The Hero's Journey Economy Podcast: Recent Episodes
Mike Bruening
On this week’s podcast, we have Professor Craig Wright, author of The Hidden Habits of Genius. We talk to Craig about his research into the great geniuses throughout time and what we can learn from them. We also discuss how these geniuses seemed compelled to do what they accomplished and how we can take steps in our own lives to bring elements of genius to our journey.Craig Wright is the Henry L. and Lucy G. Moses Professor Emeritus of Music at Yale University, where he teaches the popular undergraduate course, “Exploring the Nature of Genius.” A Guggenheim Fellow, Wright has received an honorary Doctorate of Human Letters from the University of Chicago, is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and was awarded the Sewall Prize for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching at Yale (2016) as well as the DeVane Medal for Excellence in Teaching and Scholarship (2018). He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the Eastman School of Music and a Ph.D. from Harvard.
On Today's podcast we have Sterling Hawkins , author of Hunting Discomfort. This was a great conversation on one key elements of the Hero's Journey.
Sterling is an entrepreneur, motivational leader, and internationally recognized public speaker Sterling Hawkins shows readers how to get comfortable with discomfort to create breakthrough results in life and business using his #NoMatterWhat system for transformative change.
If you’re like most people, you probably shy away from discomfort. But the uber-successful—from elite athletes to billionaire founders and famous entrepreneurs—do the exact opposite. They know that discomfort can be high-octane fuel for performance or the most direct path to their goals. And they’ve learned how to turn rock bottom into one of life’s greatest gifts.
Catherine Baab-Muguira is a writer and journalist who has contributed to, among others, Slate, Quartz, CNBC and NBC News. A frequent podcast and radio guest, with appearances on NPR and Lifehacker’s Upgrade. She has a M.A. in Creative Writing from the University of Auckland, New Zealand she lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and baby son. Her new book Poe for Your Problems: Uncommon Advice from History's Least Likely Self-Help Guru came out in September.
Alon Braun is the author of “The Entrepreneur's Journey: 8 Steps from Inspiration to Global Impact.” He is an Amazon best selling author and founder at Neurotech.com
On today's podcast, we speak with ALon Braun about how Joseph Campbell's steps in the Hero's Journey is a framework for starting a company. We also speak to Alon about his company Neurotech that tracks the merging of technology and the brain.
Tom is a Life Coach and the author of Bridge to Change. On this podcast, we talk about the role of the life coach, Tom's own Hero's Journey, and the CHOICE steps to personal transformation. You can find Tom at monarchlifecoaching.com and his book at bridgetochangebook.com. There is also a new App on the Apple store that helps people through the bridge to change process.
Today we speak with author and data expert Scott Taylor about what people and companies get right about managing data and where they struggle.
On today's Podcast we speak with executive and life coach Dr. Tim Merrick on the hero's journey, the challenges facing people, and what we can learn from our current cultural and political divide.
Tim has been a contractor, chiropractor, coach, chef, chair of the board, candidate for state senate.
Extensive coach training, and years of post-training mentoring with master coaches has left Tim well-positioned to work with anyone.
His clients tend to be successful men in their 40s and 50s who find themselves once again required to reboot, reinvent and reinvigorate their careers and lives.
If you’re looking to get back on the horse, to reclaim your edge, keep pace or out-strip the competition, Tim can help you do that and more. https://www.linkedin.com/in/drtimmerrick/
Today’s guest is Brian Uhlmann, head of Business Intelligence at Velocity Snack Brands. Velocity manufacturers the healthier for you Popchips brand of snacks. Brian talks about how engaging with consumers on the health journey is different from other consumer packaged goods. Authentic communication and transparency of claims and ingredients are paramount. Brian also talks about the dated perception that healthier for you foods can’t taste great. He also provides a perspective on the high flying plant-based category. This is an excellent conversation for people interested in how a transformational brand is winning in the marketplace by having high respect for the consumer and an uncompromising dedication to quality in the product they sell.
Today’s guest on the Podcast is Nick Lugo, author of Break Your Bad Habits in 150 pages – A Hero’s Journey. We talk to Nick about why it is so hard to stop bad habits and how the Hero’s Journey is a framework for making real change in your life. Nick also talks about how writing the book was his own Hero’s Journey and what he learned from the experience.
