Life Story Episodes

1,450 | From F16 Pilot to CEO Anthony Bourke’s Story Anthony “AB” Bourke is a highly experienced F-16 fighter pilot who has flown tactical missions in countries all over the world. He has accumulated more than 3,000 hours of flight time in numerous high-performance aircraft and was one of the first pilots to fly his F-16 over New York City in the homeland defense efforts on September 11th. Following his impressive military career, “AB” took the tools and techniques that made him one of our nation’s premier fighter pilots and applied those to the competitive world of business. He ascended early in his career to become the top-producing mortgage banker in the Western US for a prominent lending institution. His success in the mortgage industry led to a new opportunity at a California-based start-up company where his team of 40 professionals dramatically grew revenue from $500,000 to $65M in three years. Following these two endeavors, “AB” partnered with two other fighter pilots …

1,437 | Adam Peters on Helping Veterans Find Purpose After Service The Strategic Veteran is a mission driven platform founded by Adam Peters, dedicated to empowering veteran entrepreneurs as they transition into civilian life. After 13 years of service, Adam experienced firsthand the challenges many veterans face, from navigating uncertainty to encountering misleading opportunities and empty promises. Built from that experience, The Strategic Veteran exists to provide real guidance, trusted resources, and a supportive community for veterans from all backgrounds. Its goal is to make the transition into business and civilian life as smooth and grounded as possible. At its core, the mission goes far beyond entrepreneurship. It is about purpose, direction, and helping reduce veteran suicide by giving veterans a path forward, a sense of identity, and a community that truly understands them. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: t…

1,429 | Lisa Conway on Surviving 100 Shock Therapy Treatments Lisa A. Conway, MSW, is a mental health advocate, author, and former medical social worker dedicated to ethical care, patient advocacy, and lived experience recovery. After years in the medical field, she now focuses on raising awareness around transparency, informed consent, and patient centered approaches in mental health treatment, especially in relation to shock therapy. As an ECT survivor who underwent more than one hundred treatments, Lisa speaks openly about the long term impact of psychiatric interventions and the importance of honoring patient voices. Her memoir, Shocked, offers a powerful and personal look into mental illness, the healthcare system, and the journey from trauma to advocacy. Through her writing and speaking, Lisa works to reduce stigma while encouraging honest, necessary conversations about mental health, recovery, and compassionate care. She enjoys running with her service dog Teddy, writi…

1,426 | Kevin and Brichelle on Finding Meaning in Everyday Life Kevin and Brichelle bring heart, perspective, and authenticity to conversations about what it truly means to live a meaningful life. Through their work on Positive Talk Radio, they explore how purpose is not found in big, distant milestones, but in the small, everyday moments that shape who we become. Together, they remind listeners that meaning is created through connection, gratitude, and showing up with intention. Whether through honest dialogue, uplifting stories, or shared life experiences, Kevin and Brichelle inspire others to slow down, reflect, and recognize the beauty already present in their lives. Their message is simple yet powerful: a meaningful life is not something you chase, it is something you choose to create, one moment at a time. #PositiveTalkRadio #KevinMcDonald #Brichelle #MeaningfulLife #PurposeDriven #MindsetShift #PersonalGrowth #LiveWithIntention #Gratitude #SelfAwareness #LifeLessons…

1,404 | Celeste Glover on Turning Tragedy Into Advocacy Celeste Glover is a hands on remodeler and landlord whose business motto is simple: Improving community. She has built her career transforming highly distressed properties into safe, livable homes, strengthening neighborhoods one project at a time. On July 19, 2023, Celeste survived a complete spinal cord injury that left her paralyzed from the waist down. While there is currently no cure for spinal cord injury, she has committed herself to pursuing innovative treatments that are showing promising results in restoring function and improving quality of life. These emerging therapies are helping address paralysis, spasms, nerve pain, incontinence, and autonomic dysreflexia, with clinical trials underway in the United States and additional treatment options available internationally. Celeste is raising funds to participate in treatment at Verita Neuro in Guadalajara. While she understands that a full recovery may not be pos…

