From There to Here

Content Marketer and Podcast Host Ben Albert shares his origin story with host Jason Shupp.  Ben talks about the journey in finding his tribe, the acknowledgement of luck, and his ethos of conviction, caring and consistency.Ben Albert is a content marketer and podcast host. When Covid hit, Ben was furloughed from work. He found himself down and out, staring at an empty handle of Jim Bean Whiskey. He was unemployed, depressed, and felt unworthy.Hesitantly, he opened his Macbook and started reaching out to strangers on Linkedin. This spearheaded his entrepreneurial journey. The rest is history. Now Ben hosts a network of 5 podcasts called “Real Business Connections,” runs a massively successful marketing firm, Balbert Marketing, and has replaced his established sales income in just over a year. It lights Ben up to help people find THEIR way; to find the essence of who THEY are and empower them and their companies to make their mark in this world. None of us deserve to feel small, unworthy, or invisible.To learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/

Renaissance woman Marcy Bursac shares her origin story and parallel paths with host Jason Shupp.  In this episode, Marcy shares how her personal and professional journeys have intersected.  She talks about a life of inclusion, frustration as a driver of creativity, using your voice for good and asking for help.Scaling her lived experience as an adoptive mom of a sibling pair, Marcy Bursac advocates for the thousands of children in the U.S. foster care system that are waiting to be adopted through her free app, children’s book, how-do book, monthly podcast, speaking engagements, and TV, radio, magazine, and podcast appearances.Marcy is a Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute Angels in Adoption® Honoree from Missouri with Senator Blunt. She is the founder of The Forgotten Adoption Option and creator of Foster Care Adoption Awareness Reading Week. Marcy and her husband reside in St. Louis, Missouri with their two brave children and three rescue canines.   Do you feel a connection to Marcy’s work and want to help?Please invite Marcy to speak and connect her with those you know who have a heart to adopt and need help navigating the complexity, emotions, and/or red tape of the process.To learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/

Leadership coach and speaker Jennifer Watson shares here origin story.  In this episode, Jennifer talks about speaking your truth, the spiritual journey of entrepreneurialism, zooming out; as well as sharing leadership insights and business tactics taught through her coaching practice. Jennifer Watson, MPT, I.M.T.,C., owner of Jennifer Watson Leadership, is a dynamic speaker and coach with a gift for intuitive and visionary coaching. She is an expert in wellness + leadership development, identity & mental edge enhancement, high-performance, post-trauma growth, movement & change adaptation, and soul-aligned living mastery. With 20+ years experience in business-leadership management + wellness advocacy, she inspires those to unleash their potential and performance in all areas of their life.Her company, Jennifer Watson Leadership (JWL), supports ambitious leaders & entrepreneurs to step out of chaos into creation to live their legacy now. JWL does this through Mind-Body- Soul Wellness Activation, Next-Level Speaking + Leadership Traits Amplification, and Sustainable High-Performance Creation Acceleration. Her gift is truly to tap into the leaders “Jedi Flow State” in Wellness + Leadership and create their EXTRAORDINARY Business + LIFE ease + joy. In addition, Jennifer is the owner of Watson Wellness. She received her undergraduate degree in kinesiology and a Master of Physical Therapy from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. During her time at Wisconsin Jennifer was also a member of the University of Wisconsin- Madison track & field team in which she received All American honors. As she began her work, her interests began to grow outside the athletic arena. She has completed over 1500 hours of continuing education courses in mental health, manual therapy, functional orthopedics, and postural restoration. Her areas of focus & expertise include high performance, gut health, brain health, mental health and a special interest in men & women’s health. Jennifer Watson Leadership + Watson Wellness has given rise to Jennifer’s great passion of supporting people in their journey to live their EPIC Health, their EPIC Leadership, and their EPIC Legacy that they were destined for.To learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/

