Chet Scott is the founder of Built to Lead, a coaching practice he started in 2002 to help high performers discover who they are at their core. A former tech executive, Chet's path changed in 1993 after a leadership course forced him to confront how he was actually perceived, and he has spent the years since studying human nature and high performance with business teams and sports teams alike. His work has grown to include a book, an app, and a team of coaches he calls builders.In this conversation, Chet shares his philosophy of "oneness within, then oneness with others," and why most people stay stuck blaming external circumstances instead of doing the harder inner work. He and Brett get into his mantra "live hard, love harder," why the work is "for the few," what happens when clients plateau and stop growing, and why learning to run toward hard conversations instead of away from them is what separates chronic pain from acute healing. Chet also talks about the power of curiosity, the seven good minutes exercise that has transformed relationships, and why the people you invest in most are sometimes "built to leave."

Anthony Hughes struggled with dyslexia from an early age, often living in the shadow of his twin brother, who seemed to excel at everything Anthony found difficult. Fast forward thirty years, and Anthony had built Tech Elevator, a company that placed 6,000 people in software development careers. This conversation explores his winding path to entrepreneurial success, from getting rejected by Formula One racing to the mentor who pushed him to take the leap.Prior to his current venture, Anthony was a two-time edtech entrepreneur with two successful exits: Tech Elevator (acquired by Stride) and The Software Guild (acquired by Wiley). Before that, he partnered with MIT at JumpStart to found a mentoring program that helped over 100 early-stage companies raise $45M in capital.Today, Anthony is the Co-founder and CEO of VITALS. VITALS is a personality-powered self-awareness platform that helps you make better decisions, build stronger relationships, and find work that actually fits. It starts with a deep assessment across six dimensions (Values, Interests, Temperament, Action Style, Learning Style, and Social Style) and translates what you learn into highly actionable guidance.Sign up for free at: www.vitals.me

Cody Warren was arrested just one month before his college graduation. What followed were four years in prison and a choice: let the mistake define him or use it as a turning point to reshape his entire life. While incarcerated, Cody discovered endurance running by completing his first marathon behind prison walls, finding a new sense of purpose through suffering and discipline.Today, Cody is a husband, father, and a entrepreneur. He is the acting CEO of Two Men & A Vacuum, a commercial cleaning company he started from the ground up in 2012 that now employs over 200 people. He is also the founder of Peak + Restore, a performance and recovery company dedicated to helping others push their physical and mental limits.From the prison yard to completing some of the world's toughest ultramarathons, including the Moab 240 and Cocodona 250, Cody’s story is a masterclass in redemption. In this raw conversation, we explore trauma, growth, and the mindset required to rebuild yourself. Cody’s mission is simple: help others find their "why," because when you find your why, you find your purpose.

Leo Elliott's transformation into a master guitar builder is a remarkable story of second chances. In this conversation, Leo shares his journey from a curious kid in Dallas who loved taking things apart, through years of severe personal struggle, to becoming the founder of Scarlet Fire Guitars.After a winding path that included mining gold in Ghana, Leo crafted his first Jerry Garcia inspired custom guitar. When he took it to Bryant "Pablo" Russell at the iconic Charley's Guitar Shop, the restoration expert was completely blown away. That validation sparked a career that eventually led Leo to track down and work directly with the legendary Doug Irwin.Whether you are interested in guitar building, the Grateful Dead legacy, or incredible human resilience, this episode shows that sometimes the longest detours lead you exactly where you are supposed to be.

