The Chris Voss Show

Navigating Insurance Claims with National Claims Negotiators

Nationalclaimsnegotiators.com

About the Guest(s): Ronald Snuffer is the owner and CEO of National Claims Negotiators, LLC. With over 20 years of experience in the construction roofing industry and 12 years as a licensed and bonded public insurance adjuster in Texas, Ronald has dedicated his career to helping property owners navigate insurance claims. His company, National Claims Negotiators, is well-known for providing policy analysis, insurance claim expertise, and claim documentation to ensure clients receive the compensation they are entitled to under their policy. Episode Summary: In this episode of The Chris Boss Show, host Chris Voss interviews Ronald Snuffer, the owner and CEO of National Claims Negotiators, LLC. Ronald shares his insights and expertise in the field of public insurance adjusting, discussing how his company helps property owners navigate complex insurance claims. He explains the challenges faced by property owners when dealing with insurance companies and highlights the importance of seeking professional representation to ensure fair compensation. Ronald also discusses the impact of recent environmental events on insurance claims and the need for better education and regulation in the industry. Key Takeaways:

Insurance companies are a for-profit industry, and they often try to minimize payouts or deny claims altogether. Property owners should consider hiring a public insurance adjuster, especially for complex claims such as fire, flood, or tornado damage. The sooner a public adjuster is involved in a claim, the quicker it can be resolved and the property owner can receive fair compensation. Insurance policies have become increasingly complex, and it is crucial for property owners to understand their coverage and rights. The insurance industry needs more regulation and better education for public adjusters to ensure fair treatment for policyholders.

Notable Quotes:

“The insurance companies go, ‘Okay, well let’s go ahead and pay some stuff out here.’ How’s that work? Because of our track record? I mean, they know that we document our files extremely well and we provide enough evidence so that if it does have to be seen by an attorney, that we’ll win.” – Ronald Snuffer “There are no bad questions when it comes to insurance claims. If you don’t understand something, you’re confused, or you feel uneasy about a position that the carrier has put you in, you just need to ask. We’re more than willing to help.” – Ronald Snuffer

Resources:

National Claims Negotiators, LLC: Website

To listen to the full episode and gain more insights from Ronald Snuffer on navigating insurance claims and ensuring fair compensation, tune in to The Chris Boss Show. Stay tuned for more episodes featuring CEOs, authors, thought leaders, visionaries, and motivators.

Lead It Like Lasso by Marnie Stockman

https://amzn.to/3W4yCEG

Leaditlikelasso.com

When Ted Lasso was hired as the new gaffer (coach) for AFC Richmond, the team, the town, and the entire country made it no secret that they thought he was just a clueless “wanker.” But it was clear, even early on, that Ted knew a thing or two about being a good leader. It’s not about the wins and losses but about helping others become the best versions of themselves.

Much like Ted Lasso the show, Lead It Like Lasso takes an entirely different approach to leadership. The foreword alone will shock you. The lessons outlined are not just for business leaders. Rule #1 – Leadership is Life! These tools can be applied in the board room, the locker room and the living room.

You might want to have a pencil (or your own whiteboard) on hand to work through the activities:

Define your core values and learn how culture impacts your ability to level up Create a clear vision and purpose for your life to reach your goals Build your own personal operating system and communication guide Adopt effective communication strategies to build your network Envision your legacy and outline a plan to make it happen This not your grandmother’s leadership book. Heck it isn’t even Ted’s grandmother’s leadership book. This book feels like having your own personal Ted Lasso breaking down leadership lessons in a way that will make you smile – inspiring action you can take right away.

The authors offer leadership lessons from their own successful startup, the lives of the team at AFC Richmond, and top leaders of industry. Level up and lead your life like Lasso. Believe.

The Enlightened Passenger: The Flight That Changes Everything by Corey Poirier

https://amzn.to/49TtMO5

Coreypoiriermedia.com

The Enlightened Passenger is a compelling narrative blending self-help wisdom with the art of storytelling.

Robert Stapleton, the passenger in 9C, is the epitome of North American success. H e owns the luxury car, wears the coveted watch, and talks the talk. Yet beneath this confident exterior is a man in search of something more – even if he doesn’t know it yet.

Enter Trebor (Treb), an unexpected companion who ends up seated next to him. Treb embodies everything Robert lacks: a life brimming with meaning, joy, and fulfillment. With a loving wife, Gina, and a history of traveling the world to make a positive impact, Treb is Robert’s opposite.

This fateful flight unfolds as Treb shares 10 transformative life lessons with Robert, gleaned from the author’s 7000+ interviews with the world’s most inspiring leaders. These teachings challenge Robert to confront his own life, sparking a journey of personal growth and awakening.

The Enlightened Passenger offers a roadmap to personal improvement, greater consciousness, and a deeper understanding of success and abundance for self-help enthusiasts, entrepreneurs, and fans of insightful parables akin to The Alchemist and The Celestine Prophecy. It’s a story that resonates with anyone seeking to discover their purpose, create a lasting legacy, and transform their understanding of what it means to truly succeed in life.

Where Do We Go From Here?: Helping Adoptive Parents Guide Their Children Through Trauma & Into Positive Safe Relationships™ by Scotty Aemis

https://amzn.to/4cYHx0r

Childtraumasherpa.com

Are you feeling hopeless and lost in a maze of parenting decisions? Are you and your family struggling with the behaviors of your adopted child? Does it seem like they are out of control and acting out at school and home? This book will offer you hope and rekindle the gratitude you had when you first began this journey. The paradox is that everything we’ve been taught, or might logically think, doesn’t work with the trauma adoptive kids experience. Our instincts are to try harder, push harder, and “solve” the problem. But, in fact, the opposite is true. Instead of “fixing” the problem, we need to look at creating a supportive environment in which your child can heal. “What I learned is that the way forward is available if parents are provided the resources, support, and information they need in order to make good decisions for their kids. I am dedicated to support fellow parents who are on a similar journey because all children have the right to live lives of purpose and significance as God intended.”

Fired? Afraid You Might Be?: Use Legal Leverage to fight back against your employer and win on your terms (Fired Book) by J Thomas Spiggle

https://amzn.to/4d984bJ

Spigglelaw.com

Are you seeking clarity and empowerment when it comes to workplace rights and legal recourse? Being wrongfully treated at work is extraordinarily painful and figuring how to respond is confusing.

And that before we get into the work of employment law. Employees who are fired, or are afraid that they might be, need help. That’s what this book is for, to give people a plain English understanding of the legal tools that they can use to get control of their career.

Through the story of Matt and Lynn – two fictional characters in the book who are consulting with an Employment lawyer – the reader can begin to demystify the legal process and understand how employment lawyers think. With that knowledge, the reader can chart a path with or without hiring an attorney. And if the reader decides to talk to a lawyer, that meeting will be even more productive with the real-world perspective provided by this book.

Navigating the turbulent waters of workplace injustice can be an agonizing ordeal and leaving individuals grappling with confusion and emotional turmoil. In such challenging times, the need for guidance is paramount, and that’s precisely what this book aims to provide.

In this book, you will learn:

That she is not powerless.

That there are many steps you can take to protect your rights that do not involve filing a lawsuit.

How to determine what your case is worth.

The parts of your case that might be more valuable to you than money that sometimes even judges and attorneys forget.

How to turn a temporary career set back into a launching pad for your career.

Empowering Your Employment is your comprehensive way to regain control of your career and find clarity amidst workplace injustices. It’s a must-read for anyone seeking justice and empowerment in the complex world of employment law. Get a copy now!

SearchTires.com The World’s First Tire Price Comparison Search Engine

Searchtires.com

About the Guest(s):

Timothy Shaffer is the CEO and Co-founder of searchtires.com. With over three decades of experience in the tire industry, he is a dynamic sales and operations expert. Timothy is a visionary leader who spearheaded searchtires.com to empower consumers with transparent and competitive tire pricing. He has had an illustrious career, holding titles such as President and CEO, and has a wealth of knowledge in operations.

Episode Summary: Welcome to another episode of The Chris Voss Show, where host Chris Voss brings on the most intelligent and influential guests to expand your mind. In this episode, Chris interviews Timothy Shaffer, the CEO and Co-founder of searchtires.com. Timothy shares his journey of creating the world’s first tire price comparison search engine and how it is revolutionizing the way people buy tires. He explains how searchtires.com matches consumers with the best tire prices from local retailers, saving them time and money. Timothy also emphasizes the importance of supporting local businesses and shares cost-effective tips for tire replacement and maintenance.

Key topics discussed in this episode include the inspiration behind searchtires.com, the challenges faced during the company’s early stages, the benefits of using the platform, and future expansion plans. Timothy’s passion for helping consumers and local brick-and-mortar retailers shines through as he shares his insights and experiences in the tire industry.

Key Takeaways:

searchtires.com is the world’s first tire price comparison search engine, empowering consumers with transparent and competitive tire pricing. The platform matches consumers with the best tire prices from local retailers, saving them time and money. Searchtires.com helps communities thrive and supports local businesses by supporting local brick-and-mortar retailers. Proper tire maintenance, such as checking air pressure, regular rotations, and alignments, can extend tires’ lifespans and save money in the long run. Searchtires.com plans to expand to other countries, such as Canada, Australia, and the UK.

Notable Quotes:

“We’re like an online dating service for tires. We don’t sell anything. We just match the tire you’re looking for to the retailer.” – Timothy Shaffer “Tires ain’t pretty, but it’s a $58.8 billion market. No one has thought about how to help people find the best deal on tires in their area.” – Timothy Shaffer “Success can be defined in different ways, but for me, if I walk out my front door and start a ’69 Z28 Camaro and hear that motor hum, that’s beautiful.” – Timothy Shaffer

Life Crafting: A Master’s Journal by Charles Paul Collins

Charlespaulcollins.com

Charles Collins has spent more than three decades researching the world of traditional workshops, and their pursuit of high-quality craftsmanship as the guiding force in their work, and as a model for crafting a masterpiece of our own lives.

In Life Crafting: A Master’s Journal, the newest book in the Life Crafting collection, Charles has condensed the lessons from this ancient way of working into a simple, easy to follow framework that anyone can apply to guide and improve our personal lives, and the work we do in our trades, occupations and professions.

Life Crafting: A Master’s Journal scheduled for completion in 2024, is the companion guide to ‘Your Life Curriculum’ the first book in the Life Crafting collection released in 2012.

‘Your Life Curriculum’ – will help you organize everything you have and will learn in your lifetime, into five master categories called the Five Elements:

Family and Personal Heritage Family and Household Management Family and Personal Finance The Human Being Tools for Living It’s like having the master library of your life at your fingertips. “What You Learn, Makes You Who You Are”.

Major chapters in Charles’ professional career include working in the international trade finance organization of a major London bank and managing international strategic alliances for a number of leading internet technology companies.

He is the developer of the Polaris Performance Framework™, a business performance and operational excellence structure used to align individuals and teams with organizational goals and performance measures.

Charles holds a B.S. in Speech from Emerson College where as an undergraduate, he also taught two full credit courses: Philosophy of Religion, and Religion in Eastern Culture.

His continuing education includes certifications in Foundations of Intercultural Research from Georgetown University, The Value and Limits of Self Knowledge from the University of Edinburgh, and Finding Purpose and Meaning in Life, from the University of Michigan.

Tripped: Nazi Germany, the CIA, and the Dawn of the Psychedelic Age by Norman Ohler

https://amzn.to/3PWxLlE

The author of the New York Times bestseller Blitzed returns with a provocative new history of drugs and postwar America, examining the untold story of how Nazi experiments into psychedelics covertly influenced CIA research and secretly shaped the War on Drugs.

Berlin 1945. Following the fall of the Third Reich, drug use—long kept under control by the Nazis’ strict anti-drug laws—is rampant throughout the city. Split into four sectors, Berlin’s drug policies are being enforced under the individual jurisdictions of each allied power—the Soviet Union, Britain, France, and the US. In the American zone, Arthur J. Giuliani of the nascent Federal Bureau of Narcotics is tasked with learning about the Nazis’ anti-drug laws and bringing home anything that might prove “useful” to the United States.

