Wisdom for Wannabes

What would make you walk and run 2,300 miles across America?For Robb Pollard, creator of Walk With Me Brother, it wasn't really about the miles. It was about rewriting his story, creating awareness around men's mental health and suicide, and reaching just one person who might need to hear his message.In this conversation with Wisdom for Wannabes host Jackie Morreale, Robb shares the experiences that led him to recognize he needed help, the role of sobriety, being outdoors and staying active, and how one simple decision to ask for help changed the direction of his life.He also opens up about the people he met along his 56-day journey — including a powerful encounter with a stranger in a laundry room who shared a story he'd never told anyone before.From the hardest mile in Texas to the final mile with his family in Jacksonville Beach, Robb's journey is ultimately a story about connection, perseverance, family and compassion.Key Takeaways:• Asking for help isn't weakness — Robb believes it is one of the bravest things you can do.• Sometimes the first step toward feeling less alone is simply talking to someone.• Getting outside and staying active became important tools in Robb's own journey.• The goal of Walk With Me Brother wasn't to change millions of lives, but to reach just one person.• You never know what someone else may be carrying beneath the surface.• Perseverance can mean simply putting one foot in front of the other.• Robb's biggest lesson from the journey: everyone is going through something, so give people more grace.• Being present with family and not taking everyday moments for granted became an important part of what came next.Quotes from Robb:“It's more now... Daddy ran across America because he wanted to raise more suicide awareness for men.”“It was never, ever, ever, ever about a running exercise.”“My goal for the whole journey wasn't to change millions of lives; it was just to help one person. Just one.”“Don't be scared to ask for help. It's not a weakness.”“Asking for help is the bravest thing you can do.”“Never give up. Just keep going, one foot forward.”“Everyone's going through something. Be a little bit kinder and nicer to everyone.”Chapters:00:00 Rewrite My Own Story00:17 Welcome to Wisdom for Wannabes01:08 Robb's Story: From England to America02:48 The Person Nobody Saw03:38 Meeting His Wife & Recognizing He Needed Help04:15 Sobriety, Endurance Sports & A Turning Point05:26 Creating Walk With Me Brother06:11 Why Run Across America?06:19 It Was Never About the Miles07:13 Reaching Just One Person08:30 2,300 Miles in 56 Days08:42 The Laundry Room Story09:43 Quick-Fire Questions10:01 Road or Trail?10:23 A Marathon Every Day10:32 Favorite Race & Running Shoe11:00 Music or Silence?11:10 Gas Station Food & Fried Chicken11:55 The Hardest Mile12:28 The Most Beautiful Mile12:48 Mile One or Mile Forty?13:01 What Running Taught Him About Life13:27 The Bravest Thing You Can Do14:12 What's Next for Robb?15:13 Everyone's Going Through SomethingIf you or someone you know is struggling, reaching out for support can be an important first step.#WisdomForWannabes #RobbPollard #WalkWithMeBrother #MentalHealth #AskingForHelp #MensMentalHealth #Running

Talent isn’t everything.Yulia Beygelzimer was seven years old when a tennis coach told her she wasn’t good enough and had no talent. Instead of giving up, she returned to her first tennis coach — and went on to become a professional tennis player, reaching career-high rankings of No. 83 in singles and No. 56 in doubles.Today, Yulia is the Director of ONE Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Florida, where she works with young players, aspiring professionals, and elite athletes.In this conversation, we talk about what it really takes to become a successful athlete — and why the lessons of tennis apply far beyond the court.Yulia shares why she believes discipline, the right people, resilience, and the willingness to step outside your comfort zone can matter more than natural talent. She also reflects on the pressures of professional tennis, learning to see an athletic career as a business, and the importance of enjoying the journey rather than measuring yourself by every result.We also talk about raising independent kids, letting children fail, introducing young children to sports, and why protecting a child's love of the game matters.Key Takeaways:• Talent is only one piece of success — everyone has different strengths, and hard work can be a talent too.