Wisdom of Friends with Kal Aras

When life doesn't hand you opportunities, you create them. Think Bigger Lina has never stepped away from a challenge and inspires others to face the impossible and experience unprecedented success. At just age 14, growing up in communist Bulgaria, she realized that her future lay in earning a scholarship to an American university. Undeterred by the overwhelming political and social challenges, Lina pioneered a way for countless other student athletes to achieve the same dream. After graduating as an Academic All-American with a degree in Biology, Lina turned to beach volleyball in pursuit of her Olympic dream. In mere months, Lina climbed from the bottom of the ranking to represent her home country at the Olympics. Lina and her sister played at both Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. Since then, Lina has pursued her post sport career with equal passion and determination. This resulted in her launching an international company, guiding student athletes to achieve their goals by learning crucial skills for success at the next level. She also works with former elite athletes and Olympians, helping them find success in the business arena

Breeja Larson is an American competition swimmer who specializes in the breaststroke, and is an Olympic gold medalist. She earned a gold medal in the 4×100-meter medley relay at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Larson was born in Mesa, Arizona, one of seven sisters. She later moved to Boise, Idaho where she attended Centennial High School in Boise, Idaho for three years and graduated from Mountain View High School in Mesa in 2010. She swam for the Centennial Patriot and Mountain View Toros high school swim teams. As a senior, she was the state runner-up in the 100-yard breaststroke. She also lettered in softball and track and field. She attended Texas A&M University, where she swam for the Texas A&M Aggies swimming and diving team in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 2011 to 2014. As a freshman, she finished second in both the 100-yard and 200-yard breaststroke at the 2011 NCAA Women's Swimming and Diving Championships; as a sophomore in 2012, she was the NCAA national champion in the 100-yard breaststroke, and finished third in the 200-yard event. She was a senior during the 2013–14 school year. She also graduated from Titans of Investing, A&M Class 19 Show Notes: Breeja Larson Linked In, Instagram

Michelle Dalbec, E-RYT 500, is a passionate professional level teacher and educator. Michelle hosts educational and experiential yoga programs, delivers dynamic and motivational workshops, and directs professional teacher trainings all over the country. She teaches with the intention to inspire authentic alignment, expression, and movement. Whether she's teaching restorative yoga or vigorous vinyasa, meditation or conscious communication, she leads with an inquiry based approach that empowers students to realize their full potential and individuality. Michelle believes that yoga is for everyone, a life-long journey of self-discovery and growth both on and off the mat. Michelle feels it's her passion and purpose to educate people about everything yoga so they can use the tools of yoga to create a wholehearted life. Show Notes: Website, Blog, Resources

Holly Duckworth, CAE, CMP, LSP is a trailblazing keynote speaker and applied mindful leadership advisor. As a contributor to the New York Times, Producer/Host of the Everyday Mindfulness Show, and columnist to countless industry publications she works with stressed-out leaders to create, peace, presence, and profits. Holly's career began in the world of non-profits and volunteer leadership teaching thousands of association staff and volunteers how to "reboot" for success. Today she takes the best of her strategic vision expertise, blends it with mindful leadership practices and her event background to curate experiential events that change hearts, minds and companies. Our world has become mind less. Thru mindfulness training Holly works with you to know what mindfulness is, what it is not. Then apply your mindfulness techniques to produce more productive and profitable organizations. Holly's was named Meetings Today 2018 Trend Setter for her applied mindfulness work and 2016 Smart Meetings Woman of the Year. Holly's current book Mindful Leadership: The Stress-Free Guide to leadership is a best seller and her award-winning book Ctrl+Alt+Believe: Reboot Your Association For Success has won two national awards. Holly believes mindfulness builds leaders and organizations that work for everyone. Show Notes: Website, Blog, Resources

Melanie earned her Executive MBA at the University of Washington, Foster School of Business. As a powerful national speaker speaking on topics about brand building, customer experience, generational marketing, and social media. She is the founder and president of Omicle LLC, a brand experience firm and Brand or Culture, a publishing company. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her two children, a four-legged cat and a two legged son. She loves to hike, experiment in the kitchen, and dance. Show Notes: Website, Blog, LinkedIn

David George Brooke – That Gratitude Guy, has been a speaker, coach, and bestselling author for over 25 years. His published works include "The Brooker's Daily Gratitude Journal", "Six Word Lessons to Embrace Gratitude", and a number of other books on gratitude. Show Notes: Website, Books, Coaching