Five years later, Harvard professor Dr. Henry Beecher began work with the US government to uncover the research behind the Nazis psychedelics program. Begun as an attempt to find a “truth serum” and experiment with mind control, the Nazi study initially involved mescaline, but quickly expanded to include LSD. Originally created for medical purposes by Swiss pharmaceutical Sandoz, the Nazis coopted the drug for their mind control military research—research that, following the war, the US was desperate to acquire. This research birthed MKUltra, the CIA’s notorious brainwashing and psychological torture program during the 1950s and 1960s, and ultimately shaped US drug policy regarding psychedelics for over half a century.

Based on extensive archival research on both sides of the Atlantic, Tripped is a wild, unconventional postwar history, a spiritual sequel to Norman Ohler’s New York Times bestseller Blitzed. Revealing the close relationship and hidden connections between the Nazis and the early days of drugs in America, Ohler shares how this secret history held back therapeutic research of psychedelic drugs for decades and eventually became part of the foundation of America’s War on Drugs.

About the author Norman Ohler is an award-winning German novelist, screenwriter, and journalist. He spent five years researching Blitzed in numerous archives in Germany and the United States, and spoke to eye-witnesses, military historians, and doctors. He is also the author of the novels Die Quotenmaschine (the world’s first hypertext novel), Mitte and Stadt des Goldes (translated into English as Ponte City). He was co-writer of the script for Wim Wenders’ film Palermo Shooting.

Marc Scheff: Helping Clients Overcome Limiting Beliefs and Find Fulfillment

Marcscheff.com

About the Guest(s): Marc is a certified coach, award-winning artist, and transformational connoisseur. He is a visionary coach dedicated to guiding professionals on a profound creative inner journey. Marc helps individuals break through barriers and transcend self-limiting beliefs to unlock their full potential. His transformational coaching goes beyond the visual arts and resonates with a diverse array of minds, empowering them to architect their own narrative and flourish in their professional endeavors.

Episode Summary: Welcome to The Chris Voss Show, where Chris Voss interviews CEOs, authors, thought leaders, visionaries, and motivators. In this episode, Chris Voss speaks with Marc Scheff, a certified coach and award-winning artist. Marc shares his journey through life and how he became a coach. He discusses the importance of creativity and how it can help individuals create lives they love. Marc also emphasizes the significance of midlife catharsis and the opportunity it presents for personal growth and fulfillment. Throughout the conversation, Marc highlights the power of storytelling and how it can shape our beliefs and decisions.

Key topics discussed in this episode include:

The importance of taking creative space and exploring one’s potential The role of mentors and coaches in guiding personal and professional growth The concept of midlife catharsis and seizing opportunities for personal transformation The impact of stories and beliefs on decision-making and self-perception The analogy of jiu-jitsu as a metaphor for life and personal development

Tune in to this episode to gain valuable insights on embracing creativity, overcoming self-limiting beliefs, and architecting a fulfilling life.

Key Takeaways:

Creativity is a powerful tool for personal growth and self-discovery. By embracing creativity, individuals can break through barriers and unlock their full potential. Midlife catharsis presents an opportunity for personal transformation and growth. It is a chance to reflect on one’s life and make intentional decisions that align with one’s values and purpose. Stories and beliefs shape our decisions and self-perception. By examining and challenging these stories, individuals can overcome self-limiting beliefs and create a more empowering narrative. Jiu-jitsu serves as a powerful metaphor for life and personal development. It teaches the importance of resilience, continuous learning, and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth.

Notable Quotes:

“The thread in my life has always been creativity. It has been the catalyst for my personal and professional growth.” – Marc Scheff “Midlife catharsis is an opportunity to reflect on what we truly want and make intentional decisions that align with our values and purpose.” – Marc Scheff “Stories and beliefs shape our decisions and self-perception. By examining and challenging these stories, we can overcome self-limiting beliefs and create a more empowering narrative.” – Marc Scheff “Jiu-jitsu teaches us the importance of resilience, continuous learning, and embracing challenges as opportunities for growth.” – Marc Scheff

Being Human and Waking Up: A therapist’s guide for psychotherapy clients and enlightenment seekers by Jonathan Eric Labman LPC

https://amzn.to/3vJD3dg

No one teaches us how to deal with being a human being: how to separate true thoughts from false ones, how to feel and label our emotions, how to track the source of our emotions to discover whether the emotions are useful or useless, and how to interpret the flood of physical sensations that constantly inundate us. Few parents know how to cope with their own thoughts and feelings, so they don’t teach their children to do the same. As people, we often end up confused and dismayed. Once we embark on a psychological and/or spiritual journey to healing, wholeness, and better functioning, life can become even more complicated: what is this Awareness or Consciousness that the mystics of all traditions talk about? Among the avalanche of teachings and teachers available, how do we discover a path for us?

This book is the refinement of 23 years’ experience, from a therapist and teacher of spiritual awakening, to summarize how to heal and wake up spiritually. Its purpose is to guide readers, therapy clients, and spiritual aspirants along a clean, simple and clear path to psychological integration, effective living, spiritual awakening and enlightenment.

red helicopter―a parable for our times: lead change with kindness (plus a little math) by James Rhee

https://amzn.to/3PThkGy

Redhelicopter.com

Embrace your agency, lead change, and fly free—in the business of life and the life of business—with kindness (plus a little math)

In kindergarten, James Rhee received a toy red helicopter in gratitude for a simple act of generosity—sharing his lunch. Decades later, the lesson from that small gift led him to develop a human-centered framework for business and personal achievement that helped him overcome seemingly insurmountable hurdles and find unprecedented success.

“red helicopter is a transformative experience. James Rhee’s story is a must read for anyone, of any age, who wishes to think, act, and lead with balance, agility, and wisdom.” —Jay Shetty

Rhee was a high school teacher turned private equity investor when he unexpectedly took the helm of Ashley Stewart, an iconic company predominantly employing and serving Black women. Inspired by the values his dying Korean immigrant parents instilled in him, he knew that a radically different—yet familiar—approach was required to lead this twice-bankrupt company from certain liquidation to true transcendence.

Is it possible to be successful and kind? To lead with precision and compassion? To honor who we are in all areas of our lives?

The entire world bet against him and Ashley, but Rhee trusted his instincts to identify, measure, and leverage the intangible goodwill at the company’s core, a decision which ultimately multiplied its fortunes several times over.

Anyone can combine the clarity and imagination we had as children with fundamental business metrics. Anyone can apply this refreshingly intuitive approach to lead change at work and at home.

While eloquently sharing a story of personal and professional success, red helicopter presents a comforting yet bold solution to the dissatisfaction and worry we all feel in a chaotic and sometimes terrifying world.

The insights and knowledge that Rhee imparts have been accumulated over decades of investing and leading at the highest levels of business. Drawing on this experience, he encourages us to trust the wisdom deep inside each of us so we can learn how to:

Create and measure “goodwill,” the ultimate collective good Discover agency and the truth about kindness it entails Identify the invisible obstacles standing in your way Lead transformational change through small, scalable acts Construct an accurate “balance sheet” of our assets and liabilities Reorient our lives, organizations, and the world to reflect the best in us Are you looking for a sustainable balance between life, money, and joy? For yourself and others?

Imagine, a clear path forward told as a deeply felt human story. A poignant and uplifting celebration of humanity, red helicopter—a parable for our times is a tale of struggle and triumph, compelling for its honesty and relatability as much as for the instructions we can all use to balance the books of our lives.

red helicopter—a parable for our times features approximately 20 original illustrations by Korean artist Heyon Cho.

Our Enemies Will Vanish: The Russian Invasion and Ukraine’s War of Independence by Yaroslav Trofimov

https://amzn.to/43KnfUl

“Our Enemies Will Vanish achieves the highest level of war reporting: a tough, detailed account that nevertheless reads like a great novel. One is reminded of Michael Herr’s Dispatches . . . Frankly, it’s what we have all aspired to. I did not really understand Ukraine until I read Trofimov’s account.” —Sebastian Junger

A revelatory eyewitness account of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and heroism of the Ukrainian people in their resistance by Yaroslav Trofimov, the Ukrainian chief foreign-affairs correspondent for The Wall Street Journal.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, Yaroslav Trofimov has spent months on end at the heart of the conflict, very often on its front lines. In this authoritative account, he traces the war’s decisive moments—from the battle for Kyiv to more recently the gruelling and bloody arm wrestle involving the Wagner group over Bakhmut—to show how Ukraine and its allies have turned the tide against Russia, one of the world’s great military powers, in a modern-day battle of David and Goliath. Putin had intended to conquer and annex Ukraine with a vicious blitzkrieg, redrawing the map of Europe in a few short weeks with seismic geopolitical consequences. But in the face of this existential threat, the Ukrainian people fought back, turning what looked like certain defeat into a great moral victory, even as the territorial battle continues to seesaw to this day. This is the story of the epic bravery of the Ukrainian people—people Trofimov knows very well.

For Trofimov, this war is deeply personal. He grew up in Kyiv and his family has lived there for generations. With deep empathy and local understanding, Trofimov tells the story of how everyday Ukrainian citizens—doctors, computer programmers, businesspeople, and schoolteachers—risked their lives and lost loved ones. He blends their brave and tragic stories with expert military analysis, providing unique insight into the thinking of Ukrainian leadership and mapping out the decisive stages of what has become a perilous war for Ukraine, the Putin regime, and indeed, the world.

This brutal, catastrophic struggle is unfolding on another continent, but the United States and its NATO allies have become deeply implicated. As the war drags on, it threatens to engulf the world. We cannot look away. At once heart-breaking and inspiring, Our Enemies Will Vanish is a riveting, vivid, and first-hand account of the Ukrainian refusal to surrender. It is the story of ordinary people fighting not just for their homes and their families but for justice and democracy itself.

Yaroslav Trofimov is a Ukrainian-born Italian author and journalist who serves as chief foreign-affairs correspondent at The Wall Street Journal. Previously he wrote a weekly column on the Greater Middle East, “Middle East Crossroads,” in The Wall Street Journal.

The Chris Voss Show Podcast – Do the Hard Things First: How to Win Over Procrastination and Master the Habit of Doing Difficult Work (Do the Hard Things First Series) by Scott Allan

https://amzn.to/443NTb3

Break the Procrastination Habit, Accelerate Your Productivity, and Take Control of Your Life NOW. Are you living in chaos because you keep putting off important tasks until the last minute? Do you feel disorganized at home and work? Are you experiencing feelings of anxiety, frustration, and helplessness because of all your unfinished projects?

If so, it’s time to break the procrastination habit and rewire your difficult work habits.

International bestselling author and personal development trainer, Scott Allan, wants you to defeat procrastination and eliminate negative self-talk so you can end the chaos of chronic task avoidance. In this practical guide, you’ll learn Scott’s step-by-step method for breaking the procrastination habit and ending self-sabotage.

In Do the Hard Things First, Scott Allan teaches you how to:

Control self-defeating distractions and shiny object syndrome. Identify the key constraints holding you back and take massive action for optimal results. Avoid doing random tasks and begin time-blocking your critical work. Identify negative coping mechanisms and develop a great work ethic. Implement daily exercises to make better choices and build greater confidence in decision-making. Structure your priorities by focusing on what matters most Train your brain to master attention by interrupting sudden impulses Construct a new environment to remove clutter and eliminate decision fatigue

Do the Hard Things First is structured to save time, increase mental energy, and teach you to think from a place of confidence by removing the fear of doing what scares you. You’ll learn how to focus on your #1 tasks for the day, eliminate overwhelm, and become the best version of yourself in both your work and life.

“Today, not tomorrow. Do it now, not later.

Straight Out of the Trailer Park!: How Mindset and Perseverance Enabled One Man to Overcome His Poor White Trash Upbringing and Live a Fulfilling Life by Loyd Hawkins

https://amzn.to/4azON0E

Kenaibusinesssolutions.com

Growing up in poverty as the only child of a single mother, Loyd had the odds stacked against him. With no father figure or strong male role model, Loyd was forced to figure out life on his own. Fortune smiled upon him when he made the decision to join the US Army. During his time in the Army, he flourished, serving in a variety of roles, most notably as a paratrooper in the 5th Special Forces Group (A) and the renowned 101st Airborne Division. It was here that Loyd received a graduate-level education in leadership.

