Leading Visionaries Podcast

What if the biggest thing standing between your big vision and the life you want isn't a lack of ambition, but a lack of a road map? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Jason Clark, Chief Marketing Officer of Tectonic. Jason helps organizations connect branding, technology, marketing, and growth strategy. Jason challenges some common assumptions about marketing and visibility. Marketing doesn't create value where none exists. It amplifies the value that's already there. Hear Jason's perspective on ego, collaboration, knowing when you're truly ready to sell a business, and why getting out of your own head may be one of the most important leadership practices of all.What You Will Learn:How road mapping can turn a big vision into practical milestones.Why BHAGs need benchmarks and smaller steps along the way.How to lead and support other visionaries without taking over their vision.Why ego can become an obstacle to long-term success.How relationships and community contribute to achieving ambitious goals.Why marketing works best when it amplifies proven value.Why likes, followers, and visibility do not automatically create cash flow.How founders can recognize when they are ready to sell or exit a business.What changes when a founder moves from business owner to C-suite leader.Why disconnecting from work can help leaders gain perspective.How legacy, family, and presence can shape a leader's definition of success.FAQ:How do you turn a big vision into an actionable plan?Start by defining the desired outcome and then work backward to identify the milestones required to reach it. A large goal becomes more manageable when it is broken into benchmarks, timelines, and measurable steps.How can leaders help entrepreneurs achieve their vision?Leaders can help entrepreneurs by bringing experience, perspective, strategic guidance, and an understanding of potential roadblocks. Rather than telling someone exactly what to do, effective leadership can help them anticipate challenges and create a practical path forward.Does marketing create value for a business?Marketing primarily amplifies existing value. Strong marketing can increase awareness, improve messaging, support sales, and create momentum, but marketing cannot compensate indefinitely for an offering that has not demonstrated real value in the marketplace.Connect with Jason ClarkTeam TectonicLeading Visionaries PodcastJoin the Leading Visionaries CommunityMake a Donation to Support the ShowCreative Age Consulting Group

What happens when a personal problem becomes the doorway to a much bigger purpose? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Carmine Del Sordi, founder and president of Pure and Easy Tea, a luxury tea company built around purity, transparency, quality, and purpose. Carmine shares how self-discovery shaped his approach to leadership, why he believes vision and visualization are two distinct but connected practices, and how he learned to turn what he could see into a roadmap for action.If you've ever had a vision that wouldn't leave you alone, this conversation offers a powerful reminder: sometimes the thing that begins as a solution for yourself is actually the beginning of something meant to serve others.What You Will Learn:Why self-discovery is foundational to intentional leadership.How knowing your core values and principles can strengthen your leadership.The difference between receiving a vision and using visualization to bring that vision into reality.How to turn a vision into a practical roadmap for action.How a personal challenge can become the starting point for a business idea.Why curiosity and experimentation are important parts of the innovation process.How to recognize when an idea feels like a calling rather than simply an opportunity.Why purpose can provide the persistence needed to navigate the difficult seasons of entrepreneurship.How ritual can create space for gratitude, reflection, release, and intentional creation.Why entrepreneurs need to recognize the financial investment and opportunity cost involved in bringing a vision to life.How Carmine built Pure and Easy Tea around purity, transparency, quality, and function.Why staying committed to a vision can matter when early business results are discouraging.FAQ:How do you turn a vision into reality?Turning a vision into reality starts with clearly seeing the desired outcome and then creating a practical roadmap to move toward it. Visualization can help clarify the destination, while intentional action, experimentation, persistence, and planning help transform the vision into something tangible.What is the difference between vision and visualization?Vision is the ability to see or receive a clear sense of what could be created or accomplished. Visualization is the intentional practice of mentally seeing the desired end result and using that image to help construct a path toward it.Why is self-discovery important for leadership?Self-discovery helps leaders understand their core values, principles, motivations, and identity. Knowing who you are makes it easier to lead with intention and create a vision that is authentic to you.Connect with Carmine Del SordiPure and Easy TeaLeading Visionaries PodcastJoin the Leading Visionaries CommunityMake a Donation to Support the ShowCreative Age Consulting Group

What if changing the way you see yourself could change the way you move through one of the hardest seasons of your life? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Amanda Goodwin, founder of Cancer Sharks, a storytelling and advocacy platform inspired by her experience with stage four melanoma. A longtime communications and leadership professional, Amanda has led nonprofit initiatives, fundraising campaigns, childcare organizations, and a technology startup. Amanda shares how Cancer Sharks is evolving through storytelling events, merchandise, publishing, and speaking, while staying rooted in its larger purpose: creating connection when people need it most.This conversation is about far more than cancer. It is about trusting your knowing, advocating for yourself, and having the courage to let a vision grow before you know exactly where it will lead.What You Will Learn:How self-leadership can become a powerful form of advocacy when navigating difficult circumstances.Why advocating for yourself sometimes requires researching decision-makers and understanding what matters to them.How years of leadership experience can become unexpectedly valuable during a personal crisis.Why vision isn't always visual and can instead emerge through intuition, awareness, feeling, or a deep sense of knowing.Why changing the language we use around difficult experiences can change how we relate to them.How storytelling can create connection and vulnerability in places where people often feel isolated.Why a vision does not have to be perfectly formed before you begin bringing it into the world.How Amanda is building Cancer Sharks through storytelling, events, publishing, merchandise, and speaking.Why entrepreneurs and visionaries need to be willing to experiment, learn, and allow their original vision to evolve.How the words used by leaders, healthcare professionals, and caregivers can profoundly affect people during critical moments.Why no one should have to swim alone when navigating a difficult season.FAQ:What is Cancer Sharks?Cancer Sharks is a storytelling and advocacy platform founded by Amanda Goodwin following her experience with stage four melanoma. The platform uses storytelling, community, merchandise, events, and speaking to create a more empowering way for people to connect around cancer.How can storytelling help people going through difficult experiences?Storytelling can help people feel less isolated by creating opportunities for shared vulnerability and connection. Amanda found that sharing Cancer Sharks stickers and cards in medical settings often encouraged people to open up and share their own stories.Why is the language used during critical care important?Words can significantly affect how people experience vulnerable and frightening situations. Amanda's keynote, The Weight of Words in Critical Care, explores how communication can either increase fear or provide reassurance, connection, and empowerment.Connect with Amanda GoodwinCancer SharksLeading Visionaries PodcastJoin the Leading Visionaries CommunityMake a Donation to Support the ShowCreative Age Consulting Group

