Cleared For Takeoff

We spend years learning technical skills, building expertise, and chasing success. But what if the thing that determines your success isn't what you know—it's how you manage yourself? In this episode of Cleared For Takeoff , Charles sits down with international keynote speaker, executive coach, and emotional intelligence expert Rich Bracken to explore why EQ has become one of the most valuable lea...

Dr. Paul Nystrom has spent more than two decades treating patients in emergency medicine, serving alongside Navy SEAL teams, working with SWAT units, and helping save lives in some of the most critical situations imaginable. But after years of practicing medicine, he's become increasingly convinced that many of the biggest health challenges facing Americans today aren't caused by a lack of medicat...

Matt Vincent is not your average guest. He's a two-time World Highland Games Champion, a former Division I athlete at LSU, a content creator, coach, entrepreneur — and a man who has faced the kind of losses that break most people. Nine knee surgeries. Chronic pain. The end of a career he didn't see coming. The collapse of an identity he'd spent 20 years building. In this deeply honest conversation...

What separates successful people from everyone else? According to Dr. Dave Martin, it comes down to one thing: wisdom. In this episode of Cleared For Takeoff, Charles Eide sits down with one of the world’s leading Christian success coaches for a powerful conversation about mindset, growth, habits, failure, faith, mentorship, and building a meaningful legacy. Dr. Dave Martin shares his journey from...

What if burnout isn’t caused by working too hard… but by doing the wrong kind of work? In this deeply personal and thought-provoking episode of Cleared for Takeoff , Charles Eide travels to Tennessee to sit down with leadership expert, bestselling author, and Working Genius creator Patrick Lencioni. Known for bestselling books like The Five Dysfunctions of a Team and The Ideal Team Player, Pat has...

David Fhima has built a global reputation for creating unforgettable restaurant experiences—but his story goes far beyond hospitality. Born in Morocco and sent to boarding school at just seven years old, David’s early life was defined by chaos, displacement, and resilience. After eventually finding his footing in Europe, he made his way to the United States, where he worked his way up from a prep...

In this episode of Cleared for Takeoff, Charles sits down with Rob McClanahan, a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that stunned the world and captured gold in one of the most iconic moments in sports history. Rob shares never-before-heard stories from behind the scenes—what it was really like playing under legendary coach Herb Brooks, the grueling preparation that pushed the team beyond...

In this episode of Cleared For Takeoff, Charles sits down with Andy King—one of the most recognizable figures from the Fyre Festival—to uncover the full story behind the headlines. Andy takes us deep into his 35-year career as a world-class event planner, from producing multi-million dollar experiences for companies like PepsiCo to becoming America’s first corporate concierge. But the conversation...

Jerrid Sebesta had what most people would call the dream—he was a well-known TV weatherman, recognized in his community, financially stable, and on track for long-term success. But behind the scenes, something felt off. In this powerful conversation, Jerrid opens up about the internal struggle that led him to walk away from his career at its peak, and the identity crisis that followed. What unfold...

In today’s world, we communicate constantly — through texts, emails, social media, and messaging apps. But despite all of this communication, many people feel more disconnected than ever. In this episode of Cleared For Takeoff , Charles sits down with Renée Marino, bestselling author, global keynote speaker, and communication coach, to explore why authentic human connection is becoming harder in t...

Most personal development focuses on thinking your way through problems. But what if the real answers aren’t in your thoughts—they’re in your nervous system? In this episode of Cleared for Takeoff, Charles sits down with leadership coach Keith Mercurio for a deep conversation about human behavior, leadership, and the unseen forces shaping our lives. Keith works with high-performing leaders who hav...

What if the biggest performance advantage in business had nothing to do with strategy — and everything to do with your health? In this episode of Cleared for Takeoff , Charles Eide sits down with Jason Kunz, keynote speaker, safety expert, and performance practitioner, to explore how physical, mental, and emotional health directly influence leadership performance. Jason shares the moment he realiz...

Discipline is easy to talk about, but much harder to live. In this episode of Cleared for Takeoff , Charles Eide sits down with Dan “Big D” Sachkowsky, a serial entrepreneur who has built, scaled, lost, and rebuilt businesses while developing a reputation for discipline, resilience, and no-nonsense leadership. Dan shares the story of making nearly $4 million in profit by age 24, only to lose it al...