• Discipline means more than simply showing up; it means being mentally present, willing to improve, and able to step outside your comfort zone.• The people around you matter. Building the right team can shape your development and your opportunities.• Failure is part of growth. You have to learn to get back up, keep going, and trust that you'll find your way.• Don't let every result become a measurement of your worth. Look at the long-term journey.• Young athletes can benefit from taking responsibility and becoming more independent.• Parents have to balance supporting their children with allowing them to fail and learn.• Whether it's tennis, business, or life, growth often happens when we're willing to be uncomfortable.• Most importantly: enjoy every step of the journey.About Yulia Beygelzimer:Yulia Beygelzimer is a former professional tennis player who competed at the highest levels of the sport, reaching career-high rankings of No. 83 in singles and No. 56 in doubles. Today, she is the Director of ONE Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, Florida, where she works with players from young beginners through elite and professional athletes.Quotes from Yulia:- “Talent takes very little part in it.”- “Some people are very hardworking. This is also a talent!”- “If you do not have discipline, you have very little chance.”- “You just need to discover what’s yours.”- “You’re not good enough” was exactly what I needed at that moment to say, “I’m going to prove myself.”- “You’re going to be okay. You’re going to survive. You’ll find the way.”- “Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone.”- “You’re not getting better at anything in life… without being uncomfortable.”- “We need to let them fail.”- “Enjoy every step.”Chapters:00:00 Talent Isn't Everything00:23 Meet Yulia Beygelzimer01:00 From “No Talent” to Pro Tennis02:39 From Tennis to a Life Path04:18 The Reality of Professional Tennis05:25 The People Who Shape Your Career06:15 What Really Makes a Pro?07:35 What Discipline Really Looks Like08:22 Tennis Is a Business09:39 What Tennis Teaches You About Life10:53 Quickfire: Life On & Off the Court13:33 Building ONE Tennis Academy14:04 Making Tennis Fun for Young Kids15:37 When Should Kids Start Tennis?17:14 When Athletes Become a Business18:41 The Pressure on Young Athletes20:03 Raising Independent Kids21:04 Why Kids Need to Fail21:42 Enjoy the Journey22:07 Getting Better Means Getting Uncomfortable22:33 The People Behind the Journey23:51 What's Next for Yulia?24:24 A Little Wiser🎙️ Discover wise words in business, beauty, and betterment with Jackie Morreale on Wisdom for Wannabes.#Tennis #TennisPlayer #TennisCoach #Discipline

What happens when you take your creativity and your sketchbook and start exploring your own backyard? 🌴🎨For this second plein air sketching journey, I decided to go north to south—from West Palm Beach to Deerfield Beach, exploring eight places along the coast and capturing each one in soft pastels.My goal was simple: explore the beauty of where I live.Intercoastal views. Historic landmarks. Fountains. Lakes. Beaches. Palm trees. Water.But the best part was discovering that you never really know what you're going to find when you slow down and actually look.At CityPlace, I came to draw the fountain and ended up looking up at a beautiful tower emerging into the sky.At Clematis Street, I found myself sitting in front of a sign calling the area “Flagler's Paradise”—a phrase I'd never heard before that seemed absolutely perfect for the view in front of me.At Okeeheelee Park, a familiar lake became something completely different when I stopped to study its mirror-like reflection.At Boynton Beach Inlet, I tried to capture two completely different personalities of the water: fast-moving boats and whitecaps on one side, peaceful swimming and paddleboarding waters on the other.At Ocean Ridge, I found a quiet, almost timeless beach scene.At Delray Beach, I ran out of black pastel and had to adapt—and ended up loving the lighter, sunlit result.At Mizner Park, I watched the promenade come alive as I drew its iconic fountain.And in Deerfield Beach, I couldn't find the spot I wanted for the pier, so I moved down the beach and discovered my new favorite iguana, who eventually wandered directly into my drawing. 