The Uncommon Minds Experience

This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt stuck, directionless, or wondered if there's more to life and career than what they're currently experiencing. Sara Freeman Smith is a catalyst for motivation in whatever task or role she considers—be it speaker, author, career & book consultant, recruiter, and advocate for inclusion of individuals with disabilities . As a blind person, she has...

This conversation is for anyone who has ever wondered why they keep repeating the same patterns, struggling with the same wounds, or feeling like something deeper is calling them. Kerie Logan has spent over two decades helping people all over the globe live better lives . She is an award-winning author, coach, podcaster, and clinical hypnotherapist with 25 years of experience . Voted the best hypn...

This conversation is for anyone who has ever felt stuck, unsure, or like they're not living up to their full potential. Chris Natzke knows this feeling intimately. He started his martial arts training back in 1973 as a "short little chubby 10-year-old" who was enamored with a TV show called Kung Fu . He literally begged his mom to let him go to a community center where they were doing what they ca...

This conversation is for anyone who's ever felt like they're their own worst enemy—and wondered how to get out of their own way. Jacqueline Kelly knows this terrain intimately. As a former NCAA basketball player, she pushed her physical limits on the court but battled self-doubt and sometimes felt like her own worst enemy . Deep down, she knew she was capable of so much more—but she needed the pro...

This conversation is for anyone who's ever wondered why they keep hitting the same walls in relationships—and can't figure out what they're missing. Jerry Clark knows this terrain intimately. He's lived several lifetimes in one—Marine veteran, telecom executive, and Licensed Professional Counselor with a Master's in Marriage and Family Therapy . Each chapter taught him something powerful about peo...

This conversation is for anyone who has ever looked in the mirror and not recognized the person staring back. Rowan Vale knows this experience intimately. There was a stretch where he'd given so much of himself away that he looked in the mirror and didn't recognize the man staring back . He'd spent his whole life trading pieces of himself off—to be wanted, to be loved, to be anything but the frigh...

This conversation is for anyone who has spent years performing a version of themselves—and is quietly exhausted by it. Ania Hulsman knows this terrain intimately. For decades, she felt like "too much and not enough at the same time"—too intense, too weird, too much going on inside to ever quite fit into the shapes that seemed to come naturally to everyone else . She was diagnosed with dyslexia at...

This conversation is for anyone who has ever trusted a doctor—and later discovered they weren't given the full truth. Ellen Lubensky knows this experience intimately. She is a Stanford graduate and an attorney who previously practiced Social Security Disability and medical malpractice law . After surviving 20 years of disabling tardive dyskinesia caused by psychiatric medications, she now speaks p...

This conversation is for anyone who's ever wondered why people behave the way they do—and whether there's a system for understanding the patterns. Jim Marshall is a polymathic intellectual who has devoted over 50,000 hours to the study and practice of multiple dimensions of human potential and development . He received a classical education as an honor student at a Jesuit Military Prep School, was...

This conversation is for anyone who's ever wondered what the past can teach us about how we connect, perform, and understand ourselves today. Andrew Erdman is a writer, historian, and licensed psychotherapist with a doctorate in theatre studies from the City University of New York Graduate Center . His work sits at the intersection of cultural history and psychoanalysis—exploring how performance,...

This conversation is for anyone who's ever hit rock bottom—and wondered if there was any way back up. Dave Albin knows this terrain intimately. On June 8, 1988, he put a gun to his head to stop the excruciating pain from both drug and alcohol addiction . That moment—choosing life over death—marked the beginning of a transformation that would take him from the depths of addiction to becoming Americ...

This conversation is for leaders who want to build organizations that don't just survive change—they thrive on it. J Calvin Shaw is a business enthusiast who loves to help others create more opportunity . His focus is developing a culture of innovation that enables businesses and organizations to be prepared for the next challenge presented by their consumer . With an MBA in Entrepreneurship and m...

This conversation is for anyone who's ever tried to "just try harder"—and found that it didn't work. Kerisma Vere knows this experience intimately. She's navigated trauma, mental health challenges including anxiety, depression, and PTSD, addiction, and significant life adversity . Those experiences deeply shaped both her perspective and her approach. She knows what it's like to have little sense o...