1,393 | Ed Hajim Shares How Adversity Built a Wall Street Leader Ed Hajim is a Wall Street executive, philanthropist, and author whose life reflects resilience, discipline, and reinvention. Kidnapped by his father at age three and raised in foster homes and orphanages, Ed overcame extraordinary hardship to build a five decade career in finance. He held senior leadership roles at Lehman Brothers, Furman Selz, and ING, and now serves as Chairman of HighVista Strategies. Beyond business, Ed is deeply committed to expanding access to education and opportunity through the Hajim Family Foundation. His memoir, On the Road Less Traveled, and his inspirational fable, The Island of the Four Ps, offer readers a practical framework for discovering purpose, values, and direction. His philosophy is simple and powerful: adversity does not define you. Your response does. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://www.edhajim.com/ 🎬 Need s…

1,375 | Tania Anderson Reveals What Travel Taught Her About Humanity Tania Anderson is a former Pan American World Airways flight attendant, international traveler, and author of On Butterflies’ Wings, a memoir that captures her extraordinary life across seven countries and seventy-nine destinations. After earning dual degrees in Political Science and International Studies from American University in Washington, DC, Tania began her aviation career with Pan Am, which launched her into a lifetime of global exploration. She later flew VIP charters, press corps, military personnel, refugees, and medical teams, earning the U.S. Air Force Civilian Desert Shield and Desert Storm Medal for Outstanding Achievement during the First Gulf War. A passionate advocate for human rights, Tania also spent years lobbying on Capitol Hill for those without a voice. In 2000, she joined the Screen Actors Guild and appeared in films by Steven Spielberg, the Coen Brothers, and Oliver Stone, as well a…

1,374 | Meghan Higney Reveals What It Takes to Build a Business That Lasts Meghan Higney is the founder of Message, a business builder, and mother of two who believes the hardest parts of entrepreneurship are not strategic but personal. She has led a consumer brand through uncertainty, pressure, and growth while learning that resilience and integrity matter more than bravado. In 2024, Meghan moved her family to central Mexico, redefining how she leads, measures success, and sustains balance in life and business. With a background in finance, investment, and leadership, she brings both emotional depth and practical insight to conversations about money, responsibility, and building with purpose. Her work centers on thoughtful leadership, honest communication, and creating businesses that last. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://www.wearmessage.com 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio, or scroll-stopping designs? Ch…

1,363 | Lindsay Friedman Shares a Smarter Way to Prepare for Caregiving Lindsay Friedman began her career as a nursing assistant, working across long-term care settings. That professional path became deeply personal when she became her grandmother’s primary caregiver, an experience that transformed her understanding of what families truly face. After a serious accident, Lindsay spent several years as a care recipient, gaining firsthand insight into both sides of the caregiving journey. Later, as a cross-generational caregiver supporting her parents and caring for her chronically ill daughter, she learned to approach every challenge with empathy, resilience, and perspective. An experienced entrepreneur and the author of Plan Today, Protect Tomorrow, Lindsay founded CareBloom, a caregiving support tool, and LTCareNav, an AI-powered long-term care planning platform that provides families with free care plans, concierge support, and connections to trusted care resources. Throu…

1,345 | Stuart Perrin Shares Lessons From 40 Years of Meditation Stuart Perrin is an American spiritual master of Rudra Meditation who has been teaching around the world for more than forty years. His journey began in his early twenties, traveling through Europe and North Africa in search of a spiritual teacher. In 1967, he met Swami Rudrananda (Rudi)—a moment that transformed his life. Under Rudi’s guidance, Stuart learned a powerful meditation practice that develops the chakra system and makes the esoteric deeply practical for modern life. Today, he teaches Rudra Meditation in the U.S. and internationally via Zoom, guiding students toward greater awareness, balance, and inner peace. Stuart is also the author of numerous books on meditation and spiritual practice, including A Lotus Flower in Muddy Waters, Navigating the River of Time, Moving On: Finding Happiness in a Changed World, and Leah: A Story of Meditation and Healing. Through his teaching and writing, Stuart cont…

