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The BOLT Podcast: Ignite Your Spark for Leadership, Growth, and Positive Transformation
Welcome to The BOLT Podcast, the go-to personal growth and leadership development podcast for entrepreneurs, executives, HR professionals, and everyday leaders who want to ignite their spark, cultivate a growth mindset, and achieve lasting transformation. Hosted by Todd Bertsch—motivational keynote speaker, Positive Intelligence® (PQ) Mental Fitness Coach, entrepreneur, and CEO with over 16 years of leadership experience—this show delivers the energy, inspiration, and actionable strategies you need to thrive in work and life.
Every episode of The BOLT is packed with practical tools for personal development, mindset mastery, emotional intelligence, and leadership growth. Todd and his world-class guests—bestselling authors, TEDx speakers, CEOs, athletes, educators, and nonprofit leaders—share authentic stories of resilience, reinvention, and curiosity-driven success. Together, they reveal how small shifts in mindset can spark massive results, both personally and professionally.
If you’re looking for strategies to overcome fear and resistance to change, rewire negative thought patterns, and embrace a growth-oriented approach to leadership, The BOLT delivers exactly what you need. Listeners gain insight into:
- Leadership development & executive coaching: How leaders build cultures of resilience, curiosity, and connection.
- Positive Intelligence® tools: Science-backed methods for strengthening mental fitness, quieting inner saboteurs, and activating your Sage brain.
- Personal growth & mindset mastery: Transforming fixed thinking into growth-focused action.
- Corporate training & team performance: Strategies for building high-performing, mentally fit teams.
- Workplace well-being & productivity: Preventing burnout, reducing stress, and sustaining peak energy.
- Life transformation & self-leadership: Real stories of turning obstacles into opportunities and pain into purpose.
Todd brings his unique blend of experience as a CEO, entrepreneur, coach, and motivational speaker to every conversation. After personally going through the Positive Intelligence® program and experiencing life-changing results backed by science and brain imaging, he built a thriving coaching and training practice. Today, he helps leaders and teams harness the power of mental fitness and mindset shifts to achieve clarity, resilience, and high performance.
Through keynote speaking engagements, corporate training programs, and PQ coaching cohorts, Todd has empowered countless leaders and organizations to break free from self-doubt, embrace change with confidence, and build cultures of positivity and high performance. On The BOLT, he shares these same tools, stories, and strategies—free and accessible to anyone who wants to grow.
Whether you’re a business owner navigating change, an executive leading through uncertainty, a team leader shaping culture, or simply someone passionate about becoming the best version of yourself, this podcast is your spark. Expect insightful interviews, motivational storytelling, and actionable steps that you can immediately apply to your work, relationships, and personal growth journey.
⚡ The BOLT Podcast: Where personal growth meets leadership transformation, and where every conversation helps you ignite the spark that changes everything.
47 Episodes
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Sam Falletta went from a four-cubicle call center to president, owner, and leader of a values-driven sale. In this episode, he breaks down how he built an award-winning culture by focusing on what employees truly need: strengths-based leadership, real-life support, meaningful incentives, and coaching that shifts mindsets. We explore why most engagement efforts fall flat, how culture changes in a remote world, and the personal reasons behind his decision to step back and choose presence over p...
In this episode of The BOLT Podcast, Dave Loomis, founder of Loomis Marketing and author of Customer Outsight, shares powerful lessons from conducting over 10,000 customer interviews. Drawing from decades of experience with Fortune 500 companies, Dave explores how curiosity, empathy, and active listening can transform leadership and organizational growth. Together, we unpack what it truly means to lead with outsight—seeing beyond yourself to better understand, connect, and inspire those you s...
In this powerful episode, Leadership Akron President and CEO Justin Hilton joins host Todd Bertsch to explore what it truly means to be a trailblazer. From his journey as the first African-American architect intern under Robert P. Madison to his leadership across higher education, corporate, and nonprofit sectors, Justin shares lessons on courage, context, and curiosity. He opens up about vulnerability, faith, mentorship, and the power of designing not just a career—but a life. A conversation...
What if what looks like “bad behavior” is really a brain problem, not a character flaw? In this episode, I sit down with Eric Collett, CEO of A Mind For All Seasons, to explore how energy, inflammation, and brain health shape our focus, mood, and leadership performance. We unpack why fixing your “hardware” matters more than adding new “software,” and how small, science-backed shifts—like improving sleep, managing stress, and fueling your brain right—can deliver life-changing results. Eric sha...
Kemp Boyd, executive director, pastor, coach, and community leader, shares how true leadership comes not from what we do, but from who we are. Through powerful stories of resilience, mental health advocacy, and his HOT philosophy (Humble, Open, Transparent), Kemp reveals how authenticity, vulnerability, and mentorship can transform families, teams, and communities. Moving from a "doing" culture to a "being" culture starts with understanding who you are firstTrue vulnerability means bein...
Todd and Natalie dive into Positive Intelligence (PQ) as a practical operating system for mental fitness—using the pause to shift from negative reactivity to wise response. Natalie traces her journey from Silicon Valley and the Fortune 100 to entrepreneurship, shares the origin of her bestselling book Let Her Out, and explains how pausing, presence, and rediscovering what you loved as a kid unlock confidence and authentic leadership. The episode closes with a guided two-minute PQ practice tha...
