Play Your Position

Andrea Jordan is a business strategist who is living a life many people dream of: seeing the world while working remotely. As a digital nomad, she is currently travelling throughout Latin America, enjoying the many sites this region of the world has to offer. She earns her living supporting creative entrepreneurs who want to live a life less ordinary, just like she's doing. With a rare combination...

Most of us have heard a variation of the popular Vince Lombardi quote: "Winners never quit and quitters never win." While that meme may have worked back in the mid 20th century when the world was very different, it's not so relevant today. Winners actually quit all the time, and here's seven specific ways those quitters win: Quit holding on to the past. Mistakes. Coulda-shoulda-wouldas and the lik...

"The Internet still has a voodoo quality to me, even after all this time," laughs today's PYP MVP Matt Miller. Old school through and through, Matt loves the physicality of peeling a sticker off its backing and then sticking it on something, like the cover of his laptop. Matt is the first guest to make a second appearance on PYP, and we had a ball catching up on where he's taken his franchise-base...

"I don't like doing the same thing over and over," says Dana Malstaff, founder of the growing brand "Boss Mom" and mother of two. "That's probably why I wouldn't be good at football because I'd want to play all the positions!" Dana is a mother, author, business & content strategist, coach, and podcaster whose energy is infectious. She lives with her family in San Diego and loves what she does. As...

He's crashed the Toronto Film Festival. Had dinner with Amy Cuddy and her family in the nicest restaurant in Boston. Imitated his favorite superhero in a bathroom stall before nailing an audition. Won multiple awards for his indie film "Linea." Attended Oscar parties with Hollywood A-listers and acted across from Reese Witherspoon in the critically acclaimed film, "Wild" (based on fellow Portlande...

Too many Americans are living as prisoners in their own bodies, held captive by bad habits that have drained them of their livelihood and sentenced them to a premature death. These harsh realities are what have kept Dr. Phil Carson passionate about practicing pharmacy since 1985. After encountering many patients who were seeking answers when their needs were not met by traditional medicine, Dr. Ph...

"At my lowest point, I ate 88 cent pasta and $1.88 sauce from Walmart for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It literally saved my life," says today's PYP MVP Rob Dial. Those days may be behind him, but Rob will never forget them. "Being an entrepreneur is like waking up and getting punched in the face every single day,"  he says. "You have to develop a CEO mindset and model your actions after the peopl...

What happens when you realize you aren't as good as you thought you were? That, after devoting over half your life to one pursuit, it didn't work out? Today's PYP MVP Siphiwe Baleka knows exactly what this feels like...and shares his story of personal reinvention, reclamation and redemption with us on today's episode. Siphiwe was raised in Chicago by a single dad and went on to graduate from Yale...

When you meet Lou Radja for the first time, most people are struck by the warmth of his smile, followed by his remarkable ability to command a room with his wonderful stories. If you hang around long enough after he's finished speaking, you'll be one of the lucky ones to get a hug from this incredible man. Lou was born in Boston, but spent the next 16 years of his life in the Congo when his parent...

What can we learn from having a bad boss, or working with a really bad coach? Emotional Intelligence expert Dr. Tracey Adams says plenty! Tracey and I recently met via a mutual friend and PYP MVP Elizabeth Case (thanks, Elizabeth!) and we hit it off immediately. Enthusiastic is an understatement when it comes to describing this powerhouse. I learned so much from our conversation on today's episode...

100 is a nifty number. It's many people's favorite currency denomination (who doesn't like having a pocket full of Benjamins). It carries a certain and enviable weight. Just saying the words "one hundred" can send currents of excitement through our brains. Did you know, for example, that the numerology number 100 represents energy that's self-determined, independent, and has infinite potential? Th...

If you were deathly afraid of spiders, would you deliberately spend the night in the jungles of Borneo? Today's PYP MVP Sue Ritchie did, and said it was one of the best experiences of her life. Sue is a leadership coach who knows how to shake things up and move us out of our comfort zones so we can thrive in the new world of work and life. No stranger to taking calculated risks, Sue walks her talk...