After leaving the Army, Loyd sought his next challenge by enrolling in graduate school at Florida State University. There, he earned his MBA and promptly joined the esteemed global consulting firm Accenture. During his tenure at Accenture and other consulting practices, he cultivated a deep understanding of sales, delivery, small and large team building, as well as interpersonal relationships and communication.

“Never satisfied” is the best phrase to aptly characterize Loyd’s mindset. Whether achieving his black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or participating in the ‘Escape from Alcatraz’ swim, Loyd constantly seeks personal growth. Scuba diving and skydiving are also among his cherished passions.

Loyd aspires to wring the most out of life and hopes to share his passion and perspective with you, inspiring you to lead your best life.

Art and Science Platform Valle Venia Connects People Through Music and More

Valle-venia.de

About the Guest(s): Johanna Michel and H. L. P. Schmidt, are the founders of Valle Venia, an art and science platform. Leo is an orthopedic surgeon, while Johanna is an anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist. They both have a passion for art and music, and have been involved in various artistic endeavors throughout their lives. Leo has a background in rock music and classical music composition, while Johanna plays the drums and piano. Together, they combine their medical expertise with their artistic talents to create a unique platform that explores the intersection of art and science.

Episode Summary: In this episode, Chris Voss interviews Johanna Michel and H. L. P. Schmidt, the founders of Valle Venia. Valle Venia is an art and science platform that combines Leo and Johanna’s medical backgrounds with their passion for art and music. They discuss their journey from the medical field to the world of art, and how they use their platform to connect different fields and bring researchers out of their ivory towers. They also talk about the importance of connection and empathy in today’s society, and how their work aims to bridge the gap between different cultures and backgrounds. The episode is filled with insights on the power of art and science to shape our world and create meaningful connections.

Key Takeaways: Valle Venia is an art and science platform founded by Johanna Michel and H. L. P. Schmidt, two medical professionals with a passion for art and music. The platform aims to connect different fields and bring researchers out of their ivory towers, making their findings accessible to the public. Leo and Johanna emphasize the importance of connection and empathy in today’s society, and how their work aims to bridge the gap between different cultures and backgrounds. Valle Venia features artists from various disciplines, including music, fine arts, photography, films, architecture, sculpture, and land art. The platform also engages in social projects, supporting causes such as education and orphanages in India.

Notable Quotes: “Connection means conviviality. Being together, not asking for anything at all, not wishing something. And this is how the world is.” – H. L. P. Schmidt, “Encounters, coincidences. It’s nothing predictable. It’s just there. And this is how we feel. And this is what the world needs right now, to overcome gradual disease and so on.” – Johanna Michel

Andrew Beaulieu on Career Transition and Building a Learning Organization

https://www.boldmovescoaching.ca/

About the Guest(s): Andrew Beaulieu is the CEO and founder of Bold Moves Coaching and Consulting. He has a background in the family-owned general contracting business and discovered his passion for leadership and employee empowerment throughout his corporate journey. Andrew is committed to sparking transformation in corporate environments, focusing on the end user, the employee. He collaborates closely with executives, leaders, and mid-level managers to foster impact and sustainable change from the top down.

Episode Summary: In this episode of The Chris Voss Show, host Chris Voss interviews Andrew Beaulieu, the CEO and founder of Bold Moves Coaching and Consulting. Andrew shares his journey from working in the family-owned general contracting business to becoming a coach, public speaker, and entrepreneur. He discusses the importance of employee empowerment and creating a positive corporate environment. Andrew also highlights the role of vulnerability in the workplace and the need for effective communication.

Key topics discussed in this episode include behavior change, career transition, and corporate programs. Andrew emphasizes the significance of understanding one’s values and purpose in order to make meaningful career choices. He also provides insights into building a learning organization and creating a culture of psychological safety.

Key Takeaways:

Behavior change starts with small, sustainable steps and is influenced by habits, routines, and environment. Career transition requires self-reflection and understanding of personal values and purpose. Building a learning organization involves creating a culture of psychological safety where employees feel comfortable asking questions and suggesting improvements. Effective communication and vulnerability in the workplace can lead to trust, authenticity, and enhanced employee engagement. Continuous improvement and focusing on personal growth are essential for long-term happiness and success.

Notable Quotes:

“The majority of our problems are in some sort of breakdown in communication, lack thereof, misunderstanding, misinterpretation.” – Andrew Beaulieu “Compare yourself to who you were yesterday. As long as you’re better than you were yesterday, the person you’re gonna be in seven years from now is gonna be a phenomenal version of yourself.” – Andrew Beaulieu

Before It’s Gone: Stories from the Front Lines of Climate Change in Small-Town America by Jonathan Vigliotti

https://amzn.to/4axRPme

In the vein of This Changes Everything and Saving Us, a character-driven and shocking up-close look at the way climate change is affecting America, right now, and a call to action to protect the people and places we stand to lose if nothing is done to preserve our planet.

Discussion of the climate crisis has always suffered from a problem of abstraction. Data points and warnings of an overheated future struggle to break through the noise of everyday life. Deniers often portray climate solutions as inconvenient, expensive, and unnecessary. And many politicians, cloistered by status and focused always on their next election, do not yet see climate as a winning issue in the short run, so they don’t take any action at all. But climate change, and its devastating consequences, has kept apace whether we want to pay attention or not.

CBS News national correspondent Jonathan Vigliotti has seen that crisis unfold for himself, spending nearly two decades reporting across the United States (and the world) documenting the people, communities, landmarks, and traditions we’ve already surrendered. Vigliotti shares with urgency and personal touch the story of an America on the brink.

Before It’s Gone traces Vigliotti’s travels across the country, taking him to the frontlines of climate disaster and revealing the genuine impacts of climate change that countless Americans have already been forced to confront. From massive forest fires in California to hurricanes in Louisiana, receding coastlines in Massachusetts and devastated fisheries in Alaska, we learn that warnings of a future impacted by climate are no more; the climate catastrophe is already here.

This is the story of America, and Americans, on the edge, and a powerful argument that radical action on climate change with a respect for its people and traditions is not only possible, but also the only way to preserve what we love.

Feel, Heal, and Reveal: A Journey to Emotional Independence by PJ Victor

Pjvictorwriter.com

Readysethealed.com

Embark on a Transformative Journey to Emotional Freedom Imagine a life where you navigate through relationships with ease, understand and set healthy boundaries, and cultivate unwavering self-love and resilience. “Feel, Heal, and Reveal: A Journey to Emotional Independence” is your guidebook through the often tumultuous landscape of personal connections, offering you the tools to become emotionally self-sufficient.

Begin your journey by laying a strong foundation, learning to acknowledge and embrace your sensitivity. Discover the significance of understanding your reactions to toxicity and mastering the art of saying no. With each chapter, you will build confidence in your ability to set boundaries that protect your emotional well-being.

As you progress, learn to identify and shield yourself from toxic behaviors and manipulation. Trust in your instincts and intuition becomes your compass, guiding you through complex emotional territories. This book empowers you to recognize early warning signs and to rely on your inner wisdom to make decisions that honor your well-being.

Healing starts with self-love and compassion. Uncover the strategies to overcome self-criticism and engage in practices that promote self-compassion. Develop resilience through effective coping mechanisms, including creative expression and mindfulness, to manage stress and foster emotional well-being.

Building a support system is paramount. Learn to reach out for help, find trustworthy individuals, and understand the role of professional support in your healing journey. Discover strategies for disconnecting from toxic influences and prioritizing self-care, ensuring that you maintain your focus on personal agency.

Finally, the book guides you through the decisive moments of leaving an unsustainable relationship, navigating the complexities of disconnection, and embarking on the path of rebuilding. Embrace a future beyond toxic relationships, focusing on healing, growth, and establishing a safe, supportive environment.

“Feel, Heal, and Reveal: A Journey to Emotional Independence” is more than a book; it’s a companion for anyone ready to transform their emotional landscape. It’s time to step into a life of empowerment, resilience, and emotional independence.

About the author Raised in Naples, Florida, PJ started acting, modeling, singing, writing, and speaking on stage at an early age, starting with commercials and plays in Elementary school.

After experiencing her first yoga class over 20 years ago at a shelter for abused women and children, PJ vowed to give back by becoming a certified yoga teacher so she could volunteer to help others learn to have peace within using their own breath. PJ has been teaching groups and private yoga classes since 2017. PJ is also a certified mindfulness meditation teacher and a certified master hypnotherapist.

Her focus on health and wellness and inspiring others with her public speaking and writing is driven by her own recovery from a closed brain injury in 1999 and the loss of an unborn child as a result of the October 1, 2017, shooting in Las Vegas. As a survivor of October 1, she has worked to help other survivors use meditation and hypnotherapy to heal. As a mother, she also loves to homeschool and teach her children and others to maintain presence and peace through self-regulation techniques that are essential components to getting mentally and physically unstuck.

PJ continues to act, coach, speak, teach, train, and write as she supports animal rights and child advocacy, as well as educate and inform others about the dangers of human trafficking.

Black Mammoth CEO Shares Financial Planning Tips for Entrepreneurs

Blackmammoth.com

About the Guest(s): Stoy Hall is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and the CEO and founder of Black Mammoth. With over 13 years of experience in the financial industry, Stoy Hall is recognized for his innovative approach to wealth management and his dedication to promoting financial literacy. As the CEO of Black Mammoth, he has carved a niche in the financial industry by focusing on inclusivity, collaboration, and the holistic well-being of his clients.

Episode Summary: Welcome to The Chris Foss Show, where Chris Voss interviews CEOs, authors, thought leaders, visionaries, and motivators. In this episode, Chris Voss sits down with Stoy Hall, the CEO and founder of Black Mammoth, to discuss his innovative approach to wealth management and his dedication to promoting financial literacy. Stoy Hall shares his journey in the financial industry and explains how he started Black Mammoth to create a modern family office that is accessible to everyday business owners. He emphasizes the importance of financial education and the need for a team of professionals to support business owners in managing their finances effectively. Stoy Hall also highlights the various services offered by Black Mammoth, including Mahalo service, personal CFO, and consulting, and provides valuable insights into investment strategies and insurance planning.

Key Takeaways: Black Mammoth offers a range of services, including Mahalo service, personal CFO, and consulting, to help business owners organize their finances and achieve their financial goals. Stoy Hall emphasizes the importance of financial education and believes that everyone should have a team of professionals to support them in managing their finances effectively. Investments are just one aspect of a comprehensive financial plan, and Story encourages business owners to focus on building a team and organizing their finances before diving into investments. Insurance planning, including life insurance, disability insurance, and health insurance, is crucial for business owners to protect themselves and their families in case of unforeseen events. Stoy Hall’s no BS Wealth podcast provides a platform for open and honest conversations about wealth and financial planning, aiming to bring transparency and clarity to the financial industry.

Notable Quotes:

“Am I good and do I have your back? Financial planning in general comes down to those two things, and that’s what we’re here to do.” – Stoy Hall “Money is emotional. Our emotions are tied to money. They’re integrated. And if you don’t understand who you are and where that comes from, then you can’t really create a plan ’cause you won’t follow it.” – Stoy Hall “Investments make up a very small piece of your entire plan. Investments are not just stocks, bonds, mutual funds. Investments are real estate, foreign currency, and you as a person.” – Stoy Hall

The Pursuit of Happiness: How Classical Writers on Virtue Inspired the Lives of the Founders and Defined America by Jeffrey Rosen

https://amzn.to/3IXIp80

A fascinating examination of what “the pursuit of happiness” meant to our nation’s Founders and how that famous phrase defined their lives and became the foundation of our democracy.

The Declaration of Independence identified “the pursuit of happiness” as one of our unalienable rights, along with life and liberty. Jeffrey Rosen, the president of the National Constitution Center, profiles six of the most influential founders—Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and Alexander Hamilton—to show what pursuing happiness meant in their lives.

By reading the classical Greek and Roman moral philosophers who inspired the Founders, Rosen shows us how they understood the pursuit of happiness as a quest for being good, not feeling good—the pursuit of lifelong virtue, not short-term pleasure. Among those virtues were the habits of industry, temperance, moderation, and sincerity, which the Founders viewed as part of a daily struggle for self-improvement, character development, and calm self-mastery. They believed that political self-government required personal self-government. For all six Founders, the pursuit of virtue was incompatible with enslavement of African Americans, although the Virginians betrayed their own principles.

