It's About To Go Down! with Marc & Cathey

"You cannot achieve your greatest vitality by always seeking comfort. you have to be challenged with a healthy level of stress” - Chad Phillips, a small business owner and the co-founder of Circle Anywhere, a platform for relational meditation. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Chad about what happens when you remove yourself from the trappings and comfortability of your modern home and r...

"How long can you go without help before you lose your mind?” - Diane Nathaniel, the founder and executive director of BeatStage3. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Diane about how to improve healthcare by making it a truly collaborative experience beyond just the doctors, nurses, and patients. To build on the idea, they discuss looking at both sides of the research, playing rounds of “th...

"By 2045, we will be the new majority. It’s going to be a huge change down the road. Is our next generation ready for that?” - Jaclyn Lee, a community auntie and advocate for Generation Z. In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Jaclyn about how becoming a community auntie or uncle can help future generations build a diverse, equitable, and inclusive allyship for all to embrace. They explore ho...

"We talk about giving people the benefit of the doubt, but sometimes we need to doubt the benefit."- Marcus Carter, a knowledge gatherer and warrior for liberation projects, who is dedicated to transforming culture . In this episode, Marc and Cathey talk with Marcus about how to challenge the way society is having conversations about racism, oppression, and liberation. They put aside the notion of...

"You live in this body today. You’ll never know what body you’ll live in tomorrow."  - Emily Purry , disability advocate, business owner, and non-profit founder of Rapid. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Emily prepare for a TED Talk on the idea of getting people to understand disabilities from a positive lens. They put her through a one-sentence test, cypher through various analogies, an...

"You don't have to control your thoughts. You just have to stop letting them control you."  - Kary Youman , mental health advocate. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Kary build upon his TED Talk by formulating repeatable practices that could de-magnitize mental health setbacks. During the discussion, they explore how startling statistics, questioning, and analogies can reframe an idea whi...

"Do we stop dancing because we age or do we age because we stop dancing?"  - Dr. Bo Babenko , long-term health specialist. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Dr. Bo sift through a "million" expert ideas related to redefining fitness to create a simplified and accessible message. They explore the formula of creating a hook, a system, and one tip to make your message memorable and influentia...

"Find things in your stories you would never think of."  - J.T . Compeau, speechwriter, content interpreter, and presentation consultant. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help J.T. transform his idea about embracing the stories that we don’t tell. They touch upon collaborations, questions, and embarrassing stories. This conversation introduces the concept that your idea becomes greater when y...

"Positivity isn't always productive and negativity isn't always productive. Wisdom is knowing the difference."  - Lauren Johnson, mental performance coach, speaker, and aspiring TED Talker . In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Lauren dig deeper into her idea about finding the good in the bad to uncover a uniq ue perspective about productivity being greater than positivity. This conversation...

“What all of us are doing is about getting people back to home base, which is back to themselves.” - from Season 2 of It's About to Go Down. So what happens when a bunch of idea creators get together in the same zoom? In this "rap-up" episode, Marc and Cathey catch up with the members of the Season #2 community: Victoria Grinman, Crystal Bonds, Naftali Tessler, Amelia Marican, Beach Pace, and John...

"I was letting people drive my relationships; letting them tell me what I needed to be successful."  - Cinthia Manuel, first-generation Latina, TEDx Talker, and Latina-preneur. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Cinthia rebrand the idea she shared in her TED Talk where she challenged the way people think about the mentor/mentee relationship. They explore the other side of the perspective t...

"Can you imagine being on a planet where everyone is cared for, in a basic sense. The thought makes me emotional. And I believe that is possible."  - Beach Pace, CEO of the Big Brothers Big Sisters affiliate in Portland, Oregon. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Beach turn an idealistic thought of creating a public service academy into a tangible idea about making service the center of a...

"If they are not standing up for that, then it would probably be more of a cost than the cost of a sidewalk." - Paisley Elliot, 8 year old social activist and nominee for the International Children's Peace Prize. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Paisley explore how to prepare for counterarguments to her idea and how to convince her audience to take action. She shares a thought about how child...