🦎😂Eight places. Eight sketches. A lot of unexpected moments.And somewhere along the way, I realized that plein air sketching has been teaching me more than how to draw landscapes.It's given me more confidence.It's gotten me outside.It's made me pay closer attention to places I've been before.And it's reminded me how much beauty is hiding in our immediate surroundings when we slow down enough to see it.These drawings aren't meant to be perfect representations. They're timestamps—a record of where I was, what I noticed, and how I felt in that moment.There's a scene in Mary Poppins where Dick Van Dyke's chimney sweep draws a fantastical scene in pastel and suddenly steps right into it with Mary Poppins and the children.That's what plein air sketching feels like to me.The best possible imagination exercise.You go somewhere. You look around. You try to capture it.And for that hour, you become part of the picture.Thanks for coming along. 💙⏱️ Chapters:00:00 Exploring My Own Backyard00:42 CityPlace — West Palm Beach01:30 Clematis Street & Flagler's Paradise02:15 West Palm Beach Park — Lakeside Sunrise03:00 Boynton Beach Inlet03:45 Ocean Ridge Beach04:30 Delray Beach05:15 Mizner Park — Boca Raton06:00 Deerfield Beach & My Iguana06:45 What Plein Air Sketching Has Taught Me07:00 From Marketing to Art07:15 The Best Imagination Exercise07:30 One Journey, A Whole Lot of Beauty🎨 Artist: ‪@jackiemorreale‬ 📍 South Florida / Palm Beach County🖍️ Soft Pastels | Plein Air Sketching🌴 West Palm Beach → Deerfield BeachWatch Plein Air Sketching Part 1:   • I Started Drawing Landscapes… and Discover...   #JackieMorreale #PleinAir #PleinAirSketching #FloridaArt #SouthFlorida #PalmBeachCounty #SoftPastel #PastelArt #FloridaArtist #LandscapeDrawing #ArtTimelapse #WestPalmBeach #DelrayBeach #BocaRaton #DeerfieldBeach

What happens when you're exhausted, your mind is telling you to quit, and you still have a race to finish?Elite cyclist Peggy Maass Labiuk knows that feeling firsthand—and she knows how to turn it around.In this episode of ‪@wisdomforwannabes‬, Peggy shares the mental strategies she used during an extraordinary cycling career that included competing on the U.S. National Team, becoming a two-time national champion, earning a World Championships medal, and setting a 24-hour endurance cycling world record.Peggy is also the co-author, with sports psychologist Dr. Saul Miller ‪@sportpsychologyschool8526‬, of *Cycle Psyched: Pro Wisdom and the Mental Training to Excel*, published by ‪@springcedarspublisher‬. Their latest book brings together mental-performance lessons and insights from more than 90 world-class cyclists.We talk about confidence, self-talk, goal setting, visualization, fatigue, peak performance, and what happens when you change the conversation happening inside your own head.Peggy also shares one of her favorite racing stories: a moment when she was ready to quit during a race, deliberately shifted her mindset, and ultimately won a sprint against Olympic champion Monique Knol.And her message isn't just for cyclists.Whether you're an athlete, entrepreneur, artist, student, or simply someone pursuing a goal that feels a little too difficult, Peggy's advice is simple: start with one small step, document it, celebrate it—and keep going.🚴‍♀️ In this episode:• Why confidence is something you can train• How positive self-talk can change your performance• What to do when your brain says, “I want to quit”• Why small goals build confidence• The difference between data and listening to your own mind• What peak performance actually feels like• How visualization can help athletes• Peggy's “eagle” mindset• The mental lessons cycling can teach us about life• An exercise from Cycle Psyched you can try this week📖 Learn more about Cycle Psyched: Pro Wisdom and the Mental Training to Excel and explore Peggy and Saul's work.