, The Walt Disney Company, and Amazon.  Today, Jesse is the founder and CEO of Gemini Leadership. She is an ICF-certified transformational coach and speaker. Jesse has distilled her learnings from her work in leadership development, psychology, ontology, somatics, and spirituality into a coaching method she calls Soul Sessions. This method is grounded in metaphor coaching and intuitive inquiry. This method can be learned and applied independently of a professional coaching session. Using a surprising tool, tarot cards, Jesse helps professionals access and unlock the power of their intuition to make better decisions faster. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Jesse’s journey: Jesse was selected in 2022 for the inaugural cohort of Forefront, powered by Marshall Goldsmith and the 100 coaches, for her impact on the field of leadership development.In 2023, she delivered her TEDx talk, The Power of Self-Trust.   Learn more and connect with Jesse here:  www.geminileadership.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/jesjanelle https://www.facebook.com/Jes30se/ https://www.instagram.com/jessejanelle Save 7 hours a week with a 7-minute daily tarot self-coaching practice: www.7minutetarot.com

Christopher Knudsen’s first work experience was on a framing crew at 15 years old in his father’s construction company. He credits those early years with instilling the work ethic he has today. Chris learned how to create momentum for himself, which gave him a sense of ownership and pride in his work. Today, Chris is a published author, university instructor, entrepreneur, and consultant. He works as an independent fractional CMO and is the CEO at StoicYeti, an advertising firm focused on direct-to-consumer companies. Chris’s main focus is to help businesses and ideas flourish alongside technological advancements.  Chris authored Trust Me, I’m a Consultant to share his journey to entrepreneurship and to teach his readers how to start their own businesses. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Chris’s journey: Chris earned his MBA from the Gore School of Business at Westminster College. As an adjunct instructor, he taught the capstone strategy course and business plan development, social marketing, and entrepreneurship courses for ten years. He was the former CMO at Purple Mattress and has started and sold many companies, including 3DplusMe, a venture-funded consumer 3D printing and scanning company. Learn more and connect with Chris here:  Website: www.SevenFigure.consulting  Special Audience Giveaway: Free Chapters from Trust Me I'm A Consultant Book: Trust Me, I'm a Consultant  LinkedIn -  https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrisknudsen/

A couple of years ago, Stephanie Vozza was in a group tennis lesson. The instructor, an 84-year-old former HR director, started with an icebreaker game: Two Truths and a Lie. People said things like, I have two cats, I like oatmeal cookies, and I love to ride my bike. Stephanie shared, “I've written two books, been on MTV in my bikini, and was a contestant on a game show.” Everyone exclaimed, “Wow!” ​As the game continued, Stephanie hoped she inspired the next person to dig a little deeper, but it returned to I like dogs. She wondered, am I unusual? (Stephanie’s truths were: she was on MTV in a bikini and had written two books.) Surely, other people must have wow moments. Yet, even her wow moments happened years ago. Stephanie decided it was time to change that. Soon after, she volunteered to join a radio host friend who was going to help out a nearby city that had experienced a devastating flood. It was a wow moment for her. Stephanie, a professional writer, planned to write a blog about it. But as soon as she returned home, life’s routines kicked in and it was easy to put it on the back burner. ​Then everything changed. Just after Christmas 2022, Stephanie’s husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Four months later, he passed away. From that moment on, Stephanie committed to putting more wow moments into her life and she shares them in her wow moment blog. It is inspiring, and thought-provoking. ​ Stephanie has been a writer and author for over three decades. She's been a Fast Company columnist covering leadership, productivity, and careers for the last nine years. ​ ​ In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Stephanie’s journey: In 2006, Stephanie launched a website, The Organized Parent, selling products to help busy moms. Five years later, she sold the company to FranklinCovey.Her writing has appeared in Inc., Entrepreneur, Success, and Parade, and she has written for companies such as U.S. Bank, Smartsheet, Mastercard, LinkedIn, and Intel.   Learn more and connect with Stephanie here: www.wow-moments.com https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanievozza/ https://www.facebook.com/stephanie.vozza https://www.facebook.com/groups/1332020900733489 https://www.instagram.com/slvozza/

