Episode 17: Dr. Bryan K. Williams
Dr. Bryan Williams is a determined executive coach, author, husband and father. But most of all he is a man of faith. And he has used that faith to propel him through the unimaginable journey of his life and career. He reminds us that faith is the essential ingredient required to let go of what we are holding onto in order to grasp the unforeseen and unknown gifts of greatness that lie before us. As he himself says, his life story is predicated on “an interesting mix of anxiety mixed with supreme confidence and supreme faith.” Thank you for sharing this lesson, Bryan. We are better for it.
Episode 14: Hugh Huffaker
My conversation with Hugh was a reminder about what life and careers can look like when we are genuinely who we are and when we approach our time on the planet without the label making machine and just explore the many facets of our lives. Underneath Hugh’s laid-back persona is a quiet and inquisitive strength that we can all learn from. Hugh, thank you for your time and your heart centered wisdom.
Episode 9: Skyler Maxey-Wert
There is a lyric from the Broadway musical, “Once on this Island” – “And if the gods move our feet, we dance.” The gods have certainly moved Skyler Maxey-Wert’s feet for almost 20 years. From studying at the Jacqueline Kennedy Oasis School of the American Ballet Theater, to performing with the SemperOper Ballett in Dresden, Germany he has learned some valuable life lessons: you have to have the tools to maneuver through the rigorous training and expectations of the dance world with grace and kindness towards yourself, you must breathe into the space of being an artist as opposed to just trying to be perfect all of the time, and most importantly, there is room at the ballet bar for all types of people and body types. Skyler certainly has wisdom beyond his years.
Episode 7: Quentin Vennie
With his honest telling of his struggle through profound prescription drug and alcohol addiction, Quentin Vennie gives us soul stirring life lessons. We can turn our traumas into our triumphs. We all have to receive forgiveness and extend it to people who hurt us, even when we don’t want to. And in a world where society often strips people of humanity, when we have the courage to tell our stories to one another honestly, that’s when we can feel and see each person we meet through a lens of empathy and compassion.
Episode 4: Regina Bain
Regina’s life and work have been a series of incredible victories based upon her ability to stand in the present reality of her life and take firmly in her hands the opportunities before her. Her immense creativity and critical mind are on full display in our conversation. She reminds us all that we must courageously ask ourselves the questions what is the goal of our hearts? and what secret desires move us? And when the answers come, you have to move joyfully in the direction of your soul.
Episode 2: Rachana Garg
In my wide-ranging conversation with the brilliant Rachana Garg, I was reminded that the antidote to chaos is not a staid peace, but rather a radical dose of empathy, detachment, and curiosity. Empathy is the vehicle to build community with the people in our world. All people. Not just our cohorts or political comrades. Not only those whom we go to church with on Sunday morning, or synagogue on Saturday night, or no church at all.
Episode 1: Pun Bandhu
My conversation with my dear friend and colleague Pun Bandu was a great reminder that we are not here to be supporting players in our narratives. There is power and freedom in recognizing and embracing with open arms the wide dimensionality of who we are, even if who we are doesn’t fit into a neat and convenient category of who the world, our parents, and even our friends think we should be. As Pun reminds us so beautifully, we must break free of prisms that prevent us from being the heroes and emotional engines of our own lives.