Control or Be Controlled

Money can give you freedom—or become one of the biggest forces controlling your life. Danial Jiwani is a #1 bestselling author of The Laws of Wealth and Buffett’s 2-Step Stock Market Strategy , and an internationally recognized writer and expert on wealth-building and investing. His books have been read by more than 70,000 people, translated into 10+ languages, and read by notable investors includ...

Every business is telling a story. The question is: Are you controlling that story, or are your customers, competitors, and culture controlling it for you? Cat How is the Founder and Executive Creative Director of How&How , a global B-Corp certified branding agency with studios in London and Los Angeles. A former award-winning journalist and design critic who later studied Communication Design at...

Control becomes most valuable when everything around you becomes unpredictable. Nicholas D’Ambrosio, Ph. D., GISP, is the Founder and CEO of NOMADICS , a nationally recognized firm specializing in geospatial intelligence, data analytics, digital transformation, and defense engineering. For nearly two decades, Nicholas has worked at the intersection of technology, government, defense, education, an...

You can be successful, accomplished, and highly capable—and still allow self-doubt to quietly control your decisions. Heather Elliott has spent more than 25 years leading teams, building businesses, driving innovation, coaching athletes, and helping people perform at a higher level. Yet throughout that journey, she repeatedly encountered a question that many high-achieving women quietly struggle w...

What happens when the thing that gives your life meaning is suddenly taken away from you? For bestselling novelist Laura Van Wormer , writing had been a lifelong dream and a defining part of her identity. But in 2015, a devastating head-on collision with a drunk driver left her with life-threatening injuries, a long road to physical recovery, and an even more difficult cognitive recovery that made...

You can build a great business and still lose control of it because of a legal mistake you didn’t see coming. Barbara Neilan is the CEO and Co-Founder of Jamieson Law, a specialist corporate and commercial law firm helping ambitious founders and growth businesses scale with confidence. Working alongside hundreds of founder-led businesses, Barbara has seen what happens behind the scenes when compan...

What if the version of you that shows up under pressure isn’t a different person—but a person with reduced access to qualities you already have? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Diane E. McDowell , therapist, speaker, author, and creator of The Access Code™ , to explore what happens to our clarity, confidence, patience, perspective, and voice in the moments t...

What happens when you stop simply living through your experiences and begin using them to understand who you are becoming? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Nancy Jasin Ensley , author, legal nurse, hospice specialist, teacher, and storyteller whose writing has been shaped by a lifetime of service, observation, family, faith, and lived experience. Nancy has wo...

When it comes to your health, not understanding the system can mean giving up control without realizing it. Jessica Tonia, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, FNE-CSA , is a Family Nurse Practitioner, Legal Nurse Consultant, patient advocate, and host of the FAQ By Nurse Jessi Podcast . Her work sits at the intersection of medicine, law, patient safety, and public education—and her mission is simple: help everyday...

What happens when you realize the life and business you worked so hard to build have started controlling you? Brett Gallant , founder of Adaptive Office Solutions and host of The Adaptive Mindset , knows that feeling firsthand. A few years ago, Brett weighed 349 pounds, was burned out, and was completely buried in the business he had built. He knew something had to change—not just physically, but...

What if the biggest thing holding your short-term rental business back isn't your property—but the way you're managing it? Scott Munos , founder of Springboard Property Management & STR Listing Optimization Consulting , has been in the short-term rental industry since before Airbnb existed. He's watched the industry evolve from manual systems and guesswork into an increasingly auto...

What does it take to keep creating when the industry changes, opportunities disappear, and the rules are constantly being rewritten? Michael Mandaville is a writer, filmmaker, producer, entrepreneur, and storyteller whose career has taken him from major Hollywood productions to independent filmmaking, bestselling novels, screenwriting, and digital entrepreneurship. A USC graduate with a Master’s i...

We start businesses because we want more control over our lives—but somewhere along the way, the business can become the very thing controlling us. Bradley Koch has spent 32 years in business , combining lessons from entrepreneurship, the Marine Corps, business school, personal coaching, setbacks, and hard-earned wins to help small business owners build companies that actually work for them . Know...

Why do so many people dream about starting a business but never actually get across the start line? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Jesse “Skooby” Blount , host of The Undiscovered Entrepreneur: Get Across The Start Line podcast, to explore the psychological barriers that keep aspiring entrepreneurs stuck. With nearly two decades of experience in sales and m...

What if the biggest thing standing between you and your potential isn’t a lack of ability—but the belief that you don’t belong? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Emily Jackson , Senior Channel Manager at rf IDEAS, Inc., to explore self-doubt, career reinvention, women in technology and sales, relationship-building, and the courage it takes to step into unfamil...

You can work harder, grow your business, increase your revenue—and still watch a significant portion of your money disappear because you never learned how to strategically manage your taxes. Sarah Jones , CPA, tax strategist, and founder of Sarah Jones CPA , joins CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED to challenge the way entrepreneurs think about taxes, profitability, cash flow, and wealth. Sarah is the found...

What happens when fear, resentment, poor communication, or unresolved conflict begins making decisions inside a marriage? Veronica Sutherland is a Christian marriage coach, Family Life Educator, certified life coach, author, and speaker who has spent decades helping couples build marriages rooted in faith, purpose, communication, and intentionality. With more than 40 years of lived marriage experi...

What happens when the tools designed for everyday life stop working for the people who actually need them? Douglas Katz is a West Point graduate, disabled Army veteran, inventor, and lifelong problem solver who has made it his mission to answer that question. After experiencing upper-extremity limitations himself and caring for his father, Doug became frustrated with how poorly traditional product...

What if a child’s tantrum, fear, sadness, or silence isn’t simply “bad behavior,” but an emotion they haven’t learned how to communicate yet? Andre and Constance Lewis, the creators of Miles and the Colorful Capes of Feelings , join CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED to explore how children can learn to identify, understand, and express their emotions before those emotions begin controlling their behavior....

What happens when being the person everyone depends on becomes the very thing that keeps you from living your own life? Michelle Ford, MPH, founder of Navigating YOUR World , knows that experience firsthand. Despite having a Master’s in Public Health and understanding the science of wellness, Michelle found herself constantly responding to everyone else’s needs while somehow being left off her own...

What happens when everything you’ve been taught about self-defense doesn’t prepare you for the reality of violence? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Instructor Christopher Thompson , a firearms instructor, range safety officer, certified firearms specialist, and martial arts instructor with more than three decades of experience in Ed Parker’s Kenpo. Christoph...

What if becoming better isn’t about fixing what’s wrong with you—but becoming more aware of who you already are? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Stephen Gribben , internationally renowned executive coach, bestselling author, and creator of the Genio high-performance coaching app. Since 1998, Stephen has delivered more than 24,000 hours of executive coaching...

What happens when being truly seen becomes less about how you look—and more about who you believe you are? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Caroline White , a visual artist, creative entrepreneur, and photographer with more than 20 years of experience, to explore the powerful relationship between imagery, identity, confidence, vulnerability, and self-expressi...

What if you approached your health the way a professional trader approaches risk? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Paul Chessick , former Chicago derivatives trader turned fitness professional and founder of The Risk Manager , to explore a powerful question: Are you actually in control of the risks you’re taking with your body? Paul spent 30 years trading his...

What happens when a man knows he is called for something greater but feels stuck, unseen, or disconnected from his purpose? In this episode of CONTROL OR BE CONTROLLED , Darlington sits down with Sherman Perryman , spiritual strategist, business architect, legacy builder, and founder of Militant Grind and Black Fortitude , for a powerful conversation about masculine leadership, spiritual alignment...