Ends with Z

Juan Fernandez, Cecile Munoz, Shawn Meaux

Hi, we are Juan Fernandez and Cecile Munoz. We are fascinated by the intersection of business and relationships and how to thrive in your life. In this podcast, we explore issues affecting the workplace and how it impacts culture, interpersonal relationships, and how to grow as a human being. What makes us qualified? Juan Fernandez has covered some of the biggest stories in the Southland Los Angeles as part of the CBS News. His favorites include Presidential visits and the arrival of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and its final journey through the streets of Los Angeles to the California Science Center. Cecile Munoz is the president and founder of U.S. Executive Search & Consulting, a leading nationally recognized financial services recruiting and consulting firm. She’s one of a very small group of executive search firms owned and run by minority women working Wall Street investment firms. read less

Society & CultureSociety & Culture

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The Holidays May Be Over . . .

The Holidays May Be Over . . .

For many of us, the holidays are all about spending time with family. Whether merry, or just plain scary, the emotions and feelings we experience during the holiday season linger far after the decorations are down and resolutions are made. In this episode, Juan shares the almost “life changing moment” he had in how he handles the stress of going back home, his identity, and relationship with his family. Was it a Christmas miracle or the result of the awareness that parents are just people too? Above all, what is important to you is what matters most.

Episodes

The Holidays May Be Over . . .

The Holidays May Be Over . . .

For many of us, the holidays are all about spending time with family. Whether merry, or just plain scary, the emotions and feelings we experience during the holiday season linger far after the decorations are down and resolutions are made. In this episode, Juan shares the almost “life changing moment” he had in how he handles the stress of going back home, his identity, and relationship with his family. Was it a Christmas miracle or the result of the awareness that parents are just people too? Above all, what is important to you is what matters most.

Just What The Chatbot Ordered

Just What The Chatbot Ordered

The doctor is in! But what if the doctor isn't human? Our favorite psychotherapist, John Tsilimparis, joins the podcast as we discuss the growing impact of AI, and specifically AE (artificial empathy), in the medical field and in the most important aspects of our daily life. What is Chatbot Therapy? Can AE make us better humans or is it merely manipulating us? This technology can be a game changer for providing support for human doctors in assessing actionable treatment and dramatically increasing access to mental healthcare services. But with all of the progressive promise also comes the potential perils. The father of AI has sounded the alarm warning us that AI is growing faster than we can control or regulate it. Global security agreements and regulation must be established and implemented before it's too late to prevent artificial intelligence from outsmarting us all.

Breaking Down Barbie

Breaking Down Barbie

With a worldwide box office of $1B, there is no denying the massive appeal and success of Barbie, the movie that has become a movement. In this episode, Cecile, Juan, and Shawn breakdown Barbie, give their thoughts on the movie and the inter-generational, cross-cultural, and overall appeal of the iconic Mattel brand. They discuss how Director/Writer Greta Gerwig does a brilliant job introducing some heady societal themes in a hyper-visual, colorful, depiction that is entertaining yet nuanced on many levels.

Young At Heart Or An Old Soul? It's All Subjective.

Young At Heart Or An Old Soul? It's All Subjective.

You are as old as you think you are. Studies have shown that we typically perceive ourselves to be from 7 years to 20% younger than our actual chronological age. This gap is called our subjective age, but are we just living in denial or is there a benefit to this kind of thinking? Preconceived notions that we each hold on aging may also be a predictor of our eventual, future reality. People who perceive themselves to be younger than they are typically lead healthier lifestyles, engage in more positive self-talk and self-care, and tend to be less depressed.

Manifesting Your Destiny

Manifesting Your Destiny

You can’t have the life you want if you don’t know what you want from life. As children, we dream of the lives that we want, imagining our grown-up selves, careers, soulmates/families, and possessions. It all begins with your thoughts - believing that what you want is possible and attainable. But that will only get you so far. To manifest the life of your dreams takes work. It doesn’t just magically happen. It requires the right mindset, hard work, planning, pivoting, patience, and perseverance. Align your thoughts and attitude with your actions to get the results you want. In this week’s episode, Cecile, Juan, and Shawn share the journey from being a small town kid where nothing ever happens to living a life that they dared to imagined.