Break Your Bad Habits in 150 pages – A Hero’s Journey is a great read and is my top recommendation for anyone looking to make some changes in the new year. Nick also hosts his own podcast on YouTube at https://youtu.be/nsTqlN349-Y
On today’s podcast, we speak with Jeff Wald, author of The End of Jobs. Jeff talks about the misperception of joblessness and how automation is a more significant threat to jobs than globalization. We discuss what people can do to remain viable in the job market and the importance of going Hard Human or Hard Tech. Jeff also discusses the value of taking ownership of your career and the practice of lifelong learning
Today’s guest on the Podcast is Mark Staelgraeve. Mark is a successful life and career coach, and he offers up 5 key questions to ask yourself when thinking about where you are in your life and the person you want to become. This podcast is a fun and interesting discussion about how we can get in our own way when working to change. He offers some great techniques you can use to quiet that internal critic and saboteur so you can take action on creating your future. Mark also has a great alternative to making a New Year’s Resolution. I am going to give it a try!
If you want to know more about Mark’s work or want to contact him to make a change in your life, you can find him at https://www.markstaelgraeve.com
On today’s podcast, we are pleased to have David Shanker as our special guest. David has been at the forefront of Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) and Market Research. After 25+ years in C-level roles, formulating game-changing sales strategies, and delivering results, David has decided to start his own firm, David Shanker Consulting. Clients go to David for his business acumen, his willingness to challenge the status quo, and his ability to replicate that mindset, which leads to an invested team, better performance, focus, and execution.
Today we speak with David on the trends he sees in the marketplace, how COVID is impacting our lives in unexpected ways, and how things might be different in a post-COVID world
If you like what you hear from David and are interested in talking to him about converting your business goals into an achievable reality, he can be reached at david@davidshankerconsulting.com
In this week’s podcast, we have Jan Goetgeluk. Jan, Virtuix Founder and CEO, believed that virtual reality was about to make a come-back. He started working on the Omni motion platform in 2011, driven by a desire to walk naturally in VR instead of pushing buttons on a gamepad or keyboard while sitting on a chair. After two years of research and development, Goetgeluk launched the Omni Kickstarter campaign in June 2013, which raised more than $1.1MM and became one of the most successful Kickstarter campaigns at that time. The Omni enables players to explore endless VR worlds, moving freely and at full speed in 360° without hitting any walls. Movements that would otherwise require unintuitive button presses are now the result of natural motion – simply walk, run, and turn in 360° in virtual reality games and applications! Backed by Mark Cuban and other major investors, the Omni is the first omni-directional treadmill that lets players walk and run in 360 degrees inside video games and other virtual worlds. Interested in the Omni check out this investment link https://www.seedinvest.com/virtuix/series.a.2
On the Podcast this week is Nate Forster the CEO of Neou Fitness. Neou is a mobile app that provides fitness routines for everyone from beginners to advanced workouts. Neou hosts some of the top fitness trainers in their field at affordable prices.
On this week’s podcast, we have Professor Craig Wright, author of The Hidden Habits of Genius. We talk to Craig about his research into the great geniuses throughout time and what we can learn from them. We also discuss how these geniuses seemed compelled to do what they accomplished and how we can take steps in our own lives to bring elements of genius to our journey.
This week on the podcast we have Sam Mancuso. Sam has been a Senior Marketing Executive at Mondelez, General Motors, OnStar, Darden, and Uno Restaurants. Sam has a great perspective on how being successful as a marketer comes down to just one key item. He also is watching the impact of technology on our lives and talks about what he sees coming in the near future.
Eric Maisel, Ph.D., is the author of more than 40 books and is widely regarded as America's foremost creativity coach. He trains creativity coaches nationally and internationally and provides core training for the Creativity Coaching Association.
Eric Maisel is a columnist for Professional Artist magazine and a featured contributor to Psychology Today. His books include “Rethinking Depression,” “Mastering Creative Anxiety,” "Creative Recovery," and his latest bestseller "Lighting the Way".
Today we talk to Eric about the importance of a daily practice, everyday heroics, and of course The Hero's Journey.
Dr. Mel Schwartz, the author of The Possibility Principle, joins the Podcast to talk about dealing with uncertainty and how our desire to remain in the comfortable and in the familiar limits our ability to step into our Hero's Journey.
In this episode, we speak with author and system change expert Frank Dixon. In the Power of Myth Joseph Campbell said, "This is the threat to our lives; we all face it. We all operate in our society in relation to a system. Now is that system going to eat you up and relieve you of your humanity or are you going to be able to use the system for human purposes."