Anna Liotta, creator of Generationally Savvy™ Communication Solutions, is an award-winning speaker, business consultant, and author. She engages audiences with her practical strategies for attracting, growing, and retaining top talent and loyal clients from every generation. Anna integrates communications, sociology, business psychology, and demography to unify workplaces and dramatically improve company performance. Her expertise and insight have helped such companies as Pike Place Market, Intel, Wells Fargo, Microsoft, Amazon, the PGA, NBA, and United Way. Show Notes: Website, Book , Blog

Bill Stainton is a multiple Emmy Award-winning TV producer, writer, and performer; an author; a business humorist; and an internationally-recognized Beatles expert. He blends the business smarts he learned from twenty years in corporate management with the show biz sparks he garnered from working with people like Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen DeGeneres, and Bill Nye the Science guy to create entertaining and enlightening presentations enjoyed by audiences around the world! As the executive producer of Seattle's legendary comedy TV show Almost Live!, Bill led a talented and highly creative team to unparalleled success: a #1 rating for ten straight years, and over 100 Emmy Awards (29 of which went to Bill). At the same time, he also owned his own corporate training company, authoring nine training programs in subjects ranging from Office Politics to Customer Service to Team Motivation. He's been quoted in The Wall Street Journal and Forbes, and is a regular columnist for Seattle Business magazine. From Maine to Malaysia, Bill is committed to helping his audiences achieve their highest potential— while maintaining a sense of fun along the way! Show Notes: Website, LinkedIn Producing Results Blog

Elevia DeNobelia Elevia is like an Alice in Wonderland; a perpetual explorer. Her curiosity informs and instigates her journey. Elevia's origins lie in simple but sublime beginnings. In the midst of what others would describe as trying circumstances, she made the most of her wonderful family life, developing a solid foundation of sturdy character. A focus she has spent her life extending and refining. From unusual relationships, living in a desert without electricity and running water and no close neighbours, having restaurants, one on top of a mountain, close interactions with a tribe of Bushmen, owning and running retail stores, to leaving it all behind to start over on a new continent with many attendant adventures too numerous to mention, Elevia's perpetual focus on learning and growth has served her well. Always everything to her was all under the umbrella focus of Self-Discovery and the Application of her continual learning. Each circumstance and situation adding volumes to her personal story and internal growth. Ever the lover of knowledge and personal development, Elevia set about engaging the world with the totality of her being. Everything she does, has done, has that component of developing and furthering her Awareness, Discernment and Understanding. Syl Sebastian A Philosopher-Writer focusing on the Application of a comprehensive Practical-Personal-Philosophy. Creator of: The Philosophy of Appropriateness From age 10, on the day he literally exploded a light-bulb, Syl Sabastian's acute life-long love affair with Understanding began. Since then his focus on, and love of Awareness, or more accurately his struggle with non-awareness, has never let-up. An intense reader in his youth, Syl absorbed over a book a day, including the classics read in chronological order, culminating in extensive science-fiction/fantasy/speculative reading. After transitioning to Applying and Living his philosophies, Appropriately, with Attunement the ever-present motivation and catalyst, it all morphed in time to an earnest propensity to write and communicate. Syl and His Heart have owned restaurants, stores, online businesses, and travelled the world, while implementing and enjoying their life-perspectives of which he writes so deeply. As Biella is so fond of saying, "and there's More..." Often offering multiple sides of an argument, he provokes self-introspection. His aim is to uncover Appropriateness, Awareness, Attention, Application, Attunement, and more, with a unique, high-level understanding of the profound intricacies that interlace these concepts Show Notes: Website Programs, Courses Workshops Facebook Group:

Cathy Fyock is is Your Possibility Partner, providing you with the intensive support you need to get your book DONE. She is the author of eight published books and several forthcoming books, six workbooks, four e-learning modules, chapters in four books, website tool kits, as well as hundreds of articles, blog posts, white papers, and newsletters, and has mastered the art of getting a book on paper quickly, and then using her speaking and writing to generate revenue streams and create new business opportunities. She leads her own consulting/coaching/speaking practice and has been a member of the National Speakers Association for more than 20 years. Cathy has been a Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) since 1993. Prior to this new direction, Cathy has been an Employment Strategist, combining her knowledge of work force issues and her talents as a speaker, consultant and author to inspire business leaders to attract and engage top talent and improve productivity in an aging and changing workplace. She has worked as the leader of her own firm—Innovative Management Concepts—for more than 20 years, and has been a consultant with several national/regional consulting practices. She has consistently used her writing skills to promote her business, build credibility, create powerful revenue streams, and establish herself as a thought-leader. While never picked for the high school newspaper or seen as a "writer" by any of her teachers, she consistently uses writing to build her business, and to help other speakers, consultants, and small business owners use writing to meet their business objectives. Cathy helps aspiring consultants through her webinars and coaching programs, and supports small business owners, consultants and speakers in leveraging speaking and writing to build their businesses through a variety of services, including her books, webinar programs, one-on-one and group coaching programs, and consulting. Show Notes - Cathy Fyock - Website Book Recommendations - Here Cathy's Credo and Writer's Pledge - Here