The Pursuit of Happiness is more than an elucidation of the Declaration’s famous phrase; it is a revelatory journey into the minds of the Founders, and a deep, rich, and fresh understanding of the foundation of our democracy.

Picture in the Sand by Peter Blauner

https://amzn.to/3JeZeLP

“On rare occasions I read a book that reminds me of why I fell in love with storytelling in the first place. This is such a book.” ―Stephen King

Peter Blauner’s epic Picture in the Sand is a sweeping intergenerational saga told through a grandfather’s passionate letters to his grandson, passing on the story of his political rebellion in 1950s Egypt in order to save his grandson’s life in a post-9/11 world.

When Alex Hassan gets accepted to an Ivy League university, his middle-class Egyptian-American family is filled with pride and excitement. But that joy turns to shock when they discover that he’s run off to the Middle East to join a holy war instead. When he refuses to communicate with everyone else, his loving grandfather Ali emails him one last plea. If Alex will stay in touch, his grandfather will share with Alex – and only Alex – a manuscript containing the secret story of his own life that he’s kept hidden from his family, until now.

It’s the tale of his romantic and heartbreaking past rooted in Hollywood and the post-revolutionary Egypt of the 1950s, when young Ali was a movie fanatic who attained a dream job working for the legendary director Cecil B. DeMille on the set of his epic film, The Ten Commandments. But Ali’s vision of a golden future as an American movie mogul gets upended when he is unwittingly caught up in a web of politics, espionage, and real-life events that change the course of history.

It’s a narrative he’s told no one for more than a half-century. But now he’s forced to unearth the past to save a young man who’s about to make the same tragic mistakes he made so long ago.

About the author Peter Blauner is the author of eight novels, including SLOW MOTION RIOT, winner of an Edgar Allan Poe award for best first novel from Mystery Writers of America, and THE INTRUDER, a New York Times bestseller. He began his career as a journalist for New York magazine in the 1980s – covering crime, politics, and other kinds of bad behavior – and segued into writing fiction in the 1990s. His short fiction has been anthologized in BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES and on NPR’s SELECTED SHORTS FROM SYMPHONY SPACE. In recent years, he has also written for several television shows, including Law & Order: SVU and the CBS series, Blue Bloods. His newest novel is SUNRISE HIGHWAY, published in September 2018, by Minotaur/St. Martin’s Press. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y. with his wife, author Peg Tyre.

Cold War 2.0: Artificial Intelligence in the New Battle between China, Russia, and America by George S. Takach

https://amzn.to/49jxBMc

A vivid, thoughtful examination of how technological innovation—especially AI—is shaping the tensions between democracy and autocracy during the new Cold War.

So much of what we hear about China and Russia today likens the relationship between these two autocracies and the West to a “rivalry” or a “great-power competition.” Some might consider it alarmist to say we are in the midst of a second Cold War, but that may be the only responsible way to describe today’s state of affairs.

What’s more, we have come a long way from Mao Zedong’s infamous observation that “political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” Now we live in an age more aptly described by Vladimir Putin’s cryptic prophecy that “artificial intelligence is the future not only of Russia, but of all mankind, and whoever becomes the leader in this sphere will become ruler of the world.”

George S. Takach’s incisive and meticulously researched new volume, Cold War 2.0, is the book we need to thoroughly understand these frightening and perilous times. In the geopolitical sphere, there are no more pressing issues than the appalling mechanizations of a surveillance state in China, Russia’s brazen attempt to assert its autocratic model in Ukraine, and China’s increasingly likely plans to do the same in Taiwan.

But the key here, Takach argues, is that our new Cold War is not only ideological but technological: the side that prevails in Cold War 2.0 will be the one that bests the other in mastering the greatest innovations of our time. Artificial intelligence sits in our pockets every day—but what about AI that coordinates military operations and missile defense systems? Or the highly sophisticated semiconductor chips and quantum computers that power those missiles and a host of other weapons? And, where recently we have seen remarkable feats of bio-engineering to produce vaccines at record speed, shouldn’t we be concerned how catastrophic it would be if bio-engineering were co-opted for nefarious purposes?

Takach thoroughly examines how each of these innovations will shape the tension between democracy and autocracy, and how each will play a central role in this second Cold War. Finally, he crafts a precise blueprint for how Western democracies should handle these innovations to respond to the looming threat of autocracy—and ultimately prevail over it.

Charlie Hustle: The Rise and Fall of Pete Rose, and the Last Glory Days of Baseball by Keith O’Brien

https://amzn.to/3TzbziA

A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK • From New York Times bestselling author Keith O’Brien, a captivating chronicle of the incredible story of one of America’s most iconic, charismatic, and still polarizing figures—baseball immortal Pete Rose—and an exquisite cultural history of baseball and America in the second half of the twentieth century

“Baseball biography at its best. With Charlie Hustle, Pete Rose finally gets the book he deserves, and baseball fans get the book we’ve been craving, a hard-hitting, beautifully-written tale that will stand for years to come as the definitive account of one of the most fascinating figures in American sports history.”—Jonathan Eig, New York Times bestselling author of King: A Life

Pete Rose is a legend. A baseball god. He compiled more hits than anyone in the history of baseball, a record he set decades ago that still stands today. He was a working-class white guy from Cincinnati who made it; less talented than tough, and rough around the edges. He was everything that America wanted and needed him to be, the American dream personified, until he wasn’t.

In the 1980s, Pete Rose came to be at the center of one of the biggest scandals in baseball history. He kept secrets, ran with bookies, took on massive gambling debts, and he was magnificently, publicly cast out for betting on baseball and lying about it. The revelations that followed ruined him, changed life in Cincinnati, and forever altered the game.

Charlie Hustle tells the full story of one of America’s most epic tragedies—the rise and fall of Pete Rose. Drawing on firsthand interviews with Rose himself and with his associates, as well as on investigators’ reports, FBI and court records, archives, a mountain of press coverage, Keith O’Brien chronicles how Rose fell so far from being America’s “great white hope.” It is Pete Rose as we’ve never seen him before.

This is no ordinary sport biography, but cultural history at its finest. What O’Brien shows is that while Pete Rose didn’t change, America and baseball did. This is the story of that change.

About the author The New York Times Book Review has hailed Keith O’Brien for his “keen reportorial eye” and “lyrical” writing style. He has written two books, been a finalist for the PEN/ESPN Award for Literary Sportswriting, and contributed to National Public Radio for more than a decade.

O’Brien’s radio stories have appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and Weekend Edition, as well as Marketplace, Here & Now, Only a Game, and This American Life. He has also written for The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The Washington Post, Politico, Slate, Esquire.com, and the Oxford American, among others.

He is a former staff writer for both the Boston Globe and the New Orleans Times-Picayune. As a newspaper reporter, he won multiple awards, including the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. He was born in Cincinnati and graduated from Northwestern University.

Disproven: My Unbiased Search for Voter Fraud for the Trump Campaign, the Data that Shows Why He Lost, and How We Can Improve Our Elections by Ken Block

https://amzn.to/4aqniqn

Many searched for evidence of voter fraud in 2020, only a few were unbiased professionals . . . and only one has written a book about his experience.

If you value the integrity of our elections—or want a behind-the-scenes look at an attempt at overturning one—Disproven by Ken Block takes you out of the voting booth and into the chaos that was the attempt to challenge the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

In November 2020, data specialist Ken Block received a phone call from the Trump Campaign. They wanted to hire him to find evidence of election fraud. What followed were late night and early morning requests to assess fraud claims at a blistering pace and ultimately find definitive evidence about the role voter fraud played in the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.

Multiple subpoenas later, Block reveals the truth about being one of the few professionals hired to prove the Trump Campaign’s allegation that voter fraud cost Donald Trump the 2020 presidential election. He explains what the voter data tells us and exposes the sobering truth that our federal elections are operating on hundreds, if not thousands, of disparate voting systems prone to error—a threat to national election integrity.

Disproven is an insider’s look at the results of an inflammatory claim, a flawed system, and the changes drastically needed before the results of another election are threatened or contested.

Dr. Rolf Haag, SPXGODFATHER, Shares His Stock Market Trading Secrets

Spxgodfather.com

About the Guest(s): Dr. Rolf Haag, also known as the SPXGodfather, is a highly experienced trader and educator in the field of options trading. He was born and raised in Germany and completed his bachelor’s, master’s, and PhD degrees in Frankfurt. In 1997, he moved to the USA and became a US citizen in 2008 while maintaining his German citizenship. Dr. Hogg has had a successful career as the president, CEO, and board member of three large automotive supplier companies. However, his passion lies in trading and mentoring others to become successful traders. He founded SPXGodfather, LLC, where he provides education and mentorship to traders, focusing on trading the S\&P 500 index options. Dr. Hogg’s goal is to help traders become more successful by providing them with a process and strategy to follow.

Episode Summary: In this episode of The Chris Voss Show, host Chris Vos interviews Dr. Rolf Haag, also known as the SPXGodfather. Dr. Rolf Haag shares his journey from being a successful CEO in the automotive industry to becoming a full-time trader and educator. He explains his passion for trading the S&P 500 index options and how he aims to be the best in this specific area. Dr. Rolf Haag emphasizes the importance of simplicity in trading and shares his strategy of using simple puts and calls to make profitable trades. He also discusses the significance of understanding leading indicators such as futures, the US dollar, and premiums in making informed trading decisions. Throughout the conversation, Dr. Rolf Haag highlights the importance of managing losses and shares his approach to minimizing losses and maximizing profits in trading.

Key Takeaways:

Dr. Rolf Haag, also known as the SPXGodfather, is a highly experienced trader and educator who focuses on trading the S&P 500 index options. His trading strategy involves using simple puts and calls to make profitable trades, with a focus on understanding leading indicators such as futures, the US dollar, and premiums. Dr. Rolf Haag emphasizes the importance of managing losses and keeping them to a minimum in order to be successful in trading. He offers a personal and educational service to his subscribers, providing live trading sessions and guidance to help them become more successful traders. Dr. Rolf Haag provides a free day pass to his trading room, allowing interested individuals to experience his trading approach firsthand.

Notable Quotes:

“In this business, it’s not about how much money you make, it’s how much money you don’t lose in the next trade.” “I see myself as a specialty NBA coach. I take an NBA player that is already at a good level and make him better in one particular area.” “The best trades are between two and seven minutes. You make every trade, you make a thousand dollars, you make this a couple of times per day, and that is a pretty good gig for 2, 3, 4 hours in front of your laptop.” “I want you to make money. I know every member of my team by name. I’m very keen on the educational part. I really put a lot of effort into helping everybody.”

Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina,Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina

https://amzn.to/3VxCRbB

A man lunges in front of a car. An elderly woman silently drowns herself. A corpse sits up in its coffin and speaks. On this reservation, not all is what it seems, in this new spine-chilling mythological horror from the author of Sisters of the Lost Nation.

All Noemi Broussard wanted was a fresh start. With a new boyfriend who actually treats her right and a plan to move from the reservation she grew up on—just like her beloved Uncle Louie before her—things are finally looking up for Noemi. Until the news of her boyfriend’s apparent suicide brings her world crumbling down.

But the facts about Roddy’s death just don’t add up, and Noemi isn’t the only one who suspects that something menacing might be lurking within their tribal lands.

After over a decade away, Uncle Louie has returned to the reservation, bringing with him a past full of secrets, horror, and what might be the key to determining Roddy’s true cause of death. Together, Noemi and Louie set out to find answers…but as they get closer to the truth, Noemi begins to wonder whether it might be best for some secrets to remain buried.

Lost Man’s Lane: A Novel by Scott Carson

https://amzn.to/3IP6pdq

A teenager explores the darkness hidden within his hometown in this spellbinding supernatural thriller from bestselling author Scott Carson.

For a sixteen-year-old, a summer internship working for a private investigator seems like a dream come true—particularly since the PI is investigating the most shocking crime to hit Bloomington, Indiana, in decades. A local woman has vanished, and the last time anyone saw her, she was in the backseat of a police car driven by a man impersonating an officer.