Frank Dixon talks to us about System Change Investing and Global System Change. He discusses what global and national systems are broken, how we can fix them, and how many of these changes are inevitable based on the laws of nature. Frank was an early researcher and pioneer in the area of sustainability and ESG investing. He is the author of Global System Change – A Whole System Approach to Achieving Sustainability and Real Prosperity. More information is available at www.GlobalSystemChange.com
This is an interesting interview with Frank. It will get you thinking about some of the systems in our lives that we accept as normal, but future generations will look back on as insanity.
This episode of the Heros Journey Economy Podcast, we have Emotional Coach Derek Butler from Derek Butler Empowers.
For more information on Derek, you can find him on the internet at
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/derek-butler-a080557b Facebook: @DBEmpowers or Derek Butler Email: derekbutlermepowers@gmail.com
In this episode, we speak with Jill Sammak, who is a corporate coach that works with high performing individuals on personal transformation. Jill talks with us about how each person’s journey through this process is different for each individual, and there is no cookbook recipe for change and self-improvement. The work involves challenging underlying beliefs that drive our behaviors. She highlights some steps everyone can take to begin transformational work, and she offers up some excellent advice for people interested in corporate or personal coaching as a profession.
You can find Jill online at https://www.jillsammak.com/ or on Linkedin at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillmsammak/
This was a fun conversation, and Jill has a tremendous passion for this work and brings some great energy and insight into how the coaching process works.
In this episode, we speak with Author, Triathlete, and Life Coach Meredith Atwood.
Meredith talks about the key element needed to truly make a change in your life.
Her recent book "The Year of No Nonsense" is a great read.
Meredith's Podcast "The Same 24 Hours" is a great reminder to make the best of the days that we have and to just keep moving forward.
Sri Rajagopalan is a transformational & visionary consumer packaged goods leader focused on the current evolution of modern trade to be digitally anchored. He has 20 plus years of leadership in the CPG industry across sales, eCommerce, customer leadership, technology, business intelligence & insights. Having led commercial functions in Johnson & Johnson, PepsiCo, Frito-Lay & Revlon Inc. He is also a keynote speaker at many CPG forums and an angel investor in direct to consumer startups, a real estate investor, and runs a podcast ‘the e-talk show with Don & Sri’. As an active linkedin blogger you can often find Sri’s views on the digital revolution in retail. He is currently SVP of eCommerce & digital at Revlon Inc., in New York City. His focus there is to bring about digital leadership to several brands & their retail footprints including Revlon, Elizabeth Arden, Almay, John Varvatos, Juicy Couture and a vast portfolio of nail solutions & fragrances. In this role, he is leading commercial growth in eCommerce, omni channel consumer engagement & direct to consumer platforms. In prior roles, he led the startup & scale of eCommerce at Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc., in New Jersey and for Frito-Lay in Plano, Texas by incubating key partnerships at Amazon, Wakefern, Boxed.com & Pharmapacks 3P. Prior to digital leadership, Sri is a seasoned brick & mortar commercial leader having led business intelligence, customer insights & customer strategic partnerships in various roles at PepsiCo. He proudly calls New York city home with his two daughters Rhea & Lara and wife Kavita – all three firmly anchored in their careers in music, acting & entertainment.
Leon Nicholas Vice President, Retail Insights & Solutions
I have known Leon for over 20 years and he has a keen sense of what is coming around the corner. Listen closely to who Leon thinks will win with the consumer both now and in the near future.
Leon Nicholas works across WestRock’s commercial organization to advance retail insights across a broad portfolio of differentiated solutions for consumer goods and retail customers. Leon’s background includes over 26 years in the consumer goods and retail industry working for Hannaford Bros, Information Resources, Veridiem, and Global Insight. He joined Kantar Retail in 2008, where he led a team of retail analysts and advisors to retailers and manufacturers, and most recently served as its Chief Insights officer, before joining WestRock.. Leon earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology, summa cum laude, from Bates College.
On this podcast, our guest is Pete Bond who is an expert in loyalty marketing, and we discuss the impact of reviews, influencers and the importance of being honest and authentic in the Hero's Journey Economy
This podcast discusses how the travel industry is evolving to offer more trips and adventures designed for personal transformation. No longer are travelers content with spending a week by an infinity pool, they want to go to places and have experiences that will transform their lives.
Ari Kaplan was a pioneer in using sports data and analytics and now uses that same approach in business except now he is leveraging AI to accelerate the speed to insights and action.