How can you stand out in a world where everyone sounds the same? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Judy J. Winslow, the Brandologist, pioneering brand strategist, two-time international best-selling author, and founder of TEDx Sarasota. With three decades of experience helping visionary CEOs and founders become unforgettable brand leaders, Jay brings a refreshingly holistic perspective to branding, leadership, vision, and human connection.The conversation then moves into what it really means to build an unforgettable brand. Jay challenges the traditional way we think about branding and explains why a powerful brand is about much more than logos or marketing tactics. What You Will Learn:How leadership can emerge before we consciously recognize ourselves as leaders.Why observing and listening can be powerful forms of leadership.How authentic leadership differs from performative influence.Why branding is about more than logos, visual identity, and marketing.The four aspects of becoming an unforgettable brand leader: visionary, catalyst, creator, and coachable/coach.Why leaders need to consciously evolve their vision as they grow.How leaders can energize and activate people around a shared vision.Why culture and team development are essential parts of sustainable leadership.How coaching and mentoring can help create more leaders within an organization.Why authenticity is increasingly important in the age of AI.How human relationships and community can become a competitive advantage.Why building a brand for longevity requires more than creating a temporary burst of attention.How local relationships and community involvement can strengthen a leader's brand.Why the way a leader is being can be just as important as what the leader is doing.FAQ:What is authentic branding?Authentic branding is the process of consciously building a brand around a genuine vision, identity, voice, values, and way of showing up rather than relying on manufactured positioning or tactics that do not reflect who the leader or organization really is.What makes a brand unforgettable?An unforgettable brand is built around a distinctive vision and authentic positioning rather than simply visual design. It requires leaders to consistently communicate and embody what makes their vision different while building meaningful relationships with the people they serve.What are the four aspects of becoming an unforgettable brand leader?The four aspects discussed are being a visionary, catalyst, creator, and coachable coach. A visionary owns and evolves the vision, a catalyst activates people around it, a creator brings the vision into reality, and a coachable coach develops both themselves and others.Connect with Judy J. WinslowUnforgettable BrandsLeading Visionaries PodcastJoin the Leading Visionaries CommunityMake a Donation to Support the ShowCreative Age Consulting Group

What if leadership is about becoming more conscious of how you show up in every moment? In this episode of Leading Visionaries, host Anjel B. Hartwell sits down with Marcy Axelrod, bestselling and award-winning author of “How We Choose to Show Up”, TV Contributor, 2X TEDx speaker, and visual artist.Marcy challenges us to stop living on autopilot and consciously choose how we show up. She introduces a deeper way of understanding our role in the world, including how our actions affect ourselves, the people immediately around us, and the broader social networks connected to us.This episode invites you to reclaim depth and understand the leadership power they already possess.What You Will Learn:The difference between a job, a career, and a calling.How quiet, grounded leadership can create meaningful influence.Why consciously choosing how you show up is a form of leadership.How childhood experiences can influence patterns of behavior and self-expression.Why humans are constantly influencing and changing one another through interaction.How interpersonal neurobiology helps explain connection between people.Why your energy and presence can influence others before you even speak.How to recognize when you are living from a default version of yourself.Why deeper awareness can change how you experience people and everyday moments.How purpose, meaning, mattering, and fulfillment are connected.Why leaders need to take accountability for their own influence.How intentional leadership can invite others to show up differently.FAQ:What does it mean to consciously choose how you show up?Consciously choosing how you show up means becoming aware of your thoughts, emotions, behavior, energy, and influence rather than automatically responding from familiar patterns. It involves intentionally deciding how you want to engage with yourself, other people, and the situation you're experiencing.Why is showing up important in leadership?Showing up is important in leadership because people influence one another constantly. The way a leader communicates, behaves, and carries themselves can affect how other people respond. Conscious leadership requires recognizing that influence and taking responsibility for it.What is the difference between a job, a career, and a calling?A job is work performed to earn a living. A career is a longer-term professional path. A calling is connected to a deeper sense of purpose and what someone feels they are meant to contribute or express through their life and work.Connect with Marcy AxelrodChoose to Show UpLeading Visionaries PodcastJoin the Leading Visionaries CommunityMake a Donation to Support the ShowCreative Age Consulting Group