Circle Up & Get REAL Podcast

Today I'd like to talk about rules. Not because I love them, but because I wonder what life would be like without them.   Is there a purpose to rules? If so, what is it?   Today I share information about the government and the rules it's working to keep in place, namely to make people more free.   I also share upcoming events I've got coming up: REAL Me: Intensive 6-week live virtual course (www.g...

In today's episode I explore what might keep us (me included) from taking action on the outcomes we desire. Why are we so sure about complaining and so unsure about moving toward what we want instead? I share information about upcoming learning opportunities: Dare to Lead book study - Brewhalla in Fargo starting June 3 at 5 p.m. REAL Me: Intensive 6-week live virtual study starting June 11. Applic...

In today's episode I share some current wonders and ponders regarding what it really means to be unconventional. The opposite is conventional, which means based on, or in accordance with, what is generally done or believed. Normal. Regular. Ordinary. What if that's not what we really desire? Or what we really are, deep down? What if we're more wired to be deviants? That means departing from an est...

Today's guest is Glen Stevens, a former pastor turned entrepreneur in 2019. He continues to help people, but with a new calling: He helps people rewire their brains for a more positive and enjoyable approach to work and life--think, personal trainer for your brain. Known as the Mental Fitness Guy, Glen is a dynamic speaker, trainer, and executive coach. As a Certified Mental Fitness Coach™, he com...

"What does it mean to stay human in a world that can feel so inhumane?" This was a question my Facebook friend Patti Digh asked this morning at the beginning of a beautifully articulated essay she shared. And that first question got me wondering and pondering. I'm nowhere near as eloquent and poetic as Patti, but I wanted to share my ideas this morning. What are your thoughts? What do you truly de...

I was given advice from a colleague a few years ago as I left an organization as an employee to venture out on my own - yet again - as a coach, consultant, facilitator. He told me, "Whatever you do, don't talk about culture." I took his advice seriously at the time. But the more I've been back at my own business full time, the more crucial I feel this concept of company culture really is. Culture...

When I say "bugging" in the title, I mean what's on your mind? What's getting you uncomfortable? What's irritating you? What's not right in your world? Often those irritants are trying to tell us something, and we don't listen until they provoke anger and even rage. What if we learned to listen earlier? Not only to ourselves, but to others? What are they trying to tell us, even when the words they...

John Maxwell says that everything rises and falls on leadership. But before leadership can move at all, it needs to be enveloped in a deliberate and purposeful culture. In this podcast episode, I talk with my co-author and co-host of the Enlightened Leadership Lab, Chris Angell, about our upcoming book and process we are calling Culture First . Listen in as we allow the conversation to guide us as...

What is it called when you're not content where you used to be, but you're not yet sure what you want to be instead? Today I'm calling it the "in-between." And I'm going to talk about the restlessness and discontent that is part of the journey to progress. I've got a list of bullet points, but I'm not sure how we'll get from there to here. Isn't that the actual point though?

Today's guest is Dr. Pam Denton, a visionary expert in evolving organizational culture through a systematic approach that combines human-centric insights, AI-driven precision, and long-lasting collective mobility achieved through neuroenergetic reprogramming. That might sound like a mouthful, but in this conversation, Pam and I break it down. Pam's work centers on evolutionary leadership, and we t...

Whenever the world gets me down, I remember that I've survived every single day of my life up to now, and I plan to do that for many days, weeks, months, and years to come. Working as I have for the past 22 years on personal self-awareness has given me so much awareness and confidence, and it has also tested and validated my faith and hope in humankind.  Once in a while it's good for me to take st...

Today's guest is Jess Almlie, a Learning and Development Specialist who is living her best life as the Founder of her own company, Almlie Consulting. Jess holds a B.A. in Organizational Communication and an M.S. in Educational Leadership, where her thesis explored, "Can leadership be learned in a classroom?" She's also certified in Improving Human Performance through ATD, with 30 years of experien...