Marshall Miller’s internship puts him at the center of the action, a position he relishes until a terrifying moment that turns public praise for his sharp observations and uncanny memory into accusations of lying and imperiling the case. His detective mentor withdraws, friends and family worry and whisper, and Marshall alone understands that the darkness visiting his town this summer goes far beyond a single crime. Now his task is to explain it—and himself.

Lost Man’s Lane is a coming-of-age tale of terror that proves why its author has been hailed as “a master” by Stephen King and one who consistently offers “eerie, gripping storytelling” by Dean Koontz.

About the author Scott Carson is the pen name of Michael Koryta, a New York Times bestselling author whose work has been translated into more than twenty languages, adapted into major motion pictures, and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize. A former private investigator and reporter, his writing has been praised by Stephen King, Michael Connelly, and Dean Koontz, among many others. Raised in Bloomington, Indiana, he now lives in Indiana and Maine.

Behind the Startup: How Venture Capital Shapes Work, Innovation, and Inequality by Benjamin Shestakofsky

https://amzn.to/49QFVUB

This systematic analysis of everyday life inside a tech startup dissects the logic of venture capital and its consequences for entrepreneurs, workers, and societies.

In recent years, dreams about our technological future have soured as digital platforms have undermined privacy, eroded labor rights, and weakened democratic discourse. In light of the negative consequences of innovation, some blame harmful algorithms or greedy CEOs. Behind the Startup focuses instead on the role of capital and the influence of financiers. Drawing on nineteen months of participant-observation research inside a successful Silicon Valley startup, this book examines how the company was organized to meet the needs of the venture capital investors who funded it.

Investors push startups to scale as quickly as possible to inflate the value of their asset. Benjamin Shestakofsky shows how these demands create organizational problems that managers solve by combining high-tech systems with low-wage human labor. With its focus on the financialization of innovation, Behind the Startup explains how the gains generated by these companies are funneled into the pockets of a small cadre of elite investors and entrepreneurs. To promote innovation that benefits the many rather than the few, Shestakofsky compellingly argues that we must focus less on fixing the technology and more on changing the financial infrastructure that supports it.

Lessons Learned: From the Short Stories of My Life by Laurie Koss

https://amzn.to/4ajQbog

Everyone has a story. Laurie Koss has five hundred and fifteen.

In her page-turning debut book, the award-winning Canadian artist has crafted a memoir like no other. Each page of Lessons Learned is a single story concluding with a thought-provoking quote.

Perfect for today’s busy lifestyle, Lessons Learned is unique because the reader can choose to enjoy the stories chronologically like a novel, flip to a random page to uncover which lesson they chance upon, or read one-story-per-day for a daily dose of inspiration.

The quotes that complete each story originate from diverse literary, cultural, and historical sources. They make Lessons Learned a one-of-a-kind experience as the reader is encouraged to take a moment at the end of each page to ponder the lesson or have a laugh.

Koss’ childhood stories begin in 1960’s Vancouver, B.C., with topics spanning from her budding interest in art to her keen intuition and family ghost stories to the tumultuous family dynamics created by a loving but alcoholic parent. With each story—and each life lesson learned—readers witness the coming-of-age and self-discovery of a young artist determined to create the life she dreams of living.

But life rarely goes as smoothly as we plan. Following the dips and successes of her romantic life, family, and career, Koss also illustrates the unexpected heartache of a life-altering illness and ongoing struggles with friendships—and the spiritual growth that can arise when we’re open to learning from these experiences.

Offering a blend of introspection, vulnerability, and creativity, Koss brings to life universal experiences that connect us all, interspersed by unique and often hilarious “Only Me” moments.

Koss’ storytelling takes the reader on an unforgettable journey from 1960s hippies to the 2020 pandemic. Her tales are a time portal to various eras and a reminder that we, too, have stories and history worth sharing. Story by story, quote by quote, Laurie Koss entertains with self-effacing humour, compassion, and insight, proving there is a lesson to be learned in every moment life offers.

Lessons Learned is a collection of short stories to treasure, savour, and share with loved ones. It is sure to become a must-read for those seeking a refreshing, laugh-out-loud, heartfelt, and entertaining book.

What You’ll Discover Inside: 515 One-Page Short Stories Family and Friendship Popular Culture The Unexplainable Married Life & Parenting Overcoming Challenges Achieving Goals Trusting Intuition Finding Meaning in Life Over 500 thought-provoking quotes

About the author Laurie Koss is an award-winning contemporary Canadian artist best known for her close-up floral paintings. Her work adorns two national commissions: Canada Post’s 2015 Flower Series stamps and a 2015 Royal Canadian Mint twenty-dollar collector’s coin. She is a Senior member of the Federation of Canadian Artists and enjoys her role jurying art and mentoring emerging artists.

Born and raised in Vancouver—where she studied Fine Arts and English at the University of British Columbia—Laurie now lives in Kelowna with her husband. When she’s not painting or writing, (or stumbling into “only me” moments), she enjoys spending time with family and friends, hiking, teaching/practicing yoga, travelling, tending her vegetable garden, and pursuing a path of self-improvement. Lessons Learned is her first book.

When I’m Her by Sarah Zachrich Jeng

https://amzn.to/4a8Ahgw

How far would you go to get even with the woman who ruined your life?

In this electrifying thriller, a young woman gets everything she’s ever wanted—and everything she doesn’t—when she swaps bodies with her sworn enemy.

Though polar opposites, Mary and Elizabeth are as close as can be—until the night Elizabeth makes an irrevocable mistake and leaves Mary to take the blame. Years later, Elizabeth seems to have forgotten Mary exists.

Mary hasn’t forgotten her.

She follows Elizabeth’s every move online, obsessed with paying her back for the betrayal that cost Mary her dreams. Now Mary has found a way to switch bodies with Elizabeth, and she’s got a plan to steal her charmed life. Her career. Her looks. Her husband.

They do say living well is the best revenge.

Or is it? The more Mary uncovers about Elizabeth’s life, the more she realizes she may have made a deadly mistake. And she’ll need the help of her worst enemy to stay alive.

About the author Sarah Zachrich Jeng grew up in Michigan and always had a flair for the morbid and mysterious (for her dad’s thirty-fifth birthday, she wrote a story entitled “The Man Who Died at 35”). She had a brief career as an aspiring rock star before she came to her senses and went back to school to become a web developer. Sarah lives in Florida with her family and an extremely hyper rescue dog. THE OTHER ME is her first novel.

Never Leave the Dogs Behind: A Memoir by Brianna Madia

https://amzn.to/4ajafHp

The author of the New York Times bestseller Nowhere for Very Long continues her story with this deeply honest, moving account of a woman walking the line between independence and isolation when she moves to the Southwest desert with nothing and no one but her four dogs.

In her debut memoir, Nowhere for Very Long, Brianna Madia reflected on her life as a nomad, free to roam some of the most beautiful land in America. Now, in Never Leave the Dogs Behind, the van life adherent faces the unfathomable darkness that comes from a life blown apart, her only solace the support of her dogs.

In the wake of a painful, public divorce and the ensuing fallout, Brianna moves from a pared-down van into a pared-down trailer. She reckons with her decision to be alone in the desert, living on a nine-acre plot of undeveloped land on the dusty outskirts of a small town in Utah, accompanied only by her four precious dogs: Bucket, Dagwood, Birdie, and Banjo. As she grapples with the anger, despair, and delicious freedom that comes from being wholly on her own, Brianna wonders where, exactly, the road less traveled has led her.

A powerful and poignant portrait of rebuilding and surviving, Never Leave the Dogs Behind is about finding the courage to start over when the dream life you thought you were living collapses around your feet.

About the author Brianna Madia has lived a life of relentless intention, traveling the deserts of the American Southwest in an old Ford van. She made a name for herself on social media with her inspiring captions-cum-essays about bravery, identity, nature, and subverting expectations. She lives in Utah with her four dogs. Nowhere for Very Long is her first book.

No Grail Without Dragons: A Man’s Unconventional Path to Love, Purpose, and Peace by Victor J. Giusfredi

Victorgiusfredi.com

https://amzn.to/49SL3aR

In “No Grail Without Dragons,” embark on an extraordinary journey through the tumultuous life of Victor J. Giusfredi as he unveils the soul-stirring tale of love, personal growth, and the pursuit of inner peace. This memoir transcends storytelling, offering an intimate look into a man’s courageous quest for self-discovery, where the dragons are not mythical creatures, but the very fears, insecurities, and challenges that have haunted him throughout his existence.

A Journey of Resilience

Venture alongside Giusfredi as he crisscrosses the globe, narrating a remarkable story of resilience. With seven businesses launched, two innovative inventions, over 35 homes inhabited, two devastating divorces, and 40 jobs tackled, his narrative resonates with the chaos, pain, and triumphs of a life fully lived. Each experience serves as a piece in the intricate puzzle of finding success in romantic relationships and personal fulfillment.

Raw Honesty, Vivid Prose

Giusfredi bares his soul with unfiltered candor and vivid storytelling. His confessional tone and narrative flair transport readers to the core of his existence. Prepare for a rollercoaster of emotions, from his struggles with divorce, layoffs, immigration, abuse, domestic violence, to bankruptcy, and ultimately, his transcendence to a state of inner peace and self-understanding. Powerful metaphors and evocative storytelling paint a vivid picture of a man determined to confront his internal demons for the sake of his own — and loved ones — happiness.

A Guide to Transformation

What sets this memoir apart is Giusfredi’s fearless vulnerability and his desire to illuminate the path for others. His introspective reflections, coupled with his analytical and pragmatic approach to personal growth, create a tapestry that interweaves thoughtfulness and empathy into a life-altering guide.

A Testament to Human Strength

“No Grail Without Dragons” stands as a testament to the resilience of the human spirit, a guiding light for those in search of meaning, and a manual for discovering one’s true self. The title encapsulates the book’s core message: true love, purpose, and peace are attainable, but only after facing the fears and challenges that reside within. This memoir reminds us that no reward is granted without confronting our deepest fears, and genuine fulfillment can only be attained by conquering the dragons that lurk within us all.

About the author Victor, a certified life coach and neurolinguistic programming coach, brings a wealth of experience to his coaching practice. With a background that spans launching seven businesses, deploying 3 inventions, living and working across the world, Victor’s journey from humble beginnings to successful entrepreneur and coach fuels his passion for helping others tap into the power of mindset to overcome life’s toughest challenges.

Driven by personal experiences including two marriages, two divorces, and raising two children as a single parent, Victor found purpose in coaching to guide others through their darkest moments. Specializing in mindset strategies, relationships, and fear resilience, Victor’s approach combines narrative storytelling with direct coaching techniques honed through real-life trials, continuous education and practice.

As a published author of ‘No Grail Without Dragons: A Man’s Unconventional Path to Love, Purpose, and Peace,’ Victor shares his personal trials and tribulations to inspire readers to transform their lives. Featured in podcasts, articles and other media, Victor’s expertise and authenticity make him a trusted guide on the journey to personal growth and fulfillment.

Through his blog, social media platforms, and upcoming book on successful relationships and mindset strategies, Victor’s message is clear: suffering is optional, and true transformation is achievable through mastering the art of thinking by leveraging the power of mindset strategies.

Cape Rage (A Danny Barrett Novel) by Ron Corbett

https://amzn.to/4aev8DE

Danny Barrett is caught between a family of criminals and the psychopath who is tracking them in the latest novel of the series the New York Times calls, “Dynamite.”

The FBI has a hundred undercover agents who can work in the city, but Danny Barrett is the one they call when they need someone to investigate crimes in the wilderness.

This case is a particularly difficult one. For more than a century the Danby family have ruled as kings in their corner of the Pacific Northwest. The Feds were mostly willing to look the other way while the family smuggled everything from liquor to cigarettes across the border, but lately things have taken a darker turn.

A recent bank robbery in Seattle looks like it may have been committed by the Danbys, but there’s no way the FBI can get any locals to turn against them. Only Danny Barrett has what it takes to get inside the organization and shut them down.

But before Danny can do that he’s going to have to contend with Henry Carter, a former in-law and current psychopath. The Danbys thought they left Henry for dead in the deepest part of the woods, but he’s coming back. He’ll go to hell to get his revenge, and he’s willing to take the whole family with him.