Prema Lee Gurreri is committed to creating a world where everyone is empowered to live according to their soul blueprint: on purpose, in a way that is aligned with their high-value gifts and their birthright of true wealth. Prema guides and teaches entrepreneurs, visionaries, and change agents to lead with their unique, divine gifts and talents, and fully align with their purpose and passion to create wealth for themselves and the world simply by being who they are and doing what they love to do. Our souls already know what we are supposed to do to create wealth and make our impact. Prema reveals your Soul Success Map™ and helps you unlock your Sacred Wealth Code® to discover your unique, divine gifts and talents. With these, you can find and engage in a conscious business where you will thrive. Prema believes that our core purpose is to be true to ourselves so we can claim our power and wholeness and manifest wealth in our own unique and meaningful ways. When we do what we are uniquely great at―rather than what we are merely good at―we invoke the power of our soul blueprint and our divine birthright. She created her Soulutionary® programs and services to empower clients to lead lives poised at the intersection of prosperity and purpose, and live from the hearts of their Sacred Wealth Codes. Show Notes - Prema's Website - Here Books - Here LinkedIn Profile - Here

Herb Pearce, M.Ed., is one of the most knowledgeable and skilled teachers of the Enneagram today. He has taught well over 2000 Enneagram workshops, trainings and presentations to the public and to hundreds of organizations. Having vast experience working as a psychotherapist using this system, Herb Pearce has worked with hundreds of individuals and couples to understand and communicate well to all types of people. He leads team building trainings in companies, is a public speaker, workshop presenter and personal life coach and author of 6 books. The Enneagram explains 9 different personality types or styles and how each type experiences the world in a very unique way. Having this knowledge is a lifesaver in terms of understanding yourself, understanding the major filter in which others see the world, and learning how to relate to others in ways that are much more effective. You'll learn the 9 types, discover your type, and gain the knowledge to relate effectively to each of the 9 types. Herb's teaching style is entertaining, informative and crystal clear. Show Notes - Herb Pearce Books and Website - Here Contact and Sign up for Herb's Email Newsletter that includes positive tips - Here Herb's Media Page - Here Herbs Workshops and Events - Here

When your message must be memorable, your presentation powerful, and your sale successful, call Patricia Fripp. One of the few professional speakers who can transform the presentation skills of others, she is an executive speech coach and sales presentation skills trainer. Kiplinger's Personal Finance wrote that one of the best investments you can make in your career is Patricia Fripp's presentation skills training. Patricia simplifies and demystifies the process of preparing and presenting powerful, persuasive presentations. She delivers her message through keynote speeches, breakout sessions, and in-depth customized training and coaching. Patricia is now virtually everywhere with FrippVT, her interactive, learn-at-your-own-pace, virtual presentation skills training. Named "One of the 10 most electrifying speakers in North America" by Meetings and Conventions magazine, Patricia delivers high-content, entertaining, dramatically memorable presentations. She has won and been awarded these designations by the National Speakers Association: Certified Speaking Professional (CSP), CPAE, Hall of Fame keynote speaker, and the Cavett Award (considered the Oscar of speaking). Patricia is a past president, and the first female president, of the over 3,500-member National Speakers Association. She is a member of the highly prestigious Speakers Roundtable, an invitation-only group of highly regarded professional speakers, authors, and consultants. Patricia teams up with her brother, legendary guitarist of King Crimson, Robert Fripp, for Fripp and Fripp presentations on "How to Be a Hero for More Than One Day" and "Beginner to Master." She is the author of Make It So You Don't Have to Fake It! and Get What You Want! and co-author of Speaker's Edge, Speaking Secrets of the Masters and Insights Into Excellence. Fripp Virtual Training's Powerful, Persuasive Presentations is a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art, web-based training platform that emulates live training and coaching. It is almost as if Patricia Fripp were sitting right there with you. Join FrippVT.

Andrew Prokopis is a licensed and practicing clinical psychologist in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and California. He also provides professional and life coaching to clients. He has a wide-range of formal education and professional trainings. In addition, he has many years of practicing meditation and studying various mindfulness approaches. He has offices in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and provides services in-person, on the telephone, and through video-conferencing.

