Rise To More

I used to walk into every room and scan it first. What do they need from me? How do I come across as credible without coming across as too much? I built a real career that way. I was also exhausted in a way I couldn't name. In this episode I'm being honest about something I don't talk about enough - the performance. The softening. The slow, quiet habit of making yourself smaller so other people fe...

Guest: Tony Sanneh — Former U.S. National Team soccer player, 2002 World Cup veteran, 2026 National Soccer Hall of Fame inductee, and founder of the Sanneh Foundation Episode Description There's a version of Tony Sanneh's story that ends with the World Cup. Boy from St. Paul makes it to soccer's biggest stage, wins, lives well. The end. That's not his story. In this conversation, Tony and Jasna ta...

Most people wait until they’re ready. Greta Siedow raised her hand when she was 80% there, and ended up leading one of the largest women’s sporting events in the country. In this episode of RISE TO MORE, Greta — VP at Optum Rx and General Chair of the 2026 KPMG Women’s PGA Championship at Hazeltine, shares what happens when you stop waiting for permission and start trusting what years of showing u...

Hey beautiful humans, this week, I did a solo episode for you all. One thing keeps coming up over and over again in my conversation with incredible women - they don’t trust themselves fully. And yet - I believe that inside of us is this magic power that is our superpower. And this is something I teach all my clients. Today, I am sharing it with you. You were not given a brain and a body. You were...

Some people have a career. Some people have a calling. Very few get to live both. Christine (Christy) Sovereign is one of them. For decades, she built her career at the highest level, and quietly, something else was always there. Her sister. In this week’s Rise to More, Christine shares what it looks like when a career and a calling finally become one, not by leaving one behind, but by bringing bo...

In this episode of RISE TO MORE, Megan Tamte, co-founder and CEO of EVEREVE, opens up about entrepreneurship, identity, faith, fulfillment, and the real emotional cost of building one of the most beloved retail brands in the country. From the moment she stopped watching other people chase their dreams and decided to pursue her own, to the challenges that came with success, this is a conversation a...

She showed up to this interview the day after foot surgery. That alone tells you everything you need to know about Wendy Blackshaw . The president and CEO of Minnesota Sports and Events sat down with Rise to More this week and delivered one of the most honest, warm, and genuinely inspiring conversations this show has ever had. Over the course of our time together, Wendy didn’t just talk about the...

When I sit down with people on Rise to More , I am always looking for more than a good résumé or an impressive title. I want to understand who they are when they walk into a room. I want to know what kind of energy they bring to other people. I want to know whether their success has made them more human or less. That is exactly why my conversation with Florian Riedel stayed with me. Florian is the...

When I sat down with Beth Benike on Rise to More , I expected we’d talk about business, tariffs, entrepreneurship, and the challenges she’s faced as the founder of Busy Baby . And we did. But what stayed with me wasn’t just her business story. It was who she is underneath all of it: the woman, the mother, the inventor, and the person who keeps showing up no matter what. Beth is an Army veteran, a...

Over the past few weeks I have had the same conversation with many different people. Friends, clients, parents at school events, strangers who stop me after a talk. The topic is always the same: the state of the world. Another war appears in the news. Political tensions rise. Economists warn about instability. The questions people ask me are simple and sincere. Is the world falling apart? Where ar...

There are certain stories that do not simply inform you — they rearrange you. In 2003, a healthy thirty-seven-year-old man kissed his wife goodnight and went to sleep. He had just begun a dream job at a startup company. He and his wife were planning in vitro treatments to start a family. He was disciplined, responsible, a runner, deeply loved. He did not have a history of depression. He was not sp...

It started the way so many iconic things do: quietly, improbably, and with no one’s permission. An empty brick warehouse in Minneapolis’ North Loop. Two guys. No investors. No outside money. And a vision that sounded almost absurd in 2008—build the most beautiful store in America. Not a boutique. Not a showroom. Not “retail” the way we’ve been trained to think about it. Something else. Something t...

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. In a world of endless scrolling, relentless news cycles, and the constant hum of “not enough,” what does it really mean to come home to ourselves? That’s the question I explored with my dear friend and spiritual teacher Betsy Weiner in the latest episode of Rise to More . For more than 25 years, Betsy has been guiding...