Dr. Michelle Drapkin was an honors student in high school, yet she did not graduate with her class. Why? She had cut so many classes that her attendance record disqualified her from graduating. Michelle was lost. Her mother was ill with cancer (she survived!), and no one was paying attention to her activities, or lack thereof. To get her diploma, Michelle was sent to summer school, where the teachers had nothing to offer an honors student. After two days, they let her go. Michelle attended college on schedule. ​Michelle studied psychology and Spanish at Franklin and Marshall with the goal of becoming a Spanish-speaking psychologist. She studied abroad to develop her language skills and aspired to get a PhD in clinical psychology. Michelle hit a roadblock when she was not accepted into any of the graduate programs she applied to. She points to this experience as “failure being part of the process.” While deeply disappointed, this did not stop her. She applied to be a Fulbright Scholar, for more graduate programs and various jobs, all of which were highly competitive. Nothing came through, except Michelle received some helpful advice to get more research experience to strengthen her chances of getting accepted to graduate school. She landed a research role at the University of Pennsylvania and applied to graduate school two years later. By then, Michelle knew exactly what she wanted to do.​ Today, Michelle is a board-certified Clinical Psychologist who has dedicated her career to using psychological research to help people. She is the Owner/Director of the CBT Center. Michelle provides individual and couples therapy, consults with healthcare tech startups, and delivers training on communication/motivation and health/wellbeing at work and in life.​ In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Michelle’s journey: Michelle is the author of The Motivational Interviewing Path to Personal Change: The Essential Workbook for Creating the Life You Want from New Harbinger PublicationsShe held a nationwide role at the Department of Veterans Affairs and was on faculty at the University of Pennsylvania. Learn more and connect with Michelle here: https://cbtcenterofcentralnj.com/ https://twitter.com/michelledrapkin https://www.linkedin.com/in/michelledrapkin/ https://www.facebook.com/cbtcenterofcentralnj https://www.instagram.com/cbtcenterofcentralnj/

Ellie Steinbrink grew up on a farm in Iowa. She was always drawn to wearing different outfits to suit the various activities she was engaged in around the farm. Ellie credits her parents for fostering a very creative environment. Her Mom is an artist who introduced her to colors, forms, textures, and patterns. Ellie’s Dad runs the farm with a strategic business mindset, offering her his own creative perspectives. In high school, Ellie was involved in theater and communications. As she set out for college, Ellie wanted to study marketing with the goal of working for an advertising agency. ​ Starting as an intern in an advertising agency, Ellie learned the ropes, which led her to work on the client service side of the business. For the next 15 years, she worked in advertising agencies, elevating to a Director of Client Services role. She created marketing, brands, advertising, content, and social strategies for clients ranging from Fortune 500 giants to small businesses. It was a lot of fun until the stretch between her family life and professional demands became too tight. Ellie engaged a coach to recalibrate her priorities and then took a part-time role as a marketing lead for a small business. For 4 years, Ellie enjoyed the role, but gradually, she had growing feelings that she wanted to do something else. Yet, there was a reluctance to step away from a career in which she had invested so much. ​ In 2020, Ellie took the opportunity to merge her professional experience with her passion for personal styling and started her business, Style Decoded, in Omaha, Nebraska. As an expert stylist and personal brand coach, she teaches women how to define and own their unique style, aligning their insides with their outsides to feel confident in their own skin. ​ In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, learn more about Ellie’s journey: Ellie is offering my subscribers a free guide: ​6 Style Tips for Public Speakers to Create Memorable Outfits What does your outfit say about you to your audience before you even speak? This free guide includes Ellie’s 6 go-to style tips for making your outfits more impactful. 6 Style Tips for Public Speakers to Create Memorable Outfits    Learn more and connect with Ellie here:  https://www.instagram.com/style.decoded https://www.linkedin.com/in/elliesteinbrink/ https://www.facebook.com/decodedstyle/ https://www.elliesteinbrink.com/

Janine Kwoh is the owner and designer of Kwohtations, a Brooklyn, NY-based collection of greeting cards and gifts that reflect and celebrate a diversity of identities and life experiences. Her goal is to create products that others will recognize some of themselves in and feel a bit more seen, more connected, and less alone. Janine returns to the Work from the Inside Out podcast to share an update since she was my guest on episode 11, 4-1/2 years ago. Since then, she has authored Welcome to the Grief Club, an illustrated book on grief for anyone who is grieving the death of a loved one. Additionally, Janine has expanded her product lines with a variety of new items.  Currently, Janine is grappling with the challenges of how to scale her business to meet the demands of her customers and community of followers while maintaining the integrity of her brand and the quality of life she wants to live. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, follow the update on Janine’s journey and her work today: Janine uses an antique printing press to letterpress print every card one-at-a-time and also paints in many designs by hand.  She enjoys the physical process and distinctive final look-and-feel that comes with using old printing machines and techniques, while experimenting with modern images and sentiments. Learn more and connect with Janine here:  https://kwohtations.com/ https://www.facebook.com/kwohtations www.instagram.com/kwohtations https://www.linkedin.com/in/janinekwoh/ https://twitter.com/kwohtations