Workforce thought leader Cara Silletto, MBA, works with organizations of all sizes to reduce unnecessary employee turnover by bridging generational gaps and making managers more effective in their roles. As a Millennial herself, she knows first-hand what it is like to have a heightened sense of entitlement, very little employee loyalty and a dependency upon her smart phone. However, unlike many Millennials, Cara has figured out exactly how these attributes were cultivated during her formative years, and she now shares that story with leaders across the country, including teams at Toyota, UPS, Cintas and Humana. Cara learned early in her career, from her Baby Boomer and GenX mentors, what "professionalism" meant to them, and absorbed critical information about management expectations during her first decade in the business world. She then went on to earn her Master's in Business Administration (MBA) from the top-ranked University of Louisville Entrepreneurship program, lived overseas teaching German executives about business practices in the U.S., and then started her consulting firm, Crescendo Strategies, in 2012. Today, at age 37, she's a highly-sought-after national speaker conducting 50 to 100 engagements annually. Louisville Business First recently named her one of their 2018 Forty Under 40 young professionals. Workforce Magazine in Chicago named Cara a "Game Changer" for her innovative approach to solving generational issues in the workplace and Recruiter.com listed her in their "Top 10 Company Culture Experts to Watch," list. She is also the author of the 2018 book, Staying Power: Why Your Employees Leave & How to Keep Them Longer. Show Notes: Website: Crescendo Strategies, Staying Power: Why Your Employees Leave & How to Keep Them Longer Social Media Links: LinkedIn | YouTube | Twitter

John O'Learyis the only management consultant who has studied New Testament Greek at the Yale Divinity School, lived with the Grateful Dead, and hosted a cable TV talk show. He has also been a band leader/musician who opened shows for two dozen Rock & Roll Hall of Fame acts and shared dressing rooms with the likes of Eric Clapton, Joni Mitchell, Michael Bolton, Frank Zappa, and Muddy Waters. But for over three decades John has been primarily immersed in organizational consulting, team training, and executive coaching. He has conducted more than 500 seminars on leadership, public speaking, and coaching—and has trained trainers to lead similar seminars for over 50,000 participants. He has worked with over a thousand leaders and hundreds of teams in diverse industries of all sizes. John has also had the good fortune to work with renowned thought leaders in business including Peter Senge (The 5thDiscipline), Fernando Flores (On Computers and Cognition), Werner Erhard (founder of the est Training), and Tom Peters (In Search of Excellence). For years he was a featured blogger on www.TomPeters.com, an internationally popular business website, and maintains his own blog at www.BusinessLessonsFromRock.com which draws teambuilding lessons from rock & roll bands. HR Worldhas dubbed it "one of the top 100 management and leadership blogs." Recent clients include: Anglo-American, Anthem/Wellpoint, Atrium Innovations, Cisco Systems, Commerce Bank, Deloitte & Touche, DHL, Johnson & Johnson, Lockheed Martin, Nestlé Health Science, Pfizer, Schindler, Teck Resources, and the US Army. John currently resides in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Show Notes - Websites: John O'Leary, Books/Courses: Business Lessons from Rock, In Search of Excellence

Jeff Renner is a Professional Speaker, Moderator and Guide for Personal/Team Growth. He was a meteorologist and broadcast professional who forecasted the weather for KING 5 News, and NBC affiliate, in Seattle for more than 35 years. He holds the prestigious Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) designation from the American Meteorological Society, of which he is a member. Accomplishments • Nine-time Emmy award winner • 40+ years in television news • 30+ years Chief Meteorologist • NASA Journalist in Space candidate • Author of six books • Commercial pilot, scuba diver, sailor, climber and skier Notable Field Assignments • The White House, Vatican • Severe Storms,Volcanic Eruptions Show Notes: Websites: Jeff Renner Books: Amazon Link