Have you ever wished you could speed up time? Slow it down? "Make" something happen when YOU want it to? I had an insight today in my Wednesday mastermind meeting that I want to share. It has to do with vision and with timing. Today I talk about the following books: "Open Space Technology: A User's Guide" by Harrison Owen "Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don't" by Simon S...

When you really get to know people, they are terribly fascinating. And the ways we connect with people can be so random ... even though, deep down, nothing is random. This episode of Circle Up & Get REAL is a great example of this principle. Today's guest is Geoff Talbot, Founder, Director, CEO at Sphere Builders - A Transformation Business/Life Journey, a former veterinary surgeon, and a screenwr...

Today's guest is Shannon Miller-Lutz, a certified coach who shares her story of turning 50 and feeling a deep yearning for something more meaningful in life than her award-winning real estate business was giving her. Shannon's company is called SML Coaching, where she combines her extensive training and life experiences to provide guidance and support needed for others to achieve personal growth a...

My furnace had a glitch yesterday, so I got it fixed. The company I called is named Legacy. And that got me thinking. Then this morning I heard on the radio about a question being posed on a call-in show. I'm paraphrasing, but the question was something like: "Do you think actors and athletes should be discounted from awards they could win for their work on the stage, screen, or field based on the...

Back in the early 2000s Jim Collins was gaining traction for his consulting work around his new (at the time) book called Good to Great. He realized that there were some distinct characteristics that allowed companies and organizations to produce results greater than their competition over a period of time. One of those concepts was "First Who Then What." Let's talk about the WHOs today.

Pick a topic, any topic ... and I'll be there is some part of it that calls for both division and connection. Take the Super Bowl. If you're a Chiefs fan, you're not an Eagles fan (actually insert team here). If you already love the Chiefs, you're probably pretty selective in your hearing or noticing in your town or online. You either love your team or hate the other one(s) (or both). Let's talk a...

Today's guest is Mark French, a nomadic photographer, adventurer, and content creator who is on an epic road trip through the lower 48 states. Mark spends a week to 10 days in each state in order to meet the people, capture the essence of the trip in photographs, and experience the culture. Mark has not seen any of the division that seems to be pervasive in our American political scene, and was ev...

Today's guest is Kim Zuroff, Director of Growth at The One Thing, and executive leadership coach at MAPS coaching, and one of Jodee's real estate agents when she was Team Leader at Keller Williams Realty in North Dakota. Kim started her career in real estate as a 20-year-old college student, and has worked her entire 14-year career in this industry, moving from a buyer's agent to a real estate inv...

Today's guest is Kara Moll, whose passions include Training, Strategizing, and Inspiring others to live the lives they were made to live. Kara is a founding partner at Keller Williams ONE in Chicago, an approved faculty trainer at Keller Williams University, and a head coach at MPAS Coaching. She brings more than two decades of experience in real estate and coaching, using Neuro-Linguistic Program...

There are so many topics that have both positive and less-than-positive connotations, depending upon your point of view. I think expectations can be like that. What if nothing is "good" or "bad" on its own ... it's our thinking and our perspective that makes either appear a certain way? While I thought this episode was going to be more about expectations, it turned out to be more about two topics...

Yesterday in our Enlightened Leadership Lab we continued our series on my new book Just Give a Sh*t and Chris Angell coined a new phrase: Give-A-Sh*t Factor. This is something for each of us to figure out by determining our non-negotiables and then recognizing how often someone tries to steal our values from us (or how often we allow that to happen), usually without meaning to, or being conscious...

It's coming on Christmas, a holiday where we've gotten used to hearing kids tell Santa what they want the jolly guy to bring them. How often do we adults get clear about what we truly want? And then, are we just interested or are we committed to experiencing or acquiring or having that? In today's episode we address the distinction between wanting and committing. I also mention PurpleDialogue.com...