1,328 | Merry Korn on Scaling, Exiting, and Building Businesses That Matter Merry Korn is a serial entrepreneur, speaker, author, and advisor best known as the visionary founder of Pearl Interactive Network, Inc., one of the world’s most successful for-profit social enterprises. For over two decades, Merry led Pearl Interactive Network with a people-first philosophy—creating over 1,300 jobs across 30 states for disabled veterans, military spouses, people with disabilities, and individuals in underserved communities. Her leadership proved that when employees feel valued, they deliver excellence, innovation, and lasting impact. After scaling and successfully exiting Pearl Interactive Network, Merry now empowers others through speaking, advisory services, and thought leadership—helping business owners grow with purpose and professionals break free from career stagnation. Her achievements have been recognized by Ernst & Young, NPR, and The United States Business Leadership Net…

1,323 | Jimmy Madison on Jazz, GRAMMYs, and a Life Well Played Jimmy Madison is an American jazz drummer whose extraordinary career spans more than six decades. A child prodigy from Cincinnati, he began performing professionally at just 12 years old—long before he could legally enter the clubs where he played. Throughout his career, Jimmy has performed and recorded with some of the greatest names in jazz, funk, and popular music, including Quincy Jones, Lionel Hampton, James Brown, Chet Baker, Tony Bennett, Nina Simone, Stan Getz, and The Duke Ellington Orchestra. His work has also graced stages with renowned ensembles such as The Boston Symphony, The Royal Philharmonic, and The Los Angeles Philharmonic. In 2019, Jimmy earned a GRAMMY Award for his collaboration with Joyce DiDonato. Proudly calling himself a “sideman,” he continues to be celebrated for his precision, creativity, and deep musical soul. Beyond music, Jimmy is an avid adventurer, having spent years mountainee…

1,322 | Cornelia Hansen on Understanding Child Development Through Astrology Cornelia Hansen is an author, educator, and astrologer whose lifelong passion for understanding human development has guided her through a remarkable career in both psychology and early childhood education. Born in New York City and later settling in California, Cornelia devoted 20 years to raising her four children before returning to school to earn master’s degrees in Early Childhood Education and Clinical Psychology. Her groundbreaking research at an LAUSD Early Childhood Learning Center became the foundation for her book Kidwheels, which explores the intersection of child development and astrology. For 17 years, she worked as a licensed Marriage, Family, and Child Therapist, and also taught psychology, English, and humanities at the high school level. Now retired from clinical practice, Cornelia teaches at Kepler College, an online astrology school, where she offers a course based on her book Kid…

1,314 | Vishrant Prem Talks About Awareness, Presence, and Freedom Vishrant is a contemporary mystic and enlightened teacher from Perth, Western Australia. Since 1999, he has guided seekers of truth around the world through Satsangs, Enlightenment Intensive Retreats, and writings on higher consciousness and self-realisation. His teaching unites the clear insight of Advaita Vedanta with the open-hearted compassion of Buddhism, offering a path of awakening grounded in love, awareness, and service. Influenced by his years in Osho’s Mystery Schools, Vishrant’s approach centers on undoing the mind—dismantling belief systems and conditioning that create separation. Rather than theory or philosophy, Vishrant offers a direct, experiential way to go beyond the mind and awaken to one’s true nature—pure awareness, love, and peace. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: www.vishrant.org 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio, or scroll-st…