Ride Life's Waves Like The Ocean

Ride Life's Waves Like The Ocean

You’re not imagining it. Stress is making us anxious and it is effecting our thoughts, feelings, and physical bodies. Psychotherapist, John Tsilimparis, is back to explain the importance of identifying/managing stress and understanding how anxiety effects each of us differently. And, gives us a simple stress test ( a great tool – really) that we can take anytime to tell us the truth about our stress and its affects. Building emotional resilience is the key to adapting to change and going with the tide. We must choose to be like to ocean to ride every wave of life.

The Breakdown: How Stress Is Breaking Down Our Hair

The Breakdown: How Stress Is Breaking Down Our Hair

Stress affects us in different ways. For some, everyday stress makes it hard to sleep keeping us awake at night. It makes others eat too much or not at all. But did you know that stress can cause you to lose your hair? We breakdown the truth behind stressed-out hair and what we can do to save it. We welcome Trichologist and Celebrity Hair Care Specialist/Stylist, Shann Christen, to the studio to give us the true science behind hair loss, alopecia, and its connection to unmanaged stress, our diets, ageing, and our actions. He clears up hair myths and fallacies that are making our hair fall out and educates us step-by-step on simple ways to improve and restore our luscious locks. Cecile is living proof that it works. Listen in and start growing healthier hair!

Stressed Out! Stressed Out!

Stressed Out! Stressed Out!

To be human means you will experience stress at points in your life throughout the course of your life. It is part of the human condition that, if left unmanaged, leaves us gassed. Whether it’s because of work, family, weather, finances, loss, illness, or even the news and social media, we all experience stress and, it seems like today, we are more stressed out than ever. Lucky for us, April is Stress Awareness Month. In this episode, we share some of our own stressors we’re experiencing, discuss the importance of breathing and calming the mind, and emphasize the necessity of finding your own ways to unplug, unwind, and decompress to preserve your mental health and physical well-being.

Celebrating Valentine's Day on Your Terms

Celebrating Valentine's Day on Your Terms

This week we have the one and only John Tsilimparis, relationship therapist, in the house to sound off on our last 2 dating episodes with Indie and Jai. We dive into recognizing dating red flags in ourselves and with others, the importance of self-love and awareness, why it’s good to be both velvet and steel, and why doing exactly what you want this Valentine's Day is the healthiest thing you can do for yourself.

What Is Your Dating Pizza? Part 2

What Is Your Dating Pizza? Part 2

The conversation continues with our 2 guests, Independence "Indie" Hall and Jai Pellerin, as we discuss how other generations are seeing dating, singledom, sex, and love. We’re getting deep and talking the real talk. Brace yourself and get ready to take a jump into dating pool!

What Is Your Dating Pizza? Part 1

What Is Your Dating Pizza? Part 1

What do catfishers and your mom have in common? They’re both probably on dating apps. This week, we have 2 guests, Independence "Indie" Hall and Jai Pellerin, who say YES! They’re here to talk to us about how other generations are seeing dating, singledom, sex and love. We’re getting deep and talking the real talk in part 1 of a 2 part episode. Brace yourself and get ready to take a jump into dating pool!

Attractitude: Attitudes On Attraction & Dating In Today’s World

Attractitude: Attitudes On Attraction & Dating In Today’s World

This week, Juan and Cecile sit down for a “friend chat” to discuss their “attractitude,” aka their attitudes and philosophies on attraction, dating, and relationships. They’re diving into their dating history and examining what they’ve learned, what they’re looking for now, and what younger generations have to teach them. Grab a coffee, take a seat, things are about to get a little saucy.

The Luckiest Girl in the World

The Luckiest Girl in the World

Whether we were ready or not, we’re in 2023! Our kickoff episode to the year surrounds setting goals and intentions, being mindful of our thought processes, the importance of yearly closure, and why it only takes a glass of champagne to make you feel like the luckiest girl (or guy) in the world.