About the author Ron Corbett is the Edgar and Arthur Ellis nominated author of the Frank Yakabuski Mystery Series. Set on the Northern Divide, the Yakabuski series has been called “Truly captivating” (Publishers Weekly) “Soulful” (Kirkus Reviews) and “A series with a long life ahead.” (Globe and Mail). Ron is also the author of the Danny Barrett series of thrillers called “A dynamite new series” (New York Times) and “nuanced…and vivid” (Publisher’s Weekly). A former radio host and newspaper columnist, the father of four is married to award-winning photo-journalist Julie Oliver and still lives in his hometown of Ottawa, Canada, where he writes from the study of a century-old house, “not far from a good river.”

The Love Ball Game: Embracing Yourself and Embodying Your Soul by Jacia Kornwise

Jaciakornwise.com

https://amzn.to/4a5dfaJ

In “The LoveBall Game – Embracing Yourself and Embodying Your Soul” authored by Jacia Kornwise, embark on a profound journey of self-discovery, embodiment, and self-love. With Jacia’s wealth of wisdom and personal insights, this transformational guide offers a heartfelt exploration of the human experience, delving into the intricacies of personal growth, resilience, intuition and embodiment. She leads the way, encouraging readers to embrace their unique life stories and cultivate self-love. Drawing from her own experiences as a multiple trauma survivor, Jacia’s empathetic guidance resonates deeply. She helps you to navigate the complexities of personal growth offering insights and wisdom on how to reconnect with yourself and learn how to re-embody your intuition and instincts. She introduces you to a metaphorical game of love and life for transforming stuck points into embodied resourcefulness. This book serves as a powerful guide and testimony to finding a true romance with love and life and to fully embody the resilience of your soul’s journey.

Jacia Kornwise is a Master Embodied Soul Coach, Transformational Experience Facilitator, and TEDxSpeaker, with an impressive 31-year career dedicated to helping individuals, couples, and groups transform their stuck points into resilience and embodied resourcefulness. She has also taught at festivals as well as led retreats and corporate events with her skillsets. As a multiple trauma and grief survivor, Jacia has inspired her students, clients, friends, and loved ones for decades and she has now decided to share some potent moments about her personal journey with “The LoveBall Game” in combination with some helpful concepts and exercises for anyone to begin to deepen their own embodied listening.

Jacia received her Bachelor’s in English Lit and a teaching certification from the University of Michigan, her Master’s Degree in Integral Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and her Master’s Shadow Coaching degree with the late Debbie Ford. She is a trained and certified 5 Rhythms Movement teacher by Gabrielle Roth and the Moving Center School. She studied and trained in a variety of somatic, breath, and mindfulness-based tools.. She’s a Mom to her beloved son Devon and a dog Mom to her puppy Yoda.

About the author Jacia Kornwise is a Master Embodied Soul Coach, Transformational Experience Facilitator, and inspirational and TEDx speaker. She is the author of “The Love Ball Game – Embracing Yourself and Embodying Your Soul.” She has an impressive 31-year career dedicated to helping individuals, couples, and groups transform their stuck points into resilience and embodied resourcefulness. She has led retreats, workshops, corporate and private events, and festivals, sharing her tools to embody healing. As a multiple trauma survivor and grief survivor, she shares herself from the heart, leading the way. Jacia received her BA in English Literature from the University of Michigan and a teaching certification. She is an Executive Contributor at Brainz Magazine. She received her Masters in Integral Counseling Psychology from the California Institute of Integral Studies and her Masters Shadow Coaching degree from the late Debbie Ford. She is a trained and certified 5 Rhythms Dance teacher by Gabrielle Roth and The Moving Center. She studied and trained in various breath-work, somatic, and mindfulness-based teachings. She runs the Satori Healing Center in Chico, California and is a Mom to her teenage son and puppy.

Vulture Capitalism Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts, and the Death of Freedom By Grace Blakeley

https://amzn.to/3TxZcV2

Longlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Nonfiction A Next Big Idea Book Club Must-Read for March 2024

In the vein of The Shock Doctrine and Evil Geniuses, this timely manifesto from an acclaimed journalist illustrates how corporate and political power brokers have used planned capitalism to advance their own interests at the expense of the rest of us—and how we can take back our economy for all.

It’s easy to look at the state of the world around us and feel hopeless. We live in an era marked by war, climate crisis, political polarization, and acute inequality—and yet many of us feel powerless to do anything about these profound issues. We’ve been assured that unfettered capitalism is necessary to ensure our freedom and prosperity, even as we see its corrosive effects proliferating daily. Why, in our age of unchecked corporate power, are most of us living paycheck to paycheck? When the economy falters, why do governments bail out corporations and shareholders but leave everyday people in the dust?

Now, economic and political journalist and progressive star on the rise Grace Blakeley exposes the corrupt system that is failing all around us, pulling back the curtain on the free market mythology we have been sold, and showing how, as corporate interests have taken hold, governments have historically been shifting away from competition and democracy and towards monopoly and oligarchy.

Tracing over a century of neoliberal planning and backdoor bailouts, Blakeley takes us on a deeply reported tour of the corporate crimes, political maneuvering, and economic manipulation that elites have used to enshrine a global system of “vulture capitalism”—planned capitalist economies that benefit corporations and the uber-wealthy at the expense of the rest of us—at every level, from states to empires. Blakeley exposes the cracks already emerging within capitalism, lighting a path forward for how we can democratize our economy, not just our politics, to ensure true freedom for all.

About the author Grace Blakeley, one of the fiercest anti-capitalist advocates of her generation, is an author, journalist, and commentator.

She graduated from the University of Oxford with a first-class honors degree in philosophy, economics, and politics. Her writing has appeared in Tribune and the New Statesman, and she regularly appears in the media – from BBC Question Time to MTV News. She is the author of Stolen, The Corona Crash, and Vulture Capitalism, and edited Futures of Socialism.

Rasa.io: Personalized AI-powered Newsletters for Better Audience EngagementRasa.io

Show Notes About the Guest(s):

Erica Salm Rench is the Chief Operating Officer at rasa.io. With a background in enrollment management and digital marketing, Erica brings a wealth of experience to her role. She has managed online marketing teams and executed strategies to help organizations stand out in the online market. Erica’s love for digital marketing, technology, and email has led her to support the incredible community of rasa.io customers.

Episode Summary: Welcome to The Chris Voss Show, where Chris Vos interviews CEOs, authors, thought leaders, visionaries, and motivators. In this episode, Chris speaks with Erica Salm Rench, the COO of rasa.io. rasa.io leverages AI to personalize the newsletter experience for each subscriber. By sending personalized content based on reading preferences and behaviors, rasa.io helps organizations increase engagement and optimize their email marketing. Erica discusses how rasa.io works alongside popular email platforms like MailChimp and Salesforce, and shares the benefits of using AI in email marketing. She also highlights the time-saving aspect of rasa.io and the insights it provides to improve audience engagement.

Key Takeaways: rasa.io leverages AI to personalize the newsletter experience for each subscriber, sending different versions of emails based on reading preferences and behaviors. The platform works alongside popular email providers like MailChimp and Salesforce, making it easy to integrate with existing systems. By personalizing content, rasa.io helps increase click rates, open rates, and overall audience engagement. Publishers using rasa.io can see increased returns from partner advertising revenue, as the personalized newsletters attract more engagement. The platform offers time-saving features, automating the newsletter production process and allowing users to set it and forget it.

Notable Quotes: “Instead of sending one version of an email to 10,000 people, we’re sending 10,000 different versions personalized by people’s reading preferences and behaviors.” – Erica Salm Rench “If you’re someone who knows that staying in touch with your audience is important, but you put off the newsletter because you don’t see the immediate value, I’d say get started soon because you need to maintain your relevant presence in your subscribers’ inboxes.” – Erica Salm Rench

Lost Seeds: The Beginning by Teresa Mosley Sebastian

https://amzn.to/4a0FzLn

Teresamosleysebastian.com

“The engrossing first book of a series, Lost Seeds addresses various facets of historical racism and piques keen interest in the saga’s continuation.”—Clarion/Foreword Review

A novel chronicling the strained relationship between two brothers born into the remnants of their parents’ former enslavement. One brother seems to overcome, while the other descends further into adversity. What happens when they are forced to face each other?

Lost Seeds is the story of two brothers, Dublin and Timothy Brisco, born into poverty at the turn of the twentieth century to formerly enslaved parents. From birth, they witness firsthand the atrocities their parents had to endure and themselves experience the continued struggles of being Black in the South. Encounters with physical abuse, mental illness, and racism define the brothers’ lives, and despite their best efforts to survive, the seeds of slavery’s wickedness inevitably spawn and lead the two down separate paths. Dublin attempts to overcome his tragic past and hopes to elevate his place in life by escaping oppression and adapting to segregated societal life, while Timothy openly displays his wounds, attempts to reject his Black identity, and descends into a fog of mental illness. The two brothers never discuss their journeys, nor the lifetime of insecurity and violence they experienced, ultimately creating an impassable chasm in their relationship.

Eventually, at the request of their mother, Dublin reluctantly permits Timothy to live on his family’s land in a one-room windowless shack. Although they are once again united on the same property, their feelings of indifference and the distance between the two persist.

Will their relationship forever be lost to the traumas of their past, or will they be able to come together and be each other’s strength in the face of the cruelties of their world? Because no matter how much time or distance passes, the seeds of brotherhood never die.

About the author Teresa Sebastian is an attorney, entrepreneur, and law school professor. She seeks to make a difference in the environment and culture through her involvement with nonprofit community and corporate boards. Teresa believes spiritual words and the sounds of nature soothe the inner being, define a place of peace, and inspire her creative writing. She has always been compelled to put words to the human life she sees around her. Lost Seeds: The Beginning is her first novel.

12 Questions for Love: A Guide to Intimate Conversations and Deeper Relationships by Topaz Adizes

https://amzn.to/3uUf0YV

“Save yourself another round of heartbreak and breakups and read this first. Topaz condenses years of wisdom into 12 powerful questions that will give you the keys to unlock real, true, and profound love so you don’t have to keep searching (or suffering) in disconnected relationships.” —Natalie Kuhn, spiritual teacher and co-CEO of The Class

Could one conversation improve your relationship forever?

We all crave connection. But sometimes we need help getting there. By having a conversation with your partner, guided by these thought-provoking questions, you’ll discover the strength in having mindful, meaningful conversations and unlock a deeper level of lasting intimacy.

Author Topaz Adizes invites you to bravely explore the heart of your relationship through 12 carefully crafted questions drawn from thousands of candid conversations with real couples featured in his Emmy Award-winning documentary series {THE AND}.

In today’s fast-paced world, it is easier than ever to feel isolated, disconnected, and idling in surface-level relationships. Having observed a decade’s worth of extraordinary conversations unfold, Topaz explores the key to feeling closer, more secure, and more connected with your partner.

This essential, inclusive guide includes: Powerful tools to create a safe, transformative space for connection 12 questions proven to nurture authentic intimacy, and examples from people who’ve been there Strategies for staying connected in the midst of conflict Confidence to craft better, stronger questions of your own (hint: you’ll get better answers)

Make every conversation count, and you’ll uncover the magic that awaits when you dare to be vulnerable, go deeper, and love like never before.

About the author TOPAZ ADIZES is an Emmy award-winning writer, director, and experience design architect. He is an Edmund Hillary fellow and Sundance/Skoll stories of change fellow. His works have been selected to Cannes, Sundance, IDFA, and SXSW, featured in New Yorker magazine, Vanity Fair, and the NewYork Times; and have garnered an Emmy for new approaches to documentary and Two World Press photo awards for immersive storytelling and interactive documentary. He is currently the founder and executive director of the experience design studio The Skin Deep. Topaz studied philosophy at UC Berkeley and Oxford University. He speaks four languages, and currently lives in Mexico with his wife and two children.

Once Upon Tomorrow: Harnessing the New Opportunities the Metaverse Creates by Shurick Agapitov, Tech Billionaire Founder of Xsolla

https://amzn.to/3Pe4ti6

Shurick Agapitov’s Once Upon Tomorrow unpacks the sometimes vague concept of the metaverse and shares the opportunities that are and will be available within this new world.

Thirty years ago, the advent of the internet changed the world. For the first time in human history, the collected knowledge of all mankind was freely available to every man, woman, and child on the planet with the click of a few buttons.