Cliff Goldmacher is a Grammy-recognized #1 hit songwriter, keynote speaker, and author. A multi-instrumentalist, he has recorded, played on, and produced thousands of recordings and album projects for major and independent music publishers and record labels.  Cliff spent his first ten years in Southeast Asia due to his father’s work. Once they transferred back to the US, they moved to Memphis, Tennessee, a location that Cliff credits for his becoming a musician. He studied classical piano, which provided him with a foundation in music, but it wasn't until Cliff attended Stanford University that his personal connection to music began. He borrowed a guitar from a guy in his dorm and taught himself to play. Next, Cliff started to write songs and began performing with a friend. He graduated with a political science degree, took the LSAT, and applied to law schools.  Rather than go directly to law school, Cliff took an opportunity to do a teaching internship in a small town in France. Once there, he found a little cafe to perform music. The cafe manager asked him to play six nights a week, which Cliff did for the entire year. During that time, Cliff was writing songs, performing, and rethinking his law school plans. He chose to pursue a music career, reasoning that if it did not work out, he could consider law school. Thirty years later, Cliff has written over 1,000 songs, including chart-toppers recorded by Grammy-winning and platinum-selling artists in genres ranging from Americana, country, pop, blues, and jazz to classical crossover.  Cliff’s book, The Reason For The Rhymes: Mastering the Seven Essential Skills of Innovation by Learning to Write Songs, encapsulates the principles of his corporate workshops, where he helps business teams enhance their creativity, solve problems, and innovate by teaching them to write songs.  In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, follow Cliff’s journey and his work today: Cliff runs a production studio in Nashville. He has also given multiple TEDx presentations on songwriting. Learn more and connect with Cliff here: www.TheReasonForTheRhymes.com https://twitter.com/reasonforrhymes https://www.linkedin.com/in/cliffgoldmacher/ https://www.facebook.com/TheReasonForTheRhymes/ https://www.instagram.com/reasonforrhymes/

​Mary O'Donohue​ is a media coach whose mission is to elevate the wisdom of women nonfiction authors. She teaches them how to get national publicity and do media interviews that sell books so they can grow their impact and change the world. Mary never planned on becoming a media coach. She was dedicated to her work for twelve seasons as a Post Producer and Associate Director on The Oprah Winfrey Show, and multiple years prior, with NBC Nightly News, The Today Show, and Meet the Press. Yet, not all of Mary’s years in television media have been behind the scenes. She is also a #1 bestselling author and parenting expert who has been featured in television, radio, print, and digital media. Her book, ​When You Say 'Thank You,' Mean It: And 11 Other Lessons for Instilling Lifelong Values In Your Children​, made Amazon's top 100 after a media interview. However, Mary never expected to become a published author. In fact, her early life was filled with so many responsibilities that she had no vision for her future. When she was 11, her beloved grandmother and her father, who was abusive and alcoholic, died just months apart. Her mother went to work teaching at a Catholic school. Mary took over at home with her 3 siblings, cooking, signing permission slips, and fighting the Social Security Administration when checks were delayed. Many observers called her strong, yet Mary was terrified. She found comfort in having some control over the situation. Mary learned to be independent and to fight for what she believed was right. In this week’s ​Work From The Inside Out podcast,​ follow Mary’s journey and her work today: Mary’s unique coaching framework, the Media Impact Method (I.M.P.A.C.T), offers a solid path to publicity with purpose, leading authors to success in national media, and reaching audiences of more than a billion.She offers a variety of programs to help authors gain the strategies they need to share their work and make an impact: ​Profitable Publicity​, ​Published to Prime Time™​, ​Media Success Blueprint™​, and ​Book Launch Accelerator™​.   Learn more and connect with Mary here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mary-o-donohue-28559530/