Many leaders believe growth comes from doing more: more customers, more projects, more opportunities. Greg Heinemann learned the opposite. In this episode of Cleared for Takeoff , Greg shares how applying the 80/20 principle completely reshaped his business. After analyzing the math behind his customer base, he discovered that nearly all of the company’s profit came from a small percentage of cust...

PR used to be about press hits. Now it’s about what the machine says is true about you, and whether people trust you when it counts. In this episode of Cleared for Takeoff , Charles Eide talks with Kristi Piehl, CEO of Media Minefield and author of Flip Your Script , about how public relations has evolved in the AI era, and why leaders can’t afford to be passive about their digital presence. Krist...

This episode looks a little different, and that’s the point. Host Charles Eide pulls together four leadership themes that have repeatedly surfaced across Cleared for Takeoff and genuinely changed how he leads: 1) Personal Branding (Reputation): Charles reflects on lessons from Maha Abouelenein and others that reframed “personal brand” as something much more practical: your reputation. If you’re no...

Stem cells get called “God cells” for a reason—and in this episode, Seth Berge makes the science understandable. Seth explains what stem cells are (your body’s repair system), why healing slows down as we age, and how regenerative therapies can support recovery by addressing the root cause instead of just masking pain. Charles and Seth dig into the real-world use cases people care about most: join...

In this episode of Cleared for Takeoff, Charles Eide sits down with Jason DeRusha — a longtime journalist turned talk radio host and digital creator — to unpack what’s happening to trust, truth, and storytelling in modern media. Jason shares what’s changed inside newsrooms over the last 20+ years, why local news often feels less ideological than national outlets, and how bias shows up most in whic...

How do you go from survival mode at 15… to building a company that supports global product launches in 52 countries? In this powerful conversation, Charles Eide interviews Jay Strommen, the “man behind the curtain” who helped Apple scale its iconic retail experiences—starting with one table, one bold yes, and one life-altering moment: Steve Jobs walked up, inspected the build, and said, “It’s good...

You don’t work for a company—you work for a person. And whether people stay, grow, and give discretionary effort often comes down to one thing: the shadow their leader casts. In this conversation, Charles Eide welcomes David Orbuch, a seasoned executive and longtime mentor, to break down the concept of a “leadership shadow”—the invisible force created by what leaders say, do, prioritize, measure,...

We live in the age of instant discoverability — and that means your story is already out there. The question is: are you shaping it, or letting it shape you? In this conversation, Neal Foard (master storyteller and creator of Storyfire) joins Charles Eide to unpack what storytelling really does in business: it humanizes you, builds trust, creates belief, and sets the tone for culture — whether you...

Amberly Lago’s story will stop you in your tracks — and then it’ll light a fire in you. After a devastating motorcycle accident left her leg “crumbled into pieces,” doctors told Amberly an amputation was likely and her life would never be the same. What followed was 34 surgeries, years of recovery, and a diagnosis of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), one of the most painful chronic conditions...

Most interviews with Craig Leipold center on hockey. This one goes deeper — into the decisions, risks, and leadership lessons that shaped him long before the spotlight. Craig sits down with Charles Eide to walk through the entrepreneurial path that started with a leap from Kimberly-Clark into a “new-at-the-time” telemarketing business, scaling to 125 salespeople and selling the company to American...

Traditional leadership focused on managing results. Ryan Estis argues the future belongs to leaders who inspire contribution. In this episode of Cleared for Takeoff , Ryan joins host Charles Eide to unpack what human-centered leadership really means, why work dissatisfaction and burnout are rising, and how leaders can create clarity, trust, and sustainable performance. They dig into Satya Nadella’...

This episode is about far more than football. In this powerful conversation, host Charles Eide sits down with Ben Utecht — Super Bowl champion, former NFL tight end, keynote speaker, and author of The Champion’s Creed — to explore identity, leadership, and what it truly means to build culture by design. Ben opens up about the devastating injury that caused him to fall out of the NFL Draft after be...