The Influence Exchange

Sometimes the hardest battle isn't the one happening around you. It's the one happening within you. In episode 57 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with retired U.S. Army Command Sergeant Major, author, father, and founder of Warrior Dad Stories TJ Baird for a deeply personal conversation about resilience, leadership, family, adversity, and rebuilding yourself after life changes you. After...

What if the biggest changes in your life don't begin with one huge moment, but with one small decision? In episode 56 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with executive coach, leadership strategist, and author Chip Scholz for a powerful conversation about personal growth, resilience, leadership, and how the choices we make every day shape who we become. After experiencing career setbacks, be...

Rejection is part of life, but in sales, hearing “no” can become part of your everyday routine. The question is: How do you stop taking rejection personally and use it to grow? In episode 55 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with sales professional and Pitching Sales author Bryan Charleau for a conversation about rejection, resilience, confidence, and what it really takes to build a succes...

When was the last time you truly chose yourself? In episode 54 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with Catherine Cristani for an honest conversation about relationships, loneliness, self-worth, vulnerability, emotional connection, and what it really means to put yourself first. Many of us spend years trying to meet other people's expectations, whether in relationships, careers, friendships,...

What if the biggest thing standing between you and the life you want is the belief that you're not enough? In this episode of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with entrepreneur, executive coach, and creator of The Game of 10, Steve Barton, for a powerful conversation about self-doubt, fear, happiness, overthinking, forgiveness, and recognizing your own worth. Steve shares his journey from ta...

What if the hardest moments of your life were actually preparing you for your greatest purpose? In episode 52 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with award-winning author, speaker, and personal growth mentor Sue Paulson for a heartfelt conversation about resilience, self-love, overcoming adversity, and discovering the magnificence that already exists within you. Sue's journey is one of extr...

In this powerful episode 51 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with executive leadership coach, speaker, and burnout specialist Rachael Edmondson-Clarke for an honest conversation about success, burnout, leadership, resilience, and creating a life you don't have to recover from. Years ago, Rachael was doing everything she thought success required working harder, climbing the corporate ladde...

In this milestone 50th episode of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with entrepreneur, author, leadership coach, financial educator, podcast host, and Diane Lampe for an inspiring conversation about mindset, confidence, leadership, wealth, and believing in yourself. Diane didn't have a college degree. She didn't have powerful connections. She didn't have shortcuts. What she did have was the w...

What would you do if you were told that one day you would lose your eyesight, but nobody could tell you when? In this powerful episode 49 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with speaker, coach, author, and founder of UBI Global, Laura Bratton, to discuss her extraordinary journey of resilience, mindset, gratitude, grit, and courage. At just nine years old, Laura was diagnosed with a rare ey...

What if the hardest moments in your life weren't meant to break you, but to wake you up? In this inspiring bonus episode of The Influence Exchange, I sit down with coach, speaker, author, podcast host, and cancer survivor Pamela Cass to discuss resilience, gratitude, and finding purpose after life's most difficult challenges. After surviving an abusive marriage, battling cancer, and overcoming bur...

What if success isn't about achieving more, but becoming more? Many people spend years chasing promotions, financial success, and recognition, only to discover they still feel unfulfilled. In this episode of The Influence Exchange, I sit down with international leadership coach, author, speaker, and entrepreneur Regina Huber to explore what it truly means to lead yourself before leading others. Re...

What happens when you realize the life you're living isn't the life you're meant to live? In episode 46 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with speaker, educator, author, podcast host, and messenger of hope, CJ Moneyway. CJ shares his personal journey from destructive habits, confusion, and living without direction to finding purpose through faith, discipline, and personal transformation. T...

What if the biggest thing holding your business back isn't your strategy, what if it's your mindset? In episode 45 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with international speaker, consultant, leadership coach, and co-founder of West Coast Growth Advisors, Carly Pepin. For more than 15 years, Carly has helped business owners, executives, and leadership teams improve culture, strengthen leaders...