When Erica Holthausen was in 7th grade, she was inspired to become an attorney after reading A Man for All Seasons, a play about the life of 16th-century Chancellor of England Sir Thomas More. She stayed true to her goal, attended law school, passed the bar, and worked for one year as an attorney, quickly realizing that being in law school and practicing law were not the same. With the support of her legal colleagues, some of whom seemed envious, Erica left the practice of law and embarked on a “master reset.”  At the suggestion of a friend, she applied to an environmental studies program at the Audobon Expedition Institute. After a semester of living on the Institute’s bus in Vermont, she moved in with her recently widowed aunt in Massachusetts who needed her help. While there, Erica explored her options and allowed herself to be with not knowing exactly what she was going to do. She started a daily writing practice to process and synthesize her ideas. Eventually, she joined an arts organization as their director of marketing and development, even though she had no direct experience in those areas. Erica is wholly resourceful and she found her way, continuing on that path for years with a consulting firm and later at a museum, honing her written and communication skills throughout.  In January 2020, Erica founded Catchline Communications, a consulting firm that equips professionals with the tools they need to develop a body of work, bolster their credibility and earn a reputation as authoritative experts. Drawing on her experience as a freelance writer and editor, she guides them through the process of pitching, writing, and publishing articles in industry trade journals, and business magazines.  In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, follow Erica’s journey and work: Erica challenged herself to deliver a TEDx talk, The Power of Not Knowing in 2023. Her clients have secured bylines in many high-visibility publications, including Harvard Business Review, Inc., Fast Co., and Entrepreneur. Learn more and connect with Erica here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericaholthausen/ https://catchlinecommunications.com

Dr. Mira Brancu was born in Romania when it was under a communist government. At six years old, her family emigrated to the U.S. as Jewish political refugees. Mira needed to learn English and navigate a new culture. She credits this early experience as providing the foundation for her strong observational skills and her ability to understand people’s nuanced behaviors and make deep connections. Over the course of her career, Mira developed a keen interest in how various dynamics, such as relationships, groups, organizations, and societal factors, impact successful outcomes. She started her career as a school counselor, then focused on clinical psychology for her doctoral degree, and served as chief of operations and in other leadership roles across several industries, including healthcare, academia, federal government, and schools. As Mira deepened her understanding and applied her accumulative knowledge, she grew as a leader, supporting her teams and organizations. Today, Mira is the founder and CEO of ​Towerscope​, a social impact consulting firm that helps executives and their teams navigate complex systems, develop strategic thinking and processes, to work effectively with individuals, teams, and organizations. To this work, she brings 20-plus years of experience, including a leadership career at the US Department of Veterans Affairs and a faculty appointment at Duke University. In this week’s ​Work From The Inside Out podcast,​ follow Mira’s journey and work: Mira is the author of a ​Millennials Guide to Workplace Politics​, and writes about women's leadership development for Psychology Today.She works with emerging and under-represented women leaders and companies that support their career growth. Mira also helps small businesses and entrepreneurs progress from early phase start-up into the next phase of business by leading a team of employees.   Learn more and connect with Mira here:  www.GoTowerscope.com https://www.facebook.com/towerscope https://www.instagram.com/MiraBrancu https://www.linkedin.com/in/MiraBrancu https://twitter.com/mirabrancu

Sandy Seeber-Quayle learned about adapting to change early in her life. Born in Eastern Germany, she was seven years old when her parents divorced suddenly, leaving her and her toddler brother to be raised by her mother, who struggled with the breakup. Consequently, Sandy took on more responsibilities at home, leaving less time for fun. Four years later, the Berlin Wall came down, and everything changed. Then Sandy’s Mom found a new partner, and they moved to a new village. After an anxious start in her new school, Sandy was embraced by her new classmates and she made friends. This was the first of several moves during her formative years. At eighteen, Sandy got an apprenticeship in an insurance company, and she continued there for eleven years, learning many aspects of the business. Eventually, she was training apprentices. Sandy loved teaching, but she got itchy feet, as she put it. She started traveling all over the world as often as she could. Then, she decided to leave her job and traveled extensively, 808 days, to be exact. She also met her now husband during that time. Today, Sandy lives near Dublin, Ireland. She specializes in developing middle managers using her KUBA Pilot Strategy to foster effective thinking habits, enabling them to remain calm under stress, overcome biases, and enhance their relationships. Know Yourself Understand Others Build Connections Align Decisions In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, follow Sandy’s journey and work Sandy enjoys transforming challenging relationships into collaborative partnerships and delivers impactful training, leveraging strong facilitation. With diplomas in Organizational Behavior, Coaching, and Training, Sandy brings a lifelong passion for human behavior and impactful communication to her work.    Learn more and connect with Sandy here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandyseeberquayle/ https://www.facebook.com/SandySeeberQuayle/ https://twitter.com/kubapilot https://www.instagram.com/sandyseeber/ www.kubapilot.com https://kubapilot.substack.com