I first met Karen Lopez McWilliams in the lobby of a Hilton Hotel in Southlake, Texas. It was late June 2015 and she arrived with all the materials she'd agreed to bring for our two day strategy session together on her passion project: big post-it paper, colored markers, legal pads, pens. For the next 48 hours, we hashed out the game plan she would use to create her book, The Ones Who Believed: Tr...

I love the Super Bowl. I was not happy with the outcome on Sunday as I wanted the Falcons to win. But hats off to Tom Brady and the Patriots for pulling out of their tailspin and coming back to win the game. History making event. But enough about football. Ha! Today I want to talk about the halftime show because it was out of this world and I couldn't help myself...I was enjoying it not just for t...

When I was in my twenties, I loved buying expensive shoes at Nordstrom. While I'm not nearly as obsessed with fancy shoes as I was in those days, I still enjoy splurging once in awhile on a great pair of kicks. In fact, I know plenty of women whose appetites for shoes and other fashion accessories have only increased over the years. Honestly, it doesn't matter what people decide to spend their mon...

In the second half of my conversation with Thor Conklin, Thor gets into the details of how to execute on the plans we make for our lives, our businesses, our careers. Think that's easy? It's actually not. For the last 16 years, Thor has been obsessed with finding out what makes the difference between the people who succeed wildly in life and the ones who say they want to succeed wildly -- but neve...

It's fun listening to Thor Conklin. He is full of energy, insights and passion for helping people achieve peak performance. What I noticed right away about Thor was his conviction: what he shares with us in the first half of our conversation in today's episode is nothing less than spectacular -- and totally doable. That's another quality I admire in Thor. He breaks down big ideas that may at first...

Being the Best. I've been reading Seth Godin's book The Dip this week. If you haven't read this book, I recommend it. In a nutshell, The Dip is a book about helping readers figure out when to keep going, when to quit and "having the guts to do one or the other." Sounds simple enough, but it really isn't. A Short Book with a Long Punch. The Dip is a short book, but it packs a long-lasting punch. It...

"The best professionals I've ever met are always improving. They are never stuck in one place." Claudio Toyoma, PYP #62 The end of one year and the beginning of a new one is always a great time to reflect, ruminate, and recharge. What better way than to showcase the best and brightest insights from the 2016 roster of PYP MVPs than with a highlight reel? Today's episode continues the spirit of comp...

Personal branding is all the rage today and it's one of the most difficult concepts to grasp, let alone get right. But for people who work with today's PYP MVP, Britney Gardner, things fall into place with their brands and they get results. As a brand strategist, Britney Gardner translates what it feels like to work with you into messaging you will use to build a business (or career) full of the b...

It's almost 2017 and the publishing industry has been turned upside down in the last few years by tech giants like Amazon who allow anyone to publish anything, anywhere, anytime. Given our highly digital world, a big question on book lovers' minds everywhere is -- do books still matter in a Snapchat world? Today's PYP MVP Ally Machate has a unique perspective on the state of books today. She is th...

Kids today are experiencing greater health challenges than any generation in our history. From too much time sitting in front of screens to highly processed diets, our children need alternatives to developing healthy habits for life. Today's PYP MVP, Jeremy Barnhart, is a co-owner and VP of Franchise Development at Apex Fun Run and is providing a terrific solution to this problem. Apex Fun Run hel...

The Chicago Cubs just won the World Series after 108 years of dashed hopes, high expectations, faith, belief, doubt, and generations of fans wondering if it would ever happen. One week later, on November 8, 2016, America will elect a new president, and we will witness a new round of dashed hopes, high expectations, faith, belief, doubt and generations of citizens wondering what just happened. Rega...

Jo Miller is Founding Editor of BeLeaderly.com , CEO of Women's Leadership Coaching, Inc ., and the creator of the Women's Leadership Coaching® system, a roadmap for women who want to break into leadership positions in business. Used successfully by thousands of women worldwide, the system identifies the key steps women must take to advance into positions of influence and leadership—especially in...

Dave Sanderson is an inspirational survivor, speaker, and author. When US Airways Flight 1549, or "The Miracle on the Hudson," ditched into the Hudson River on January 15, 2009, Dave Sanderson knew he was exactly where he was supposed to be. The last passenger off the back of the plane on that fateful day, he was largely responsible for the well-being and safety of others, risking his own life in...