⏱️ Chapters:00:00 From Wanting to Quit to Beating an Olympic Champion00:48 Introduction: Train Your Mind01:53 How Peggy & Saul Started Writing Together02:33 25 Years of Cycling & Sports Psychology03:48 Why Mental Training Is for Everyone04:47 Writing Together: From Confidence to Collaboration05:06 Using Horse-Racing Imagery in Cycling05:39 Peggy's Favorite Book06:27 Simple Mantras for Sports Performance06:53 The Mental Game of a 40-Lap Race08:04 Peggy's Eagle Mindset08:24 What Peak Performance Really Feels Like10:02 Can You Train Confidence? Absolutely.10:28 The Cheetah, the Wolves & Powered Thinking11:15 From “Someday I'll…” to Taking One Small Step12:01 Why Peggy Keeps a Cycling Journal12:58 Your Mind Is Still Your Most Important Tool13:22 Final Takeaways: Keep Going⭐ Quotes from Peggy Maass Labiuk:“You still need to tap into: What is your mind saying? What is your heart telling you?”“You want to change what you're telling yourself.”“Goal setting instead of, ‘Well, we'll see how it goes.’”“You absolutely can train confidence.”“Your preparation is everything.”“That's how I'm going to finish the race. I'm going to win that way.”“That was in the moment, turning it around from wanting to exit to winning.”“Sometimes we minimize what those little things are. They're not little things, they're big steps.”“You have one mind, one brain. We're relying on that.”“Making them digestible bites, but documenting it and celebrating it each time.”🎙️ Discover wise words in business, beauty, and betterment with *Wisdom for Wannabes*:https://www.wisdomforwannabes.com/peggy-maass-labiuk-cycling.htmlIf this conversation inspires you, subscribe for more interviews, stories, art, creativity, personal growth, and wisdom from fascinating people.#Cycling #MentalToughness #PeakPerformance #SportsPsychology #Confidence #CyclePsyched #WisdomForWannabes

What happens when your grandfather's painted plates start falling off the wall?You keep drawing them. 😂I never expected to make a Part 3 of my art honoring project for my grandfather, Robert George Etienne, but after moving his collection of painted plates to a more permanent location, plate after plate started landing on the floor.First the scuba diver and turtle.🐢Then the pelican.🐦Then the gazebo.🏠Then the lighthouse.⚓Maybe it was cheap tape.Or maybe Grandpa wanted me to keep going.For his 100th heavenly birthday, I've now recreated 12 of his original artworks in my own medium, soft pastels—and each one has taken me somewhere new.In this third installment, I venture to the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse, return to a meaningful park in West Palm Beach, attempt my first live drawing for my new Wisdom Wednesdays series, and travel to Juno Beach to recreate Grandpa's scuba diver and turtle painting using a real loggerhead turtle I had encountered at Loggerhead Marine Life Center.And somewhere along the way, I realized something:Grandpa's art has literally taken me places.But he used his art to travel, too.A World War II veteran who spoke some German, Grandpa would travel through Germany, Austria, and Switzerland with his paints, easel and sketchbook, sitting on trains and painting the landscapes outside his window.He was practical, adventurous, creative, and a little quirky—including his unusual solution for mixing oil paints while traveling. 😆This project has become more than recreating old paintings.It's a way of remembering Grandpa.Of discovering the artist behind the grandfather I knew.And of finding his creativity in my own world.Thank you for leaving behind enough pieces of yourself for us to keep discovering you.Happy heavenly 100th birthday, Grandpa.And I'll see you when the next plate falls off the wall. Quotes:“Grandpa's art has literally taken me places.”“We don't have to recreate someone's world exactly. We can take what they loved and find it in our own.”“He used his art to take himself places, too.”🎨 Original artwork: Robert George Etienne🖍️ Pastel recreations: ‪@jackiemorreale‬🎙️‪@wisdomforwannabes‬ 🌐 View Robert George Etienne's tribute art gallery: https://www.wisdomforwannabes.com/tribute.htmlChapters:00:00 The Plates Started Falling00:52 Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse ⚓01:46 Finding Magic in a Different Landscape (Gazebo) 🏠02:45 Grandpa's Black & White Pelican 🐦03:33 Surprise visit from a Sandhill Crane!03:40 Recreating Grandpa's Turtle 🐢04:32 Grandpa's Art Took Me Places05:00 Grandpa the Traveling Artist05:31 Thank You, GrandpaSubscribe to Wisdom for Wannabes for more conversations about business, beauty, creativity, and betterment, and more special blog articles hosted by Jackie Morreale.#RobertGeorgeEtienne #PastelArt #ArtTribute #FamilyLegacy #WorldWarIIVeteran #PurpleHeart #SoftPastels #ArtTimelapse #WisdomForWannabes