What if the biggest thing holding you back in your career isn't a lack of talent, experience, or opportunity? What if it's self-doubt? In episode 44 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with executive coach and former corporate leader Courtney Intersimone to discuss leadership, confidence, career growth, imposter syndrome, executive presence, and what it really takes to reach the next level p...

What if one question could completely change the direction of your life? In this episode 43 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with executive coach, leadership consultant, speaker, author, and former Google executive Chris Woods for a conversation about leadership, fear, authenticity, mindset, gratitude, and discovering who you're truly meant to become. While building a successful career at...

What if the opportunity to change your life is already sitting right in front of you? In episode 42 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with entrepreneur, speaker, author, and side hustle expert Bart Merrell to talk about entrepreneurship, financial freedom, mindset, AI, side hustles, and learning how to turn everyday experiences into streams of income. From becoming a dog trainer by acciden...

What if the life you’re building on the outside doesn’t match who you are on the inside? In episode 41 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with entrepreneur, coach, and Alan Lazaros to talk about mindset, fear, self-belief, personal growth, leadership, relationships, and what it truly takes to reach your full potential. After surviving a life-changing car accident at 26 years old, Alan was f...

Text The Influence Exchange Podcast and host J.V. What if losing your job later in life became the best thing that ever happened to you? In this powerful episode 40 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with financial educator and author David Nassief to discuss wealth, retirement, investing, financial mistakes, mindset, and why it’s never too late to change your financial future. After being...

Text The Influence Exchange Podcast and host J.V. What would you do if your entire life changed in just 24 hours? In this powerful episode 39 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with motivational speaker and brain injury survivor Dan MacQueen to discuss resilience, mindset, identity, recovery, and the mental strength required to rebuild your life after trauma. Dan shares the incredible story...

Text The Influence Exchange Podcast and host J.V. What if the reason you feel stuck has nothing to do with strategy, and everything to do with alignment? In this powerful episode 38 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with award-winning entrepreneur Joanna Zhang to talk about success, burnout, entrepreneurship, spiritual awakening, leadership, and reconnecting with yourself. Joanna shares he...

Text The Influence Exchange Podcast and host J.V. What if the biggest thing holding you back, isn’t your circumstances, but the story you keep repeating in your mind? In episode 37 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with coach, therapist, author, and NLP expert Dr. Heidi Heron for a deep conversation about mindset, human behavior, imposter syndrome, fear, self-doubt, and personal growth. Fo...

Text The Influence Exchange Podcast and host J.V. What if your life changed in a single moment and you had to learn how to become yourself all over again? In this powerful episode 36 of The Influence Exchange, J.V. sits down with author, speaker, and trauma survivor Shannon Michelle for one of the most emotional and inspiring conversations on the podcast so far. After a devastating motorcycle acci...

Text The Influence Exchange Podcast and host J.V. What if success wasn’t about talent, but about refusing to quit? In episode 35 of The Influence Exchange, I sit down with Chris Natzke, 8th degree black belt, national Taekwondo champion, bestselling author, and life leadership coach who has spent over 50 years mastering discipline, mindset, and personal growth. His message is simple—but powerful:...

Text The Influence Exchange Podcast and host J.V. What if the small decisions you make every day are actually telling the truth about your life? In episode 34 of The Influence Exchange, we’re bringing back something interactive, Red Flag or Green Flag: Part 2. This isn’t about judging people. This isn’t about being perfect. This is about awareness. Because sometimes the things we normalize are the...

Text The Influence Exchange Podcast and host J.V. What if your heartbreak wasn’t the end, but the beginning of who you’re meant to become? In episode 33 of The Influence Exchange, I sit down with Nikki Allen, author, singer, songwriter, filmmaker, and creator, who shares a powerful and deeply honest story about love, identity, and healing. Her novel Love You, Hated You is inspired by real-life hea...