Pat Johnson started her professional career responsible for various aspects of learning programs within the Ministries of Health; Community, Aboriginal, and Women Issues; Forests; and Advanced Education Training and Technology. Pat was Director of Business Education and also Assistant Director of Learning & Development at BC Pension Corporation; and went to CRD as Manager, Workforce Development and Strategies. She has also trained with her own company internationally and within segments of the private sector. Her credentials include certifications in change management and transitions; Fierce Conversations; MBTI; Emotional Intelligence; World Class Speaker Coach; as well as extensive experience with the fields of coaching, communication and leadership. She is currently an ontological trained life coach in her own company, Pat Johnson & Associates, where she coaches individuals from various walks of life who aspire to achieve more in their life. She also works for Accomplishment Coaching out of San Diego as a Mentor Coach, working with coaches who are currently enrolled in the training program. In 2010/11, she served Toastmasters International, the fastest growing not-for-profit educational organization in the world, as their International President and Chairman of the Board – the only Canadian woman President in the organization's 93 year history. As President, Pat oversaw some 300,000 active members from 116 countries and earned her reputation for inclusive, fair and honest leadership at the global level. She has a unique understanding of global leadership and experience standing on the world stage unafraid. A truly International leader and speaker, Pat has spoken in Australia, Caribbean, Germany, India, Ireland, Japan, Mainland China, Malaysia, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, United Kingdom, and across the United States and Canada as both a keynote speaker and an educator. She continues to mentor a number of leaders worldwide. She has recently completed a 3.5 year term as Manager of 250 international consultants who advised on the development of new curriculum for an international educational organization; served on a number of advisory committees and chaired an international convention held in Vancouver during August 2017 where the global community came together. She co-chaired the inaugural post-convention Alaska Cruise from Vancouver to Hubbard Glacier. Pat recently published her first book entitled, "A Handbook for Building and Sustaining Vibrant Toastmasters Programs in Corporations" and was a keynote presenter at the International Convention in Chicago in August 2018. Within her local community, Pat has served as a Board Member with the Victoria Women's Transition House Society and as a mentor for Leadership Victoria for five years. She served on an Advisory Board at UVic for Adult Education programs for several years and coached the Commonwealth Games Speakers' Bureau. She is a past member of the Saanich Rotary Club where she was awarded the Paul Harris Fellow, is a current member of Toastmasters International and also curls out of the Victoria Curling Club. Show Notes: Websites: Pat Johnson, LinkedIn, Accomplishment Coaching, Toastmasters International Book Recommendations:

For the first thirty years of her life, Carla was a performing and teaching musician. She earned a B. A. in piano performance (high honors, Phi Beta Kappa), and a masters' degree in arts, major in music theory. For several years, Carla taught flute and piano in colleges and gave private lessons. Moving to Seattle, Washington while pregnant with her son Chris (yes, it's Chris Cross, and he owns a real estate company now….), Carla started selling real estate as a fluke when Chris was 14 months old. (Her training was really 'in the field'!) With no training and little guidance, Carla still found she loved selling real estate, because it was a challenge and a contrast to music. She attained recognition in the top 1% of her 400 agent company in her third year in the business. While setting sales records, she kept playing music and teaching for several years. (Her Professional Portfolio is the result of the insights she got transferring her musical background to real estate excellence). Now, Carla runs her coaching and training company, while attempting to get her body in shape by letting a personal trainer torture her three times a week. She thoroughly enjoys working with her professional real estate coaches as a cohesive team and seeing awesome clients achieve their goals quickly. Always creating new programs, Carla is now working on an inspirational book and a 'inner coaching' guide. More About Carla: •Creator of the best-known, most used new agent start-up plan in the world, Up and Running in 30 Days. •She's been a presenter at the last 16 National Association of Realtor Conventions. •She has been the choice of CRB for their featured speaker at the last 4 NAR conventions. •She's appeared on CNN and CNBC, as well as dozens of radio programs. •She's been published over 300 times in major real estate magazines and newsletters. •Carla is a National Association of Realtors National Realtor Educator of the Year. •She's a Washington State Realtor Educator of the Year. •She attained status as a master level CRB instructor, instructor of the Certified Real Estate Broker designation (CRB); author of several CRB Managers' Courses, including the business planning course. SHOW NOTES: Website - Carla Cross Resources and Recommendations: Games People Play: The Basic Book of Transactional Analysis Eric Berne A great book on how to understand human behavior and how to interact with various behavioral types Frogs Into Princes John Grinder and Richard Bandler Neuro-Linguistic Programming Another method to understand how people think and how best to communicate with them Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers - Developing Change-Driving People and Organization Robert Kriegel and David Brandt Great examples of change resistance and the steps companies must take to initiate change successfully Piano Lessons: Music, Love & True Adventures, Noah Adams Not just a book about an adult learning to play piano, this book traces Adams's odyssey to learn to play the piano as an adult, and his exceptional interviews with famous pianists from his time on All Things Considered Conative Connection: Acting on Instinct, Kathy Kolbe Analyzes how we get into action (not just how we learn); so important for anyone wanting to take action with more assurance, and great for coaches Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras Gives examples of vision and how some companies really stand out, while others are good but not exceptional; the best business book on earth! Drive: the Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us Daniel H. Pink All of Pink's books are illuminating; for those of us who coach, understanding contemporary motivation and to successfully motivate now is a must! Note: Unfortunately, the quality of this audio recording was compromised due to technical issues, and we were able to restore some of it with some audio engineering brilliance. We appreciate your patience and understanding while listening to it.