1,313 | Kathleen Scheible on Raising Awareness for Homeopathic Medicine Kathleen Scheible has been a practicing classical homeopath since 2005, serving clients in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights neighborhood and online worldwide. After witnessing remarkable healing in both her son and stepson through homeopathy, she left a career in engineering to dedicate her life to natural medicine and holistic wellness. Her journey reflects both curiosity and conviction—combining analytical precision with compassionate care. Throughout her career, she has contributed extensively to the homeopathic community and is now helping lead efforts to raise funds for the first-ever Homeopathic Medicine Political Action Committee, advocating for fair and progressive regulation of homeopathic medicines in the United States. Dedicated to healing, advocacy, and integrity in the practice of homeopathy. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://w…

1,307 | Tracy Smaldino Talks About Building a Safe Space for Survivors Tracy Smaldino is the creator and host of Trauma Rock Stars, a podcast dedicated to turning pain into purpose and helping others find light through healing. A survivor of a devastating childhood accident and years of trauma, Tracy has transformed her story into a movement of resilience and hope. Through open conversation, humor, and compassion, she connects with others who are ready to heal, grow, and reclaim their power. Her mission is simple: to build a community where survivors become thrivers and every story reminds us that we are never alone. Because healing doesn’t have to be quiet—and your story deserves to be heard. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://www.youtube.com/@TraumaRockStars 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio, or scroll-stopping designs? Check out our media services at https://www.kmmedia.pro/ — Top-tier quality without th…

1,306 | Chris Bingham Talks About Honoring and Protecting America’s K9 Heroes Chris Bingham is a dedicated law enforcement officer with over two decades of service and leadership experience. A graduate of the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command, Chris has spent his career building and leading K9 programs while advocating for the wellbeing and legacy of working dogs across the nation. He’s best known for his bond with his retired partner, K9 Tambo, whose story of resilience and recovery has inspired thousands. Through storytelling, public appearances, and collaborations, Chris raises awareness for organizations like Project K9 Hero, which supports retired K9s with medical care and post-service needs. Outside of law enforcement, Chris is passionate about fitness and mentorship, using his platform to inspire others through messages of perseverance, fatherhood, and defying the odds. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out…

1,303 | Adam Brownlie Explores the Link Between Simplicity and Happiness Adam Brownlie is a fifth-generation Australian farmer turned thinker, storyteller, and observer of life’s smallest moments. His reflections blend the simplicity of rural living with a deep curiosity about human nature, happiness, and the everyday experiences that shape who we become. Born into a loving family on a cotton farm in Queensland, he learned early about hard work, freedom, and the value of reflection—lessons that would guide him far beyond the farm. From driving trucks before his feet could reach the pedals to pondering the meaning of peace and purpose as a young boarder, his story captures a life defined not by grand events but by quiet insights. Through his writing, he explores both the scientific and spiritual sides of happiness, weaving together humility, humor, and perspective. His philosophy is simple: meaning isn’t found in extraordinary moments, but in the ordinary ones we choose to not…

1,300 | J. Everett Prewitt Explores Resilience, Identity, and the Human Spirit J. Everett Prewitt is an award-winning author, Vietnam veteran, and former U.S. Army officer whose storytelling captures the heart of history, resilience, and the human experience. His debut novel, Snake Walkers, won four first-place fiction awards and the Bronze Medal for General Fiction in ForeWord Magazine’s Book of the Year contest. His second novel, A Long Way Back, received six awards, including first place from the Independent Publishers of New England. In 2024, Everett released Something About Ann and The Last Time I Saw Willie, earning multiple award nominations. His latest work, A Life in the Sunshine (2025), has been praised by U.S. Book Review and Midwest Book Review for its authenticity, depth, and uplifting perspective on perseverance and identity. When he isn’t writing, Everett enjoys golf, tennis, billiards, backgammon, jazz, and a fine glass of cabernet—living proof that a life …