"Knowing something is not good enough. Find the opportunities among the chaos. " - Amelia Marican, the 7-Figure Branding Coach. In this episode, Marc and Cathey help Amelia explore how to boil down a big picture idea. She drops a thought about developing your “superpower” skill. After this discussion, you’ll understand how exploring all the directions of your idea and “replacing” one word with ano...

"It’s not how many, nor how much, but how deeply you connect. " - Naftali Tessler, Chief of Staff at Hamaspik and business/personal development coach. In this episode, Naftali wants to create a “movement” to help you deepen your connections. Marc and Cathey challenge him to explore how to first help people realize that they need to act on an idea and then how to give your audience the space to rec...

"There's so much that we all have to do more of. How can you be at peace? " - Crystal Bonds, school principal, thought leader, and the founder of Changing Norms. An idea gets dropped about how to solve a problem that has plagued disadvantaged schools and neighborhoods for decades. In this coaching session, Marc and Cathey stopped writing notes and started drawing images so they can help Crystal si...

" Those who become great are the ones who know how to take the energy from their supervillain side and turn it into an heroic attribute. "  - Tristan Harvin, brand marketer, ideator, conduit of community, and a pizza-lovin', people-huggin Yankees fan. A discussion about self exploration led us to ask: How do you reverse engineer your thoughts to get an audience all in on your idea? In this co...

"There's a huge distinction between struggling and suffering. We all suffer, but to struggle is an artform."  - Victoria Grinman, integrated therapist, speaker, & transformation agent. Sometimes the experts need to be challenged. How do you redefine what industry insiders are saying and create a new way of thinking?  In this coaching session with Victoria Grinman, Marc and Cathey hel...

“I forgive him whether he is sorry or not.” - Rob Paylor, D1 Rugby player, inspirational storyteller, & national champion who was told he would never walk again. How do you add more power to an already powerful idea? How do you get your audience into the mental space of accepting your personal story as their own universal truth? In this coaching session with Rob Paylor, Marc and Cathey help hi...

"Discover your purpose. Dance with your duality. Telling stories is easier than speaking English." - quotes from Season 1 guests of It's About to Go Down. So what happens when a bunch of idea creators get together in the same zoom? In this "rap-up" episode, Marc and Cathey catch up with the members of the Season #1 community: Mark Brown, Lou Radja, Jessi Duley, Carol Barah, Jackie Cummings-Koski,...

“Underneath is a gem and a jewel, and it is you.” - Shenetta Malkia, Bully Buster, President of Empowerment Essence, & CEO of The PMs of the City . How do you cut away from the complexity of an idea to create a concise, signature concept? In this coaching session with Shenetta Malkia, Marc and Cathey help her remodel her elaborate idea around empowering people to live a healthy and balanced li...

“You don’t need to strive for perfection  because you are always going to be improving.” - Jennifer Gu, 15 year-old speaker & emerging speaker coach . How do you shift the purpose of your idea to reach a wider audience? In this coaching session with Jennifer Gu, Marc and Cathey help her rethink the purpose of spreading a message about why society needs to get kids involved in public speak...

“It’s okay for you to be focused on you being fulfilled first.” - Myron McFee Tucker, change agent & founder of Speak to Be Heard . How do you take an idea that works for you and create a concept/path that can be helpful to others? In this second coaching session with Myron McFee Tucker, Marc and Cathey help him build on an idea about discovering your worthiness and how you allow yourself to s...

“[You have] found a non-evasive method that could save the lives of millions of people in the world.” - Sophie Reverdi, founder of Smart & Light . How can you take all of the knowledge you have gathered in your life and put it into one impactful message? In this coaching session with Sophie Reverdi, Marc and Cathey help her navigate through a wealth of beautiful ideas about how to change the w...

“If we do not define our rules, we are destined to break them.” - Justin Riordin, founder of Spade & Archer . How can you turn an unconventional idea into a digestible message? In this coaching session with Justin Riordin, Marc and Cathey help him expand the reach of his idea about having open relationships. The trick is finding keywords that trigger universal themes, thus turning an idea that...