Cool Change

In this episode, Chuck shares a very simple, easy way to think about whether you're spending your time doing work that is aligned with how you're wired. It's especially helpful to think about when you're considering a job or career change.

How do you know what serves you and what doesn't? In this episode, Chuck talks about how to evaluate the scripts and beliefs that we're holding to see if they have a place in our next chapter.

I won't give up on bluegrass, the open road, pinot noir, and Connect 4. But in some things in life, giving up is the strongest, wisest, most hopeful choice you can make. 

Rob Price, CEO of School of Rock, engages in a heartfelt discussion about the transformative power of music education and its impact on youth mental health. He emphasizes the alarming pre-existing pandemic of anxiety and depression among young people, which has only been exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis. Through the lens of his experiences and the stories of franchisees, Rob illustrates how musi...

The story of Mike Strawn, who - after suffering from multiple myeloma for at least 17 years - chose to die by self-administered suicide. This episode captures Mike and his family's thoughts and wishes in his final weeks, days, and hours. My hope is that by listening to Mike's story, we are prompted to fear less and find joy more often.

Whether we think about it this way or not, all of us have a brand. When people encounter us, there are certain thoughts, feelings and images that come to mind which are, in effect, a sort of brand experience. With some intention, we can design our own brand to be a true reflection of ourselves in ways that communicate us more effectively to the world around us. Allison Netzer is a branding expert...

Founder, Podcaster, and Pilot Mike Quinlan helps business owners make an "elite exit" from their businesses, and has some useful ideas and wisdom for the rest of us. 

Author and Rented.com CEO Andrew McConnell wants us to start acting like owners - of our minds - and stop allowing self-doubt and negative emotions to stay rent-free. His new book, "Get Out of My Head - Creating Modern Clarity with Stoic Wisdom," will be available in June 2022. M. Andrew McConnell is the CEO of Rented, Inc. Born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, he graduated Harvard College, Harv...

Keith Smith walked a well-worn path to success: make business the priority, and fit in everything else after. Not that unusual, really. And neither was the result: divorce, stress, and disruption. What make’s Keith’s story unusual is what he did afterward: he used this moment in time as an awakening, as he calls it. He reversed the order of his priorities: business, abundance, relationships, healt...

50TH EPISODE! Join special guest Rilla Delorier as she sits down with Chuck to reveal how they think about designing life to have fun and make a difference.

Jim Spicer has been sober for 19 years. And today he is on the front lines of intervention and building recovery solutions for families. He has spoken on the topic of recovery to over 50,000 people. In this episode, Jim and I talk about legitimate and real paths forward, whether you are struggling with addiction yourself or know someone who is. Want to connect with Jim directly? Email him at Fcoup...

Author, serial entrepreneur, and executive life coach Nick Kennedy talks with me about building a principled business, leading a purposeful life, and creating positive change as an entrepreneur. His lessons are for all of us, whether we intend to start our own business or not. In fact, Nick’s definition of “entrepreneur” likely includes you, no matter your field of work. Nick spent hundreds of hou...

Brain Coach, Speaker, and Creator of the fun and informative videos “Tiny Tips for Your Brain,” Jocelyn Brady sits down with me to talk about how we can literally change our brains to produce more outcomes that we want. She also discusses the science of play — and how important it is for adults to incorporate it as a way to keep learning and stay engaged. We also discuss how to rewrite the stories...

In this episode, Jeff Otis and I riff about intentional life design, touching on—among other things—goal setting, playing to your strengths, personal accountability, and developing a roadmap for success. Jeff is the founder of Project OTY (developing an Outstanding and Talented You), and is the author of two books, Transform with Confidence and Build Your Roadmap, Create Your World. You can also c...

Fitness expert and former pro baseball player Colin Feldtman shares simple steps you can take now to take control of your fitness whether you have a trainer and a gym or are going it alone.

Chef Z started cooking as a child, and grew up working in over 20 restaurants in every role you can think of. Today, she is a non-profit founder, private chef to NFL players, and a popular contestant on televison’s “Hell’s Kitchen” and “Chopped.” Her story of improvising in the kitchen - and in life - holds several important lessons for those of us who don’t want to be labeled too specifically in...

Author and Coach Darcy Eikenberg believes that many people can make a cool change without blowing up their current situation. Her new book: "Red Cape Rescue: Save Your Career Without Leaving Your Job" is available now at your favorite bookseller. In this episode, we discuss ways to take control of your job situation and how to think about jumpstarting your career right where you are.

The workplace has changed dramatically over the last hundred years or so. Today, for many people, it’s less about securing food, water and shelter, and more about finding work that is meaningful and aligned with how they’re wired. In this episode, Ben Ortlip discusses why the workplace has changed and how we can apply a simple method to better understand how we’re wired, and therefore what sort of...

Filmmaker Shuja Moore is on a mission to reduce violent crime and gun violence in inner cities. After being convicted of a killing and spending 12 years in the prison system, he has an inside perspective on what it takes to make major life changes. In this episode, he talks about what led to his life of crime on the streets, the tragic event that ended a life, and about the series of experiences t...

Sasha Purpura left a successful career in the technology industry, working for tech giants such as Nokia and Lotus, to become a leader in ensuring food sustainability and accessibility for all. Under her leadership, Food For Free has grown dramatically, increasing food distribution from ~700k in 2012 to 4.7 million in 2020. She is also co-founder of Plato’s Harvest Organic Farm and serves on the B...

This marks the one-year anniversary of the podcast! Join me for 15 minutes as I share a few key learnings and insights from the past year, and let you know what’s in store in the coming year of Cool Change. In this episode, I break down the meaning of “Cool,” and the meaning of “Change” as I’ve grown to understand from my guests over the past 12 months.

Dr. Gilles Lamarche is one of the most energetic, positive people I’ve ever met. And he credits what he knows about chiropractic with saving his life after a terminal diagnosis about 20 years ago. Listen in on this fascinating story.

Diane Hessan is a nationally recognized entrepreneur and expert on the American voter. Her new book, Our Common Ground: Insights from Four Years of Listening to American Voters , will be published in June and is available for pre-order now. Her work has been featured on CNN, NPR, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, and includes more than fifty columns for the Boston Globe...

Jane Turner, Executive Director of the Atlanta Children’s Museum, talks with Chuck about her journey to leading one of the city’s cultural centerpieces. She discusses her decision to leave the workforce to spend more time as a mom and the identity challenges that brought with it, and about how getting involved in theater showed up in how she creates engaging environments at her current post and ho...

David Risher is the CEO and co-founder of Worldreader. His early appetite for reading, coupled with his technology background, encouraged him to launch an organization that now reaches more than 13 million readers across 46 countries with content in 52 languages. Worldreader helps children everywhere access the books they need to improve their lives and live their potential.  Before Worldreader, D...