Fifteen years ago, the world changed again with the widespread availability and adoption of smartphones that put the full power of the internet in the palm of our hands whenever we want and wherever we are.

As monumental as these advancements were, they were just the warmup for the change that’s coming next. In just a few years, we won’t think of “going on the internet” to look up information and find entertainment. Instead, we’ll already be in the internet, living, working, and playing in an endless virtual world that will turn everything we think we know about the internet on its head.

Welcome to the Metaverse.

In Once Upon Tomorrow, visionary tech CEO Shurick Agapitov dives deep into this new age of the internet by unpacking exactly what the Metaverse is and what it will become. It’s not about pixels and computer chips; it’s a total paradigm shift what will revolutionize how people interact, share stories, create and implement ideas, conduct business, and literally live their lives.

The Metaverse will be the biggest change any of us have ever seen. Fortunately, Shurick Agapitov is here to take you by the hand and welcome you into this wild, wonderful new universe of opportunity.

As the Founder of Xsolla, Shurick is not only a respected innovator but also a driving force in shaping the future of gaming and the Metaverse. His trailblazing company Xsolla allows video game producers to sell in-game items in exchange for a 5% portion of each sale. When anyone purchases something in-game, his company powers that transaction worldwide. Shurick’s clients including Epic Games Store, Ubisoft, Twitch & hundreds more. With a global presence spanning Los Angeles, Berlin, and Seoul, Xsolla under Shurick’s leadership, is fostering a more decentralized and inclusive industry.

Fitness Coach Daniel Israeli Helps Clients Lose Weight and Improve Health

Danielrazfit.com

Show Notes About the Guest(s): Daniel Israeli is a fitness coach and the CEO of DanielRazfit. Born in Israel, he moved to China with his family at the age of six. Daniel was a picky eater as a child and ate nothing but McDonald’s from the age of six to twelve. At the age of 12, he started playing basketball and realized he needed to eat healthier to improve his performance. This sparked his interest in healthy eating and fitness. At 17, he started working out seriously and noticed the positive impact it had on his confidence and everyday life. Daniel went on to earn an exercise nutrition degree and became a certified personal trainer. In 2020, he started his online fitness business, focusing on helping people who struggle with weight loss. Daniel’s goal is to help his clients lose a significant amount of weight and improve their overall health and well-being.

Episode Summary: Welcome to another episode of The Chris Voss Show! In this episode, Chris interviews Daniel Israeli, a fitness coach and the CEO of Daniel Ross Fit. Daniel shares his journey from being a picky eater who only ate McDonald’s to becoming a certified personal trainer and helping people lose significant amounts of weight. He discusses his approach to sustainable weight loss, the importance of consistency, and the role of mindset in achieving long-term success. Daniel also provides valuable tips on improving sleep quality and making customized nutrition plans that are enjoyable and effective. Tune in to this inspiring conversation to learn how you can transform your life and achieve your weight loss goals.

In the first part of the interview, Daniel talks about his background and how he transitioned from being a picky eater to becoming a fitness coach. He shares his personal experience of losing weight and how it transformed his confidence and overall well-being. Daniel emphasizes the importance of sustainable weight loss and why it’s more than just losing a few pounds. He explains his approach to helping clients who have given up on weight loss and believe it’s impossible for them. Daniel’s goal is to help people lose a significant amount of weight, typically starting from 300 pounds and going down to 200 pounds. He believes that by changing their mindset and making small, consistent changes, anyone can achieve their weight loss goals.

In the second part of the interview, Daniel discusses his approach to helping busy men lose weight without going to the gym. He explains that muscles don’t know whether you’re working out at home or at the gym; all they respond to is tension. Daniel shares his strategy of focusing on easy wins and making small changes that can be sustained in the long run. He provides practical tips on improving sleep quality, such as maintaining a cold room temperature and avoiding stimulation before bed. Daniel also emphasizes the importance of planning ahead, especially for people who travel frequently. By making conscious choices and being prepared, it’s possible to eat healthy even when on the road.

Throughout the interview, Daniel emphasizes the importance of being consistent and making sustainable changes. He believes that by focusing on what you enjoy eating and finding ways to make it healthier, you can create a nutrition plan that is enjoyable and effective. Daniel also highlights the role of sleep quality in weight loss and overall well-being. By prioritizing sleep and implementing simple strategies, such as maintaining a cold room temperature and avoiding stimulation before bed, you can improve your sleep quality and support your weight loss journey.

Key Takeaways: Sustainable weight loss requires a mindset shift and making small, consistent changes. Focusing on easy wins and finding ways to make healthy eating enjoyable can lead to long-term success. Improving sleep quality is crucial for weight loss and overall well-being. Planning ahead and being prepared can help maintain a healthy diet while traveling. Consistency is key in achieving weight loss goals and improving overall health.

Notable Quotes: “I’m about helping people lose a hundred pounds. Most of my clients start at 300 pounds and go to 200 pounds.” – Daniel Israeli “Your muscles don’t have eyes. They don’t know whether you’re doing a push-up or bench press or dumbbells or bands. All they know is tension.” – Daniel Israeli “To lose a hundred pounds, you have to change who you are as a person.” – Daniel Israeli “If you’re consistent, you can achieve your weight loss goals at home.” – Daniel Israeli “Improving sleep quality is one of the easiest ways to support weight loss and overall well-being.” – Daniel Israeli

Serial Entrepreneur and Real Estate Investor, Bill Faeth, Shares his Strategies for Success in the Short-Term Rental Market

Billfaeth.com

Show Notes About the Guest(s):

Bill Faeth is a serial entrepreneur and real estate investor. He has bootstrapped 31 startups and has had 19 successful exits to date. Bill has built a $19 million short-term rental portfolio that generates over $1 million in annual income from a $126,000 investment. He is the owner and coach of the Build Short Term Rental Wealth brand, where he helps real estate investors succeed in the short-term rental market. Bill is also the host of two podcasts, STR Unfiltered and STR Ometrics.

Episode Summary:

Welcome to The Chris Voss Show, where host Chris Voss interviews CEOs, authors, thought leaders, and visionaries. In this episode, Chris interviews Bill Faeth, a serial entrepreneur and real estate investor. Bill shares his expertise in the short-term rental market and explains why it is still the number one asset class to invest in. He discusses his investment strategy, focusing on specific markets and creating unique experiences for guests. Bill also offers valuable insights on cash flow, tax benefits, and the importance of marketing in the short-term rental business.

Key topics discussed in this episode include the advantages of short-term rentals over long-term rentals, the importance of location in real estate, and the concept of “super properties” that maximize return on investment. Bill also emphasizes the need for continuous learning and adaptation in the ever-changing real estate market.

Key Takeaways:

Short-term rentals offer higher cash flow and tax benefits compared to long-term rentals. Investing in secondary and tertiary markets can provide better returns on investment. Creating unique experiences and targeting specific buyer personas can attract high-end guests. The 5-52-50 plan is a strategy to build a short-term rental portfolio and generate $250,000 in net income. Marketing and finding the right market opportunities are crucial for success in the short-term rental business.

Notable Quotes:

“Real estate’s great and land is great anyways. So as I started moving towards that seven-figure mark, and then when I eclipsed that, I knew I really had to get leveraged into it.” – Bill Faeth “You make or break your deal on the entry when you’re buying the property.” – Bill Faith “Most of that starts outside before it goes inside. That’s one of the reasons I don’t really like investing into condos unless you can build a moat around the investment and insulate yourself from other competition.” – Bill Faeth “I’m always looking at how I’m gonna market if I find a property, if I find a business, and I can’t conceptualize a marketing plan internally in my eight-inch head here, then I’m not gonna make that investment.” – Bill Faeth “If you pay down your debt and then you leverage your cash flow, it’s what I do. When I started, I spent $126,000 on my first property. I made a really bad mistake when I was a newbie in my second property and lost 125 grand. So I had to recover from that.” – Bill Faeth

Steve Bederman Shares Lessons Learned from his Entrepreneurial Journey on his Podcast

Lessons I’ve Learned (in no particular order), with Steve Bederman Podcast

Show Notes About the Guest(s): Steve Bederman is the CEO of Noble Biz, a global leader in contact center communications technology. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, Steve started as a call agent and quickly rose to build his own sales team. He is also the host of the podcast “Lessons I’ve Learned in No Particular Order,” where he shares his insights and experiences as a CEO and offers guidance on business and leadership. Steve is an Amazon bestselling author of four corporate thrillers and has written for leading contact center publications. He lives by the motto “Make a promise. Keep a promise.”

Episode Summary: Welcome to The Chris Voss Show, where host Chris Voss interviews the most brilliant minds and thought leaders in various fields. In this episode, Chris is joined by Steve Bederman, the CEO of Noble Biz and host of the podcast “Lessons I’ve Learned in No Particular Order.” Steve shares his journey from being a call agent to becoming a successful CEO and offers valuable lessons and insights on business, leadership, and courageous decision-making. He emphasizes the importance of knowing oneself, making promises, and continuously learning and adapting in the ever-changing business landscape.

Key Takeaways: Steve Bederman shares his journey from being a call agent to becoming the CEO of Noble Biz, a global leader in contact center communications technology. He emphasizes the importance of knowing oneself and understanding one’s beliefs and values to make better decisions in business and life. Steve discusses the power of continuous learning and shares his unique approach of reading a chapter from different books each day to expand his knowledge. He encourages entrepreneurs to embrace challenges and keep moving forward, even in the face of adversity. Steve reflects on the importance of perseverance and shares a personal story about finding pride in his accomplishments despite his father’s disapproval.

Notable Quotes: “Life just happens, and we react to it. The key is to make decisions and not be paralyzed by fear or indecision.” – Steve Bederman “You can’t be successful or make dependable decisions unless you know who you are and what you believe in.” – Steve Bederman “Sometimes the best thing you can do in the darkest moments is to keep moving forward. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel.” – Steve Bederman

National Retail Solutions Offers Innovative Solutions for Independent Retailers

NRSplus.com

Show Notes About the Guest(s):

Elie Y. Katz is the President and CEO of National Retail Solutions (NRS) Plus. With over seven years of experience in the industry, Katz has brought his expertise as an executive in various companies to found NRS. NRS operates the leading point-of-sale terminal-based platform and NRS Pay with credit card processing for independent retailers. With over 27,000 active POS terminals in stores nationwide, NRS provides solutions to help independent retailers compete in the market.

Episode Summary: In this episode of The Chris Voss Show, host Chris Voss interviews Elie Y. Katz, the President and CEO of National Retail Solutions (NRS) Plus. Katz shares the story of how NRS was founded and the mission behind the company’s offerings. He discusses the challenges faced by independent convenience store owners and how NRS provides them with the technology and insights to compete in the market. Katz also highlights the importance of clean and transparent credit card processing for small businesses. Additionally, he introduces NRS’s innovative panic alarm system embedded in their point-of-sale registers, designed to enhance the safety and security of store owners. Katz concludes by discussing NRS’s partnerships and future plans to continue improving their product offerings.

Key Takeaways: NRS provides independent convenience store owners with a point-of-sale register that offers digital coupon products, credit card processing, and other features to help them compete in the market. NRS’s credit card processing solution, NRS Pay, offers a clean and transparent rate with no long-term contracts or hidden fees. The panic alarm system embedded in NRS’s point-of-sale registers silently alerts the police in case of emergencies, providing a sense of security for store owners. NRS has partnered with companies like Strata Select, MS Energy Technologies, and Source One Digital Team to offer additional solutions and services to their customers. NRS is committed to continuously improving their product offerings and providing support to independent retailers in various industries.