In this inspiring BOLT Podcast episode, Bob Burg—Hall of Fame speaker and coauthor of the international bestseller The Go-Giver—shares timeless lessons on leadership, influence, and success. From overcoming 24 publisher rejections to building a worldwide movement translated into 30+ languages, Bob emphasizes that sustainable success comes from authenticity, providing immense value, and leading with heart. Drawing wisdom from mentors like Dale Carnegie, Zig Ziglar, and his own father, Bob reve...
In this episode, we uncover how perfectionism can be a major obstacle to authentic leadership and growth. We explore the psychology behind perfectionism, how a fixed mindset stifles innovation, and introduce Positive Intelligence’s saboteurs like the Controller and Hyperachiever. Learn the beauty of wabi-sabi and discover practical strategies to shift from perfectionism to progress, including lessons from Thomas Edison’s failures and Seth Godin's MVP approach. The challenge: release a project...
Carolyn Cooper shares her life-changing journey from young sales professional to love-inspired leadership expert, revealing how bringing authentic love to business transforms organizations and leaders. Her powerful approach integrates decades of wisdom into practical frameworks that help individuals unleash their true potential and lead from the heart. Highlights from this episode: Operating from the highest vibration of love creates flow, ease, and meaningful connectionPerfectionism kills pr...
In this episode, leadership expert Molly Ketcham explores how curiosity can be a transformative leadership skill, helping leaders build deeper connections and drive meaningful results. Molly shares her journey from corporate success to professional speaking, revealing how asking better questions, rather than having all the answers, can improve leadership effectiveness. She highlights the need for authentic connection, especially in a world where many employees and managers are disengaged. By ...
Networking isn’t about business cards or small talk; it’s about human connection. In this episode, Frank Agin, founder of AmSpirit Business Connections and host of the NetworkingRx podcast, shares why he left a successful law career to help others build trust-based relationships that fuel success. Drawing on powerful stories, including one from anthropologist Margaret Mead, Frank explains why supporting others, even during their “broken femur” moments, leads to stronger, more resilient commun...
Ben Hatta, former wrestler and Emmy-nominated producer, explores the intense rivalry between St. Edward and Walsh Jesuit in his documentary Clash of Dynasties. Growing up in a wrestling family, Ben's journey shaped his storytelling, revealing lessons about leadership and mentorship. A pivotal moment in the rivalry, when St. Edward's coach handed his playbook to rival coach Bill Barger, exemplifies true leadership and respect for opponents. Ben highlights how wrestling’s core principles, like ...
Greta Johnson’s journey through public service is a powerful testament to trusting your gut and embracing life’s unexpected turns. Rooted in blue-collar values and shaped by her parents’ resilience, Greta has followed a “five-minute plan” mindset, focusing on excellence in the moment rather than rigid long-term goals. From prosecuting cases to becoming a state representative while raising twins, and now serving in Summit County administration, she has led with heart, intentionality, and coura...
In this powerful episode, Denise Logan opens up about the emotional complexities of business exits, drawing from her own experience of struggling to leave a thriving practice. A former mental health professional and law firm founder, Denise reveals the raw, unsanitized truth of her journey, including a moment when she contemplated crashing her car to create a crisis that would justify her departure. She frames business transitions as emotional journeys, comparable to empty nesting, and emphas...
In this insightful conversation, Peter Rea, founder of Better Humans, Better Performance, explains how virtue-based leadership drives measurable results. Drawing from his experience at Parker Hannifin, he shares research showing that 75% of performance variance comes from character, not cognitive ability. Peter explores the seven classical virtues and their application in leadership, highlighting gratitude as a key driver of engagement and performance. He also offers practical advice for pare...
John Bernanovich, entrepreneur, keynote speaker, author, and HR expert, challenges us to reframe how we talk about our full schedules during this deeply authentic conversation about purposeful living and transformational leadership. Drawing from his 25 years of entrepreneurial experience and his best-selling book "HR Like a Boss," John shares the pivotal mindset shifts that changed his approach to business and life. When he lost both parents in a compressed timeframe, he found himself questio...
Kat Polsinelli’s journey from darkness to light exemplifies the remarkable human ability to not only survive but thrive after trauma. From childhood performances that built her confidence to surviving a decade-long abusive relationship, single motherhood at 16, and PTSD, Kat’s path is one of resilience and transformation. The conversation explores her pivotal moment of awakening when she saw her son mimicking the harmful behaviors of her abuser, igniting her decision to reclaim her identity. ...
Scott Hubble is an entrepreneurial leader who has transformed niche RV companies into industry powerhouses through market insight, people-focused leadership, and resilience. With a background in accounting, law, and business, Scott revolutionized the teardrop trailer market by blending European design with Amish craftsmanship, turning a stagnant product into a thriving business at nuCamp . His leadership philosophy centers around the belief that "people matter most," fostering cultures of inn...
Dan Flanagan’s journey from addiction, family mental health struggles, and professional setbacks to one of purpose, service, and joy offers a powerful roadmap for transformation. Starting as a sales rep at Group Management Services, Dan faced personal challenges that eventually led him to re-evaluate his life. It wasn’t until May 2019 that he reached a breaking point with alcoholism. Committing to sobriety, now approaching six years, Dan’s foundation in faith and a "one day at a time" mindset...
John Geraghty’s inspiring journey from struggling with alcoholism to becoming an acclaimed optimal performance coach showcases the power of personal transformation. After battling alcohol from a young age, John made a life-changing decision at 29 to rebuild his life through personal development, including reading a book a week for 30 years. His transformative approach is centered around his Prism of Perspective framework, which teaches that our beliefs, energy, and presence shape how we exper...
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