1,294 | Robert Atkinson Explains How Our Life Story Leads to Transformation Robert Atkinson, Ph.D., is an award winning author, speaker, and developmental psychologist whose work illuminates the path from duality to interconnectedness and oneness. A 2017 Nautilus Book Award winner for The Story of Our Time and co editor of Our Moment of Choice, he is a leading voice on personal myth making, soul making, and the transformative power of life stories. He is the founder of the One Planet Peace Forum and StoryCommons, and is widely recognized for pioneering the field of life story interviewing. As a member of the Evolutionary Leaders Circle, a project of the Source of Synergy Foundation, he contributes to global conversations that inspire collective awakening. Robert is the author of nine influential books. The Story of Our Time was praised by Michael Bernard Beckwith as a must read for a global audience. Mystic Journey was called an exquisite exploration of the spiritual craft of…

1,290 | The Monetized Mindset: Bart Merrell’s Guide to Profiting From Anything Bart Merrell has never had a “real job”—and he believes you don’t need one either. Growing up in the small farming town of Animas, New Mexico, he started his first business at fifteen: a mobile DJ company built from a used Sanyo stereo and a whole lot of determination. What began as a weekend hobby turned into a thriving business that funded his college education and sparked a lifelong passion for entrepreneurship. After earning a degree in accounting (a subject he admits he didn’t love), Bart faced rejection from his dream of becoming an FBI agent due to a vision issue. Instead of giving up, he built his own path—turning obstacles into opportunities and setbacks into success stories. Today, Bart is known for his “monetized mindset,” helping others transform life’s lemons into profitable lemonade. His mission is simple: prove that you don’t need permission or a perfect plan to build the life you…

1,287 | Amey DeAnne's Guide to Boldly Stepping Into a New Chapter Amey DeAnne is an Amazon Best-Selling Author, Speaker, and passionate encourager of women to use their voices, shine their light, and share their stories of resilience. After more than 35 years in corporate America, Amey faced a life-changing turning point—approaching 50 during a global pandemic and experiencing solitude for the first time. What began as a season of stillness became a powerful journey of healing, reflection, and rediscovery. Today, Amey empowers women to rise above their past, reclaim their power, and boldly step into the next chapter of their lives with confidence, clarity, and purpose. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: https://my-resilient-journey.com/ 🎬 Need stunning videos, clean audio, or scroll-stopping designs? Check out our media services at https://www.kmmedia.pro/ — Top-tier quality without the agency price tag. Perfect for cre…

1,283 | Jay Setchell Breaks Down the Strength Behind Survival Jay Setchell is a United States Marine whose story defines courage, resilience, and purpose. After joining the Corps right out of high school, Jay found his calling in serving something greater than himself. From Tanker school to covert intelligence missions, he embodied the relentless spirit that makes every Marine extraordinary. On November 12, 1969, Jay’s life changed forever. A horrific accident left him fighting for survival — but through a coma, multiple surgeries, and months in recovery, he discovered an even deeper strength. He calls it his “gift of life,” and it drives everything he does today. Proud father of a Marine and a living symbol of perseverance, Jay Setchell continues to inspire others to rise above hardship, honor their purpose, and never forget that once a Marine, always a Marine. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 Love our show? Show some love! 👉 Check out today’s guest: www.neverquittrying.com…

1,278 | Kevin Hipes on Surviving, Reinventing, and Laughing Through It All Kevin Hipes is a born storyteller, lifelong entrepreneur, and proud New Yorker with a personality as big as the adventures he’s lived. Often called “the New York Forrest Gump,” Kevin’s life has taken him from the streets of Queens to the pulpit, to business boardrooms, and even to the deck of his very own oil tanker in the Caribbean. With no formal writing background, Kevin still managed to turn a lifetime of unbelievable experiences into a heartfelt, hilarious, and deeply human book—Book of Me. Rather than writing in the traditional sense, Kevin recorded over 100 personal episodes for his YouTube channel, Planet Hipes, then compiled them into a unique memoir filled with wit, wisdom, and raw truth. From factory worker to rockstar (in his own mind), banker, preacher, restaurateur, politician, and cancer survivor, Kevin shares not just the ups and downs of a seven-decade journey—but the mindset and humor…