Notable Quotes: “We created the world’s greatest point-of-sale register for these independent, convenient liquor tobacco stores.” – Elie Y. Katz “Our point-of-sale register offers clean and transparent credit card processing with no hidden fees.” – Elie Y. Katz “The panic alarm system gives store owners a sense of security and comfort, knowing that help is just a button away.” – Elie Y. Katz “We partner with reputable companies to offer additional solutions and services to our customers, such as signage and canopies for gas stations.” – Elie Y. Katz “Our goal is to level the playing field for independent retailers and provide them with the tools they need to succeed.” – Elie Y. Katz

Stone of Love (Stones of Iona) by Margaret Izard

https://amzn.to/3SZx8Zb

Book 1 of 1: Stones of Iona

After leaving her abusive ex, American scholar Brielle DeVolt embarks on a career-changing opportunity, the renovation of Laird Colin MacDougall’s Chapel ruin. The attractive, broad-shouldered Laird leaves her weak-kneed, but can she trust herself to love again? Dusted in construction dirt, the curvy beauty in his study captivates Colin. As Brielle steps to the window, her brunette tresses halo in the sunlight, and he sees her as his dream soul mate. When he learns his hereditary duty is safeguarding magic Fae stones, all he wants is to protect Brielle from the evil forces of the Fae. Traveling to the past to assume his forefather’s identity and find a missing magic stone is challenging enough. When Brielle appears, an undeniable attraction to his ancestor ignites, causing her confused passion. Faced with fighting an evil Fae to save the realms, Colin must choose between saving the stone or saving his love.

About the author Margaret Izard is an award-winning author of historical fantasy and paranormal romance novels. She spent her early years through college to adulthood dedicated to dance, theater, and performing. Over the years, she developed a love for great storytelling in different mediums. She does not waste a good story, be it movement, the spoken, or the written word. She discovered historical romance novels in middle school, which combined her desire for romance, drama, and fantasy. She writes exciting plot lines, steamy love scenes and always falls for a strong male with a soft heart. She lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband and adult triplets and loves to hear from readers.

The Band A Novel By Christine Ma-Kellams

https://amzn.to/4c1IzYY

“This could very well be the first great K-Pop literary phenomenon.” —Debutiful, Most Anticipated Books of 2024

Perfect for fans of Mouth to Mouth and Black Buck, this whip-smart, darkly funny, and biting debut follows a psychologist with a savior complex who offers shelter to a recently cancelled K-pop idol on the run.

Sang Duri is the eldest member and “visual” of a Korean boy band at the apex of global superstardom. But when his latest solo single accidentally leads to controversy, he’s abruptly cancelled.

To spare the band from fallout with obsessive fans and overbearing management, Duri disappears from the public eye by hiding out in the McMansion of a Chinese American woman he meets in a Los Angeles H-Mart. But his rescuer is both unhappily married with children and a psychologist with a savior complex, a combination that makes their potential union both seductive and incredibly problematic.

Meanwhile, Duri’s cancellation catapults not only a series of repressed memories from his music producer’s earlier years about the original girl group whose tragic disbanding preceded his current success, but also a spiral of violent interactions that culminates in an award show event with reverberations that forever change the fates of both the band members and the music industry.

In its indicting portrayal of mental health and public obsession, fandom, and cancel culture, The Band considers the many ways in which love and celebrity can devolve into something far more sinister when their demands are unmet.

Christine Ma-Kellams is a Harvard-trained cultural psychologist, Pushcart-nominated fiction writer, and first-generation American. Her work and writing have appeared in HuffPost, Chicago Tribune, Catapult, Salon, The Wall Street Journal, The Rumpus, and much more. The Band is her first novel. You can find her in person at one of California’s coastal cities or online at ChristineMa-Kellams.com.

Elite Entrepreneurship and Networking Strategies with Scott Joseph & Me Plus Ultra

Meplusultra.com

Show Notes About the Guest(s):

Scott Joseph is an elite entrepreneurship and networking strategist. He is the CEO and founder of ME Plus Ultra, a platform that brings together thought leaders and disruptors to exchange groundbreaking ideas and strategies. Scott has a background in digital marketing and has successfully built and sold multiple businesses, including a direct mail agency and car dealerships. With ME Plus Ultra, Scott focuses on connecting people and fostering collaboration to drive business breakthroughs and personal growth.

Episode Summary: In this episode of The Chris Voss Show, host Chris Voss interviews Scott Joseph, the CEO and founder of ME Plus Ultra. Scott shares his journey as an entrepreneur and discusses the importance of networking and building meaningful connections. He talks about his experience in the car dealership industry and how it led him to start ME Plus Ultra. Scott explains how ME Plus Ultra is not just a mastermind group, but a community where high-growth entrepreneurs, c-suite executives, and industry innovators come together to share expertise and achieve their goals. He also highlights the unique format of his Business Bourbon and Cigars leadership retreats, which combine working sessions with networking opportunities. Throughout the conversation, Scott emphasizes the value of collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning in business development.

Key Takeaways: ME Plus Ultra is a platform that connects thought leaders and disruptors to exchange groundbreaking ideas and strategies. Scott Joseph’s journey as an entrepreneur started in the car dealership industry, where he built and sold multiple businesses. ME Plus Ultra focuses on bringing together high-growth entrepreneurs, c-suite executives, and industry innovators to foster collaboration and achieve business breakthroughs. The Business Bourbon and Cigars leadership retreats organized by ME Plus Ultra provide a unique format that combines working sessions with networking opportunities. Scott emphasizes the importance of building meaningful relationships, continuous learning, and accountability in business development.

Notable Quotes: “I enjoy connecting people, especially if they’ve got a diverse skillset, great vision. Doing those introductions, watching that magic work where they either discover some type of new business opportunity or some type of breakthrough.” – Scott Joseph “I’ve learned that relationships and networking are key to business success. The connections I’ve made through ME Plus Ultra have opened up new business opportunities and allowed me to learn from some of the brightest minds in the industry.” – Scott Joseph

How to Walk into a Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away by Emily P. Freeman

https://amzn.to/3P1EiuU

If life were a house, then every room holds a story. What do we do when a room we’re in is no longer a room where we belong?

What do you do when you start to feel a shift and must decide if it’s time to make a change? When it comes to navigating big decisions about when to stay and go, how can we know for sure when the time is right? Though we enter and exit many rooms over the course of our life—jobs, relationships, communities, life stages—knowing how and when it’s time to leave is a decision that rarely has a clear answer.

Podcast host, spiritual director, and bestselling author of The Next Right Thing, Emily P. Freeman offers guidance to help us recognize when it’s time to move on from situations that no longer fit, allowing us to find new spaces where we can flourish and grow.

How to Walk Into a Room helps us begin to uncover the silent, nuanced, and hidden arrows for anyone asking questions like: How do I know if it’s time to move on? What if I stay and nothing changes? What if I leave and everything falls apart?

Through thought-provoking questions, spiritual practices, and personal stories, How to Walk into a Room will help you to know and name the caution flags in your current spaces, discern the difference between true peace and discomfort avoidance, navigate endings even when there is no closure, find peace for when you feel ready but it isn’t time, and courage for when it’s time but you don’t feel ready.

For anyone standing in a threshold, here’s a book to help discern the how, when, and what now of walking out of rooms and into new ones with peace, confidence, and a whole heart.

About the author Emily P. Freeman is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of five books, including The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions. As a spiritual director, workshop leader, and host of The Next Right Thing podcast, her most important work is to help create soul space and offer spiritual companionship and discernment for anyone struggling with decision fatigue. Emily holds a master’s degree in spiritual formation and leadership from Friends University. She lives in North Carolina with her family.

Move to Millions: The Proven Framework to Become a Million Dollar CEO with Grace & Ease Instead of Hustle & Grind by Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon

Drdarnyelle.com

https://amzn.to/3SXHxEL

Ready to break through the six-figure plateau? Discover an actionable strategy to cross over the million-dollar milestone with grace and ease.

Honorary PhD and award-winning Inc. 5000 CEO Dr. Darnyelle Jervey Harmon has used her seven-figure coaching enterprise to help hundreds of her clients leverage the Move to Millions® Method and move closer to and beyond the million-dollar mark.

In Move to Millions, she shares her paradigm-shifting truths to give business owners the confidence and step-by-step techniques to advance beyond the messy middle and defy the statistics plaguing most small businesses.

Part memoir and part methodology, Move to Millions helps entrepreneurs simplify their processes to multiply profits, by breaking down complex topics and illustrating their worth through raw personal anecdotes.

Dr. Harmon puts in the work so business owners can be empowered, entertained, and equipped to leave the headaches behind and enjoy everything that truly matters, without compromising on their values in the process.

Ask: Tap Into the Hidden Wisdom of People Around You for Unexpected Breakthroughs In Leadership and Life by Jeff Wetzler

https://amzn.to/3UWL5cT

Globally recognized expert on learning and leadership, Jeff Wetzler offers a hands-on, surprisingly effective way to find out what others really think, know, and feel. Ask leads to smarter decisions, more creative solutions, and deeper relationships.

Too often, we don’t find out what’s truly on others’ hearts and minds because we don’t know how to ask the right questions in the right ways. Co-founder of Transcend and former international business consultant and Teach for America executive Jeff Wetzler wants to show you how to fix that. In Ask, he brings you a powerful method called The Ask Approach™, based on a simple premise: that tapping into what other people truly think, know, and feel is a game-changing superpower.

In Section I, Wetzler reveals the most common things that people think and feel but often keep to themselves, as well as the key reasons why they choose to withhold information that could be valuable to you and your organization.

Section II delves into the five steps of the Ask Approach, each answering an essential question:

Choose Curiosity: How can you awaken your curiosity to make new discoveries and unexpected connections?

Make it Safe: How do you make it easier for people to tell you hard things?

Pose Quality Questions: What questions will best tap into the wisdom of anyone you ask?

Listen to Learn: How can you hear what someone is really trying to tell you?

Reflect & Reconnect: How do you turn talk into action?

Section III helps you make asking an everyday superpower – not only for yourself but also for your team and organization, as well as for the next generation and society at large.

The skills and messages of Ask could not be more timely. In a fast-changing world where AI is supplanting an increasing range of skills, the ability to learn from and connect with other people is one of the most important, fulfilling and uniquely human capabilities to master.

Nicole Reznic Discusses the Integration of Web3 in CRM and Luxury Marketing

Zernica.com

Show Notes About the Guest(s):

Nicole Reznic is an expert in impact CRM and CX in the luxury industry. With over two decades of experience in the luxury market, digital transformation, and CRM leadership, Nicole has honed her skills in customer engagement and brand management. She has worked with prestigious institutions such as Tiffany and Company and Christie’s Auction House. Nicole’s passion for innovation led her to explore the digital landscape, where she spearheaded digital migration projects and optimized customer-centric data models for renowned brands like Upfield and Abium. She is currently teaching CRM and the evolving digital landscape at a university in Paris. Nicole is also the founder of Zenica, a consulting company that helps businesses integrate Web3 principles into their customer experience strategies.

Episode Summary: In this episode, host Chris Voss interviews Nicole Reznic, an expert in impact CRM and CX in the luxury industry. Nicole shares her insights on the evolving role of CRM in the age of digital transformation and Web3 technologies. She explains how CRM must adapt to meet the changing needs of customers who are increasingly online. Nicole also delves into the concept of Web3 and its potential to revolutionize customer experiences through decentralization and blockchain technology. She highlights the importance of leveraging data analytics to enhance customer experiences and provides examples of how she has done so in her previous roles. The episode concludes with a discussion on the integration of AI with Web3 and blockchain and its potential to drive efficiency and personalization in customer interactions.

Key Takeaways: CRM must evolve to meet the needs of customers who are increasingly online and engage with brands through digital channels. Web3 technologies, such as blockchain, offer a decentralized and transparent way of interacting with customers, allowing for greater trust and interconnection. Data analytics plays a crucial role in enhancing customer experiences by providing personalized offers and recommendations based on customer behaviors. Luxury marketing differs from regular marketing in terms of mindset and the emphasis on craftsmanship, limited supply, and the perception of value. AI is an efficient optimization tool that can automate processes and provide personalized customer interactions based on data analysis.

Notable Quotes: “CRM has to evolve with the way that people are living. Customers are increasingly online, and brands need to meet them where they are.” – Nicole Reznic “Web3 is about creating a more communal way for people to interact online. It is based on blockchain technology, which offers transparency, trust, and interconnection.” – Nicole Reznic “With data analytics, we can make personalized offers to customers based on their behaviors, rather than relying on traditional demographics.” – Nicole Reznic “Luxury marketing is about creating a unique and premium experience for customers. It is not about competing with other brands but offering something that is truly exceptional.” – Nicole Reznic “AI is like having a group of 40 people doing the same thing at the same time. It automates processes and provides efficient optimization.” – Nicole Reznic