Alicia Ramsdell was raised by two hard-working parents who laid a solid foundation for her and her three sisters; the family came first, and education was a critical path to making a secure living. From an early age, mathematics came quickly to Alicia. So when she decided on her college major, she concluded that accounting would be a good choice. It checked off all the boxes, or so she thought. It was a secure profession that would pay well. As Alicia learned more about the principles and practices of accounting, she realized didn’t love it. Yet she held herself to the value of finishing things she started and kept telling herself that it was a pathway to financial security. In fact, Alicia became so invested in her accounting career that she went on to earn her master’s degree in taxation. She characterizes this as identity foreclosure, which is a psychological term describing an individual who commits to an identity without exploring options. The turning point in Alicia’s life came when her father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in his early 40s. She watched as her parents’ life plans changed completely, and it was a wake-up call for Alicia. She also was raising two young children and wanted to be able to share more with them about what it means to have a meaningful career. Today, Alicia is the founder and CEO of ​Mindful Career Path​, designing career fulfillment in collaboration with her clients' professional passion and energy. She is a certified career services provider, a global career development facilitator, and holds a certificate in mindfulness-based stress reduction techniques. In her ​TEDx talk​, Alicia says, "Don't be afraid to fail in the career of your dreams. Be afraid to succeed in the career of your nightmares." In this week’s ​Work From The Inside Out podcast,​ follow Alicia’s journey and work: Alicia worked for over 15 years in her corporate career before changing directions.She authored a children’s book, ​The One and Only Incredible ME!​, offering an ​​empowering message that our future is truly in our own hands.   Learn more and connect with Alicia here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/aliciaramsdell/ www.mindfulcareerpath.com https://twitter.com/Mindful_Careers https://www.facebook.com/Mindful.Career.Path/ https://www.instagram.com/Mindful.Career.Path/ https://www.youtube.com/@mindfulcareerpath

Ebony Travis Tichenor is a strategic executive in human resources, talent and organizational development, diversity and inclusion, and health and well-being. She is the Director for Global Well-Being and HR Employee Policies for Boston Scientific, where she has worked for over 25 years.  Ebony grew up in a small town in Texas. Raised by her Hispanic mother and her grandmother, whose only language was Spanish, they insisted that Ebony speak English. Her Dad, who was Black, passed away after she was born. As a child, Ebony was picked on by people who insisted she did not look like her mother and yet, she always maintained an upbeat, energetic personality. Still, Ebony harbored self-doubts, believing she was not bright enough to attend college. After graduating high school, she worked at a gas station convenience store, quickly getting promoted to assistant manager. While Ebony loved working there, she was encouraged by many people to do something more. She began to pursue beauty pageants, eventually auditioning for and becoming a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. As glamorous as it was, high-profile cheerleading did not pay the bills, so she applied for temporary jobs. One of her placements was at Boston Scientific, and as they say, the rest is history. At Boston Scientific, Ebony has helped to spearhead greater pay equity (99%) for a culturally and gender-diverse workforce, including veterans and persons with disabilities. A dynamic speaker, Ebony draws on her experience in change management, diversity and inclusion, performance management, employee engagement, mentoring, and training, to influence the process and cultural changes that improve organizational effectiveness and employee growth. She has served as a keynote speaker, a moderator of leadership panels within Boston Scientific and at public forums, business meetings, events, and conferences. In this week’s Work From The Inside Out podcast, follow Ebony’s journey and work: Ebony is an active health and fitness influencer on social media platforms. She mentors and inspires others to meet their personal goals for health and wellness.She speaks to various companies on personal branding, overall well-being, energy management, DEI, and so much more.   Learn more and connect with Ebony here:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/ebonytravis01 https://www.facebook.com/ebony.travis?mibextid=LQQJ4d https://instagram.com/ebonytravis?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA==