Unstoppable Mindset

I am so amazed by the caliber of people I get the pleasure to interview on Unstoppable Mindset. Not only is this week’s guest, Dr. Gary Lawrence, highly articulate and not only does he have an amazing story to tell, but he introduces to all of us concepts and ideas that I think truly are life-changing.   Gary married his wife at a fairly young age. However, it took over 11 years for the two of the...

Shampa Bagchi comes from a family of entrepreneurs who all value living life to the fullest as well as helping to improve our world. Shampa, born in India, moved to the United States after getting a Masters's degree in computers.   In the mid-1990s she saw a need to improve the way companies worked with customers and developed one of the first easy-to-use and inexpensive customer Resource manageme...

Our guest today, Kim Cohen, refers to herself as a Nerdy Lit Professor. Mom.  Neurodiversity, DEI, & UDL advocate. Like many people, it took time for Kim to discover that she was a person who possessed ADHD. While you get to hear Kim’s story of the discovery of this characteristic, what is more, important is how she decided to handle her life.   In every way, Kim is what she calls a perpetual...

David P. Savage is our guest today. I must say at the outset that he conveyed to me a concept I believe we all should consider. Near the end of our time, David discussed the concept, “Unlocking the possible within a culture of collaboration”. David will explain that and many other thoughts and insights during this episode.   David has been extremely involved in the energy industry throughout his c...

Who says we cannot be “unstoppable”? Today I would like you to meet Heather Stone. Heather, Ph. D. is a Chicago area scholar, clinician, consultant, author, and advocate for people with disabilities. Heather has been a person with low vision her entire life. At first, she was not diagnosed as such even though she could not see the blackboard in school and regularly failed in her classes. Eventuall...

I love being inspired by guests on Unstoppable Mindset. Ben Baker, our episode visitor today, is one of the most inspirational people I have had the honor to meet and interview.   First, you get to hear how Ben worked in the corporate world and transitioned to a career in market branding when he realized that he was, at heart, a storyteller. Over the years, he not only told stories to help busines...

Bryan Bashin was born fully sighted, but over time he lost his eyesight. Like many such people, he tried to hide his blindness. Bryan was, in some senses, different than many. Because as he began to discover that other blind people were leading full and successful lives, he decided that he could do the same. He received training and then began to seek employment and attained a most successful care...

In this episode, I have the pleasure of meeting and talking with Yonty Friesem. Yonty is an Associate Professor of communication and founding director of the MA in civic media at Columbia College Chicago. He was born in Israel and moved to the states as his career and vistas expanded.   You get to hear his own life story, but even more important, he will describe the concepts of Civic Media as wel...

Robert P. French was born in Oxford England in 1944. Early on he developed a love of working with computers. As you will learn, he lived within 40 miles of the first 5 computers in the world.   He obtained his first software job in 1963 and never looked back. Well, not back, but as you will learn, he did find new directions along the way that greatly advanced his career and took him along differen...

By now, regular listeners to this podcast have observed that I begin episodes with the word “Unstoppable”. I stole the idea from the old-time radio show Dragnet which began every show with the words “The Big” followed by other title words. Hey, it worked for Dragnet so why invent something new? You will hear near the end of this episode why I used “Unstoppable Guy” as the title.   Anyway, meet Dr....

Jesse Sternberg is a man who unexpectedly began experiencing pain that eventually arose to the level of being completely debilitating for him. Don’t stop thinking that this is just another story about suffering and possibly overcoming a problem. You will never guess how Jesse worked through his pain and how it led to a fascinating career as a dog trainer.   Jesse will provide us with some interest...

Melissa Deally grew up spending much time in Japan. When she settled down to a career she found herself in a sales position with a hotel chain assigned primarily to bring in Asian visitors to her hotels throughout the United States. After a 24-year successful career she suddenly was terminated as the hotel group downsized. Suddenly she needed to find a new income source. I can but wonder what any...

As regular Unstoppable Mindset listeners know, here we do not at all simply believe “vision” means eyesight. Dr. Carlos Archilla-Cady is a perfect example of why this is so. Dr. Archilla-Cady works today as an anesthesiologist in Florida, but during his life he went through a period of being totally blind. He never let his eye condition stop him as you will hear. Carlos began his career working as...

Episode Summary Thanks for reading these notes and listening to Unstoppable Mindset. Might you happen to be a parent? Better yet, might you be the parent of a child with a disability? How about two children with what we call disabilities? I want you to meet this week Mary Elizabeth Jackson who is the mother of three children two of which are on the Autism spectrum. You get to hear in this episode...

Episode Summary Do you know anyone who has a so-called “disability”? How do you know? This week I want you to meet Tiffany Noelle Brown. Tiffany has a PHD, she is a wife and mother, and, by most people’s standards, she has a disability as she happens to have a traumatic brain injury. Tiffany will tell you her story of growing up in environments where she sensed she was different, not because of he...

In this episode I invite you to meet Davida Shensky. Davida grew up in a time before the Americans with Disabilities Act and other legislation guaranteeing persons with disabilities many of the same rights enjoyed by most people in the United States. You will learn about Ms. Shensky’s disability and that of her sister. Davida faced much discrimination when trying to break through the barriers impo...

Episode Summary I have had the honor to interview many guests since beginning Unstoppable Mindset. No guest has demonstrated a greater ability to be unstoppable than this episode’s guest, Ian Walker. Ian learned at a fairly early age that he happened to have ADHD. He also demonstrated a great aptitude and love of music. His love of music won as he will tell you in in our interview. Ian also has wo...

How often do we hear something and then say, “that simply can’t be”. Why are we always so certain? Why do we tend to be so locked into a position that we close our minds to exploring alternatives? Meet our podcast guest David Zimbeck. David grew up with an incredible imagination, a thirst for knowledge and the drive to learn. He is mostly a self-taught person whose desire to learn, think and grow...

Episode Summary John Brauer has worked in the nonprofit sector for thirty years. Before that, he ran a construction company and then a dental lab. As you listen to this episode you will get to know a passionate man who has come to have a vision to help bring about meaningful and positive change in the world for persons with disabilities. Other than being light-dependent, John will tell you that he...

Episode Summary In this episode we get to meet Wesley Hagood. Wes has been involved in various software engineering projects and has worked for several major government contractors. His life was great. He was married and had four children. Nearly 20 years ago, however one day he asked his wife a question that caused his whole family’s world to change. You will get to hear about this life altering...

Meet Andie Monet who, at the age of 16, was totally abandoned by her mother and left homeless to fend for herself. None of that stopped Andie who went on to college, developed a strong personal feeling of self-worth and grew to be an expert in business development. Andie will share with you some of her processes she has used to improve large and small businesses alike. Unbidden she will even discu...

Lisa Thee is a consultant to some of the world's most innovative healthcare and global technology companies including Microsoft and UCSF’s Center for Digital Healthcare Innovation. She is the co-Founder of Minor Guard, an Artificial Intelligence software company focused on making people safer online and in real life. A staunch advocate for the protection of children Lisa is unstoppable in her effo...

Episode Summary Ismail Salhi is an unstoppable person by any standard. As he says, “I am a computer scientist by training. But fell in love with entrepreneurship in the last 10 years”. His company, Wildgrain was formed in 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic swept across the world. Mr. Salhi and his wife had a dream and they decided not to let anything stop them from bringing their dream to reality. Toda...

Episode Summary Bob Brill has been in radio for over 50 years. Not only has he seen and covered it all live, but as you will hear he has been an unexpectant participant and victim. As a radio newscaster and anchor Bob is known for covering the news for networks and local stations. In 1992 he covered the famous, or infamous riots that took place after the acquittal of four policemen who were accuse...

Episode Summary What do you do when you are angry? Have you ever thought about controlling your serious anger when it happens? Lorraine Durnford-Hill has been studying anger and anger management for 40 years. She has served as a coach, and therapist and she also has taught children in kindergarten. As she was growing up she faced her own issues. In our episode this week we get to meet Lorraine. Sh...