The Books That Shaped Me

0:00 – Sponsor Message A quick thank-you to Windstar Insurance Group out of Cedar Park, owned by Angie's friend Stephanie Dew, for backing this season. 1:02 – Welcome to the Season 1 Finale Angie kicks off episode 10 with Vidya Moorthy, calling her "the crown jewel" to close out the first season. 2:22 – Vidya's Story: Detroit to Austin An MBA in finance, a master's in PR, a career that took her fr...

0:00 – Intro: Angie welcomes Veronica Seaver, a woman she's known and admired for over a decade, back for Episode 9. 3:21 – Career Journey: Veronica traces her path from the restaurant industry at Hyatt to HR, to running her own nurseries, to becoming Elgin Chamber president. Every stop taught her the same skill: how to create buy-in. 8:55 – Choosing Honesty Over the Mask: Veronica gets real about...

Ep. 8 | Anne Grady: Evolvability, the Inner Critic, and Why Your Brain Would Rather Be Predictably Unhappy What happens when the life you planned falls completely apart — and you end up more yourself than you ever would have been otherwise? Anne Grady is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and resilience expert who has spent two decades learning — the hard way — how to not just survive tough ci...

Kathy Wetzel is a tech executive, long-time SIM leader, and one of those people who has quietly shaped rooms full of leaders for decades. Armed with both an accounting and computer science degree, her career took her from Honeywell to Great Clips to TASB, the Texas Association of School Board Services, with a few wild pivots in between. This conversation is packed with real leadership wisdom. Kath...

What do you do when everything you built — suddenly disappears overnight? That's the real conversation in Episode 6 of The Books That Shaped Me. Melinda Quiroz spent 11 years building a massive insurance book of business. Then, on March 17th, 2026, that chapter ended — without warning, without a choice. She calls it her "captive to called" season. And what she says next stopped me in my tracks: "I...

Brandon is a well-read servant leader. He has served our country and continues in public service in IT at TX Facilities Commission. He shared about "radical accountability" and how these lessons, that have been hard earned have shown him how to be empathetic while maintaining grit in the face of adversity. Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek Extreme Ownership and The Dichotomy of Leadership by Jacko W...

What do Spartan Races have to do with getting a CIO job at a space agency? Everything, it turns out. Episode 3 of The Books That Shaped Me drops this week — and Rafael Pimentel Pinto brought a book that changed how he sees obstacles, careers, and the moment your mind says "I can't." Spoiler: he learned to ignore that voice.

Join me in this conversation with Brooke, she shares her journey with vulnerability and beauty. The Sacrament of Happy by Lisa Harper Girl Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis I Do Feelings by Havilah Cunnington

Theresa Pore is a Business Coach, Motivational Speaker and Entrepreneur. Theresa’s passion in business is to help individuals become the best version of themselves while teaching them how to bring their authentic self, their personal strengths and gifts towards becoming independently wealthy in business and in life. The life that they design. Activator by Dr. Jason Jones

Introduction discussion with podcast host Angie Smith and long-time bestie Gina Dodd. Together the vision for the podcast is set along with the guiding concepts for further conversations. Books are like teachers, showing up at the right time to aide us on our journey of life.