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. What does it mean to live fully—not someday, not when things calm down, not when the stars finally align—but now, in this lifetime? That question sat at the heart of my recent Rise to More conversation with my dear friend, writer, and kindred spirit, Jill Palmquist . Jill’s stunning book, In This Lifetime , is part co...

When we see public figures, we rarely see the human being. We see a policy, a headline, a viral moment. What we don’t often glimpse is the person—the father fixing his daughter’s tiara, the husband leaning on his wife, the runner who finds peace by railroad tracks after a long day. In my recent Rise to More conversation with Minneapoli s Mayor Jacob Frey , I set aside politics entirely. I wanted t...

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. I believe love is the most powerful force in the world. It steadies us. It expands us. It’s the one thing success can’t replace. That’s why today’s story matters. I brought my dear friend and now business partner, Julie Spangler, onto Rise to More because she’s quietly changed thousands of lives—with a craft most peop...

We love to watch people rise. We cheer for the underdog, admire their grit, and celebrate their early wins. But the moment they cross into real success—the kind that sets them apart—something shifts. Suddenly, we start picking them apart. We look for cracks, mistakes, scandals. We whisper, “Who do they think they are?” Elon Musk is maybe a tricky example—because let’s face it, the man is as contro...

Today’s guest on Rise to More completely blew my mind. Dr. Simone Xavier isn't just another entrepreneur—she is one of the most remarkable minds behind one of the world’s biggest makeup brands, Sigma Beauty . When I first heard her story—a veterinarian, infectious disease researcher, and professor who pivoted into beauty—I was fascinated. How does someone go from vaccines and bacterial diagnostics...

Lauren Bennett McGinty on Leading Explore Minnesota’s $25B Revival When you think of transformative leadership, you might not immediately think of tourism. But Lauren Bennett McGinty is here to change that. As the Executive Director of Explore Minnesota , Lauren has taken the reins of a $25 billion industry in a state recovering from global disruption, cultural shifts, and long-standing misconcept...

Sometimes, the most powerful voices are the quiet ones. The people who don't speak to be heard—but to serve. Today's Rise to More guest, Nick Engbloom, is exactly that kind of quiet powerhouse. Nick is Senior Director of Development at the University of Minnesota Foundation, and just this year - he was recognized as part of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (MSPBJ) 40 Under 40. He’s quietl...

There’s this story we tell about visibility: Build something amazing. Gather a big following. Get celebrated. Feel fulfilled. But what happens when the story turns? In one of the most raw, vulnerable conversations I've had on the Rise to More podcast, creative entrepreneur Sarah Edwards pulls back the curtain on what success and public visibility can truly cost. If you’ve lived in Minneapolis, you...

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. When Loyalty Breaks: Betrayal, Self-Preservation & Rising Anyway There’s a quiet kind of heartbreak that doesn’t come from a breakup or a layoff. It comes from someone you trusted… choosing themselves over you. That sting? Yeah—it’s betrayal. And it happens to all of us eventually. Even, apparently, to Taylor Swift. L...

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. This week on Rise to More , I had the honor of sitting down with a guest whose story moved me to my core. Anne Ahmed is not just a chef. She is a memory-keeper, a storyteller, and a bridge between worlds. A former refugee from Laos who arrived in the United States as a child, Anne's life and work now anchor some of th...

Thanks for reading! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. 🎙️ Welcome to the First Episode of 'Rise to More' This is the official rebrand of the podcast formerly known as Uplevel Together. I’m excited to step into this new chapter with you. If you’re wondering why I made the switch and what “Rise to More” truly means, I break it all down in this article: Now, for our first ep...

Today feels like a homecoming. The podcast you’ve known and trusted has officially evolved. Formerly Uplevel Together , now proudly: Rise to More. Because who you become next is what truly matters. This isn’t just a rebrand. It’s a declaration. It’s a reminder that the life you want—the one that feels grounded, meaningful, alive—isn’t found in chasing more noise, more pressure, or someone else’s v...