Eric Zimmer's story reveals the complex path from rock bottom to redemption. Growing up as a gifted but troubled kid in Ohio, Eric's restless energy led him from childhood kleptomania to a devastating heroin addiction that left him homeless and facing multiple felonies. After getting sober and thriving for eight years, a devastating betrayal in his AA community led to a relapse that looked completely different from his first addiction experience.Now eighteen years sober, Eric hosts The One You Feed podcast, which has been downloaded over 70 million times. His new book "How a Little Becomes a Lot" explores how lasting change happens through consistent small steps rather than dramatic transformations.This conversation goes deep into the psychology of addiction, the complexity of recovery, and how the same energy that can destroy us can ultimately become our greatest strength when properly channeled. Eric's honesty about both his struggles and his success offers hope for anyone working to transform their life one day at a time.Checkout Eric Zimmer's podcasthttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-one-you-feed-personal-growth-emotional-resilience/id792555885https://www.oneyoufeed.net/

Recognized as one of the "100 Most Influential Women in Advertising History," Nancy Kramer built a marketing empire while trapped in the wrong life. After religious guilt and trauma led to a forced marriage, she escaped into a parallel existence as an entrepreneur.In this episode, Nancy shares her incredible journey of launching her agency in 1981 with seed funding from Apple. She opens up about working directly with Steve Jobs, orchestrating a Victoria's Secret live stream that landed in an MIT time capsule, surviving the dot com crash, and growing her business into a 375 associate pioneer before selling it to IBM.But the real story is about what happened when her body finally said enough. Severe panic attacks became the ultimate wake up call that forced her to trust the inner voice she had ignored for decades. This conversation is a profound look at overcoming generational trauma and finding true alignment.

Laura Cooke had everything that should have made her happy — successful career, beautiful family, dream job as assistant head of school at Wellington School in Columbus. But her body was keeping score. Stress-related illnesses forced her to confront a hard truth: she was walking around pretending to be happy while making choices that led to misery.In this conversation, Laura shares her journey from a CompuServe founder's dinner table to building Positive Foundry, a company that brings emotional intelligence and well-being tools to frontline workers. She opens up about the moment Martin Seligman's book "Flourish" changed her trajectory, why she walked away from her dream job, and how installation crews are now having "feelings meetings" because of her work.This episode explores the courage it takes to rebuild your life from the inside out, the power of conversation to create real change, and why the inner work isn't just for people who think they need it. Laura is creating generational change one conversation at a time, proving that transformation happens not through information but through connection.

Jim McCarthy lived every high school athlete's dream until it became a nightmare. State championship winners, local celebrities, his teammate awarded the illustrious “Mr. Ohio".Then one phone call changed everything: their 15-year-old teammate Lorenzo Hunter was found shot dead, and two teammates were arrested for murder. Jim carried this story for twenty years, knowing the truth wasn't being told. His documentary "Mr. Football" isn't just about what happened, it's about what happens when a community finally stops running from trauma and starts healing together.This conversation explores the power of listening and why some stories take decades to tell properly.

Brad Kaplan had never baked a cookie from scratch when he Googled "pumpkin desserts" for Thanksgiving 2018. Six years later, he owns two Lion Cubs Cookies locations in Columbus with a third on the way.This is the story of how an impulsive kid from Cleveland who became a reluctant civil engineer discovered his true calling through controlled experiments in his kitchen. Brad shares the three jumps every entrepreneur must make, why removing distractions revealed his passion, and the three scoreboards that determine success at every stage of life.Whether you're considering a career pivot or starting your own business, Brad's journey offers honest insights into what it really takes to build something from scratch.

Geoff Javer is a lifelong friend of Brett's, and in this episode, they sit down to unpack a journey that spans five decades.From growing up navigating childhood trauma to finding an identity as the "party kid" in high school, Geoff shares how he struggled to fit into the traditional academic box due to dyslexia. A major wake up call in college led to an 18 year career climbing the ranks in the corporate insurance world, where he finally found the validation he had been seeking. Geoff eventually took a massive leap of faith to buy a drive thru convenience store. Twelve years later, he is not just serving a rural community, he is finding deep happiness and connection in the daily grind.Geoff also opens up about his newfound passion for gardening and photography, proving that it is never too late to try something entirely new and find profound mental healing in the second half of life.