Let's Celebrate!

Let's Celebrate!

This week is a BIG one for Ends with Z as we celebrate our 50th episode! Cecile, Juan, and Shawn reminisce on the beginnings of the podcast and recall some of their favorite show topics and episodes. This is also the time of year to celebrate the holidays with family and friends. But for some, it can be a time of emotional distress brought on by family triggers, holiday traditions, loss, and loneliness. We bring back our favorite, psychotherapist, John Tsilimparis, to help us navigate the 62-day, holiday season journey and give us tools that we all can use to make the holidays more joyous and less stressful this year.

Survival of the Friendliest

Survival of the Friendliest

We all love more of a good thing but are too many friends bad for you? Our favorite psychotherapist, John Tsilimparis, is back to wrap up our friendship series and he's bringing the science and deeply emotional reasons to answer all our questions. From what are the origins and importance of friendship, why it is the very thing that ensures our survival, how to find them and what we look for in a friend, and why you're not alone if you're having trouble getting yourself back out there after COVID. Grab a coffee, and sit with us as we eagerly pick John's brain on how to be a better friend.

Friend or Frenemy?

Friend or Frenemy?

What kind of friend are you anyway? Do you have close friends at work or just work acquaintances? Have you ever met a person who tried a little too hard to be your friend to learn later they only cared about your failure? Making and maintaining meaningful friendships is real work! It doesn't just magically happen. Join us for part 3 of our Friendship series where we talk about having friends at work, and ask how, why, and can we make friends at different stages of our life. We dish on what makes good boundaries and how to recognize and navigate the dreaded frenemy trap.

Friends & Colin Farrell . . . Such Is Life

Friends & Colin Farrell . . . Such Is Life

We continue our friendship series and dive deeper into making friends, keeping friends, and breaking up with friends. We talk about platonic love (or friends without those benefits), the modern concept of your soulmate also being your best friend, and why statistics say we’re failing at making friends and how to fix this. Join us as we spill the tea while we dish on our attachment theory in our relationships and debate why there may be a little bit of Colin Farrell in all of us.

“Tell Me Who Your Friends Are And I’ll Tell You Who You Are.”

“Tell Me Who Your Friends Are And I’ll Tell You Who You Are.”

This week we dive into an underrated topic: the evolution of friendships. We get personal as we discuss the correlation between how we evolve as people and how our friendships evolve with us. What do you need from friends now versus when you are in your 50s, 30s, 20s, or in high school? Is your BFF today the same one you had 20 years ago? Do you even have a BFF? What friends do we need as our lives change? What purpose do they serve in real life vs. online? Exec. Producer, Shawn Meaux, joins the conversation as we start to explore the importance of friendship to our wellness, discussing what true friendship requires and what it looks like as we grow, why friendship breakups can be healthy, and why it might just be the greatest love of all.

Fan Focus: "I Quit! And I Couldn't Be Happier!"

Fan Focus: "I Quit! And I Couldn't Be Happier!"

This week’s episode, we have a fan of the show with us, Carlos, a hard-working, financial services professional who recently left his job, having been in the industry 16+ years. He’s listened to every episode, but the recent ones on quiet quitting, grind culture, work/life balance podcasts, and self-advocacy really resonated with him. Carlos is here to talk to us about his own, real life journey in self-realization, what it finally took to get him to make the move, and why quitting is the best thing he’s ever done!

Hole-Hearted & Hopeful

Hole-Hearted & Hopeful

Are you an advocate…for yourself? These days, we’re all about supporting each other, but sometimes we forget to be there for ourselves. Join us this week as Cecile and Juan recap Juan’s recent health scare and why it reminds all of us at Ends with Z how important it is to be our own biggest advocates, when it comes to our health and wellness, and maintaining hope during times of uncertainty. And, in matters of the heart and our health, surrounding ourselves with a good support system, love (and sometimes even tough love) is the path to whole healing.