This conversation is for anyone who's ever felt like an outsider, struggled to connect, or wondered why healthy relationships seem so hard to find. Joshua Jones grew up as an outsider, never quite fitting in anywhere . He learned to accept himself for who he is and turned the quirks that others disapproved of into traits they now find charming . Today, he helps others find that same charisma and a...

This conversation is for anyone who's ever scrolled through social media and wondered: "Am I even interacting with real people anymore?" Ross Thorpe knows this question intimately. As CEO of Rooverse, he's built the only social media platform that blocks all AI-generated content from being posted . No bots. No synthetic identities. No "AI slop." Just real people interacting with real people . His...

This conversation is for anyone who's ever ignored a gut feeling, dismissed a red flag, or found themselves asking: "How did I not see this coming?" Justin Smith knows that question intimately. In March 2024, his partner of eight years completely blindsided him—revealing her true self and attempting to "Gone Girl" him . He couldn't sleep. He couldn't eat. He lost 40 pounds within two months. His r...

This conversation is for anyone who has done everything they were supposed to do—and still feels like something is missing. Chad Betz knows this feeling intimately. Years ago, he was sitting alone in his car in a parking garage after work. On paper, he looked successful. He had built a career, worked hard, taken on responsibility, and done what society tells us we're supposed to do. Yet he found h...

This conversation is for anyone who's ever wondered what it actually takes to serve in one of the most demanding roles in law enforcement—and how a pastor ended up there. Eric Robinson spent 12 years in Christian ministry, pastoring a Baptist church in Western New York, before joining the FBI in 2002 . He served 24 years as a Special Agent, working crimes including white-collar crime, counterterro...

This conversation is for anyone who has ever worn a brave face while quietly falling apart inside. On Halloween night in 1985, seventeen-year-old Susan Snow's life changed forever. Her father, LAPD Detective Thomas C. Williams, was ambushed and assassinated in a targeted drive-by shooting while picking up her six-year-old brother from school . Susan and her mother arrived at the scene and witnesse...

What if the biggest problem with AI isn't the technology—but the way leaders approach it? Brian Beck knows this reality intimately. He works with mid-sized organizations to turn AI and cybersecurity from ideas into real business outcomes . What he sees repeatedly is this: companies invest in tools, attend conferences, and talk about "AI strategy," but very few translate any of it into operational...

What if audacity isn't about reckless moves or grand gestures—but about everyday courage and intentional living? Audley Stephenson knows this truth intimately. He didn't build his work around audacity because it sounded good—he built it because he had to live it . Over the years, he's worn a lot of hats—leader, father, partner, podcaster, and someone who's had to navigate uncertainty, reinvention,...

What if the biggest obstacle to your organization's success isn't strategy or market conditions—but the people problems you're not addressing? Matinah Drew knows this reality intimately. She's the Founder and CEO of Noble Hearts HR Consulting & Staffing, where she helps organizations solve people problems with strategy, heart, and precision . With more than 20 years of experience in human reso...

What if the battle you're fighting isn't external—it's happening inside your own mind? Jai Roza knows this battlefield intimately. As a young man, he drifted from his childhood faith and began searching for meaning through alternative beliefs, stories, games, and spiritual experiences . That search eventually brought him to the lowest point of his life. In his late teens, Jai concluded that life w...

What if the most powerful thing you can give your children isn't a perfect father—but a present, regulated, grounded one? Tyler McAdams knows this truth intimately. He grew up without a consistent biological father in his life—his father left when he was 8 years old—and that experience shaped him deeply . From a young age, he always knew he wanted to be the kind of father his kids would never have...

What if the measure of a life isn't what you produce—but how present you are? Byron Athen knows this question intimately. For years, his life looked successful by every external measure: he was a top agent in network marketing, running a team of over 4,000 people, making extraordinary money, and hitting every metric society told him would make him happy. Yet by 40, he found himself "burned out, br...