Entrepreneur and educator Lewis Sheats shares his origin story with host Jason Shupp.  In this episode, Lewis takes us through his serial entrepreneurship journey and parallel path in academia.  He talks about the value in opportunity recognition, launching the student, and the clinical approach to piercing the entrepreneurial bubble.Lewis Sheats has an extensive background in new venture planning, concept consulting, opportunity creation, marketing and strategic planning.As an entrepreneur, Sheats is focused on opportunity identification, execution and education. His leadership has guided the opportunity creation and development of several unique new ventures from launch to profitability, and he has raised venture funding and bootstrapped several ventures from concept to exit. Interstate Logistics, A Sweet Reminder, Securus and Malartu are among the companies he launched, serving as founder and member of the management team that took the startups through the entrepreneurial process. Sheats has leveraged his experience to develop and lead an entrepreneurship curriculum based on experiential learning and individual student development. As an educator and consultant, he has been involved in the launch of many other ventures with foundations in non-tech and high technology, venture backed or bootstrapped, and high growth to lifestyle start-ups.As director of the Chaifetz Center for Entrepreneurship at St. Louis University, Sheats drives initiatives to expose students to experiential learning, embed them in the entrepreneurship community and provide the space and tools needed to execute their own ideas.To learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/

Dive master and scuba instructor Josh Heihn shares his origin story.  Josh talks about his transition to becoming a divemaster after a nearly 2 decade career in banking.  He talks about the path to becoming an advisor, attacking the fear, the importance of competence in your craft, and the process of earning trust.Josh Heihn is a PADI Divemaster and Scuba Instructor based near Cancun Mexico.  Before his transition into scuba, Josh was a 20 year veteran of the banking industry.  He worked in many facets of banking, spending most of his time successfully working in the commercial lending and business advisory spaces.  Josh first learned business operations and sales in the fleet automotive repair industry after University.  He has a BA in Spanish Language Teacher Education.  Josh is also an avid runner and cyclist. To learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/

Attorney, business owner, and technology advocate Dan Schnurbusch shares his origin story.  He discusses calculated slacking, the importance of stepping stones, being OK with coming off the rails and distractions vs. opportunities.Dan Schnurbusch is the owner of Schnurbusch Law LLC, an estate planning firm primarily working in the Greater St. Louis area. Before that, Dan worked for years as a litigator with another firm.  He attended the University of Missouri - Columbia, School of Law. Dan has a passion for technology and consults with law firms to adopt technologies to improve business processes and improve customer experiences.To learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/

Entrepreneur Brandon Dempsey shares his origin story and entwines the values that drive the path of his life, both personally and professionally.  He goes into deeper dives on scaling alignment, accelerating your trajectory and the value of knowing who you are.Brandon Dempsey is a husband, father, adventurer, and entrepreneur. He is the owner of GoBrandGo! marketing firm.  He is the co-founder of Conflux co-learning community, which promotes education and community among the manufacturing industry.  Brandon has served as an adjunct professor at Washington University.  His earlier business operations centered around HR strategy, consultation and implementation to assist with remote working, telecommuting and business continuity. Link to his TED talk:https://www.ted.com/talks/brandon_dempsey_a_cheat_sheet_to_turning_dreams_into_realityTo learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/

LinkedIn content creator Tony Albrecht talks with host Jason Shupp and is very open with his journey, from family pressures and to reluctantly becoming an attorney, the struggles of sabbaticals and his journey into content creation.  He shares insights into one’s innate creativity, the willingness to unstuck yourself, and a path to participating in the Linkedin ecosystem.Tony Albrecht is a content creator on LinkedIn.  His consultancy focuses on helping lawyers get referrals and build their reputation.  Tony is also a lawyer with a long standing career. He is a published author and podcast host.To learn more about Tony, visit:contenderllc.comIn Linkyland podcastTo learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/

Investment innovator Ken Goldberg talks with host Jason Shupp  about how his atypical, yet well-rounded education and experiences shaped his career. He shares insights about objective discipline, following the system, the psychology of finance, and the foresight of mania vs. depression.Ken Goldberg is a Registered Investment Advisor with four decades of broad investment and trading experience. Some of his career highlights include:1980’s: Drexel Burnham Lambert. Chicago Board Options Exchange.1990’s: Citicorp. Merrill Lynch International Private Bank (Singapore). Bank of America Investments. CNBC appearance discussing objective decision support tools to let the public compete with institutions. Sold the company shortly after the interview.2000’s: Trained thousands of traders and investors on objective decision support tools. Co-founded and sold AlgorithmX and Abaci hedge funds. Won the World Cup Trading Championship.2010’s: Co-founded and sold Six Thirteen Capital hedge fund. #1 read contributor at TheStreet and Real Money with a million views per month. Released DSE methodology to investors and traders for speculation, risk management, and alpha.2020’s: Private membership twitter feed. LEVELING THE PLAYING FIELD weekly podcast. DSE Advisors.Ken’s work in behavioral finance, and the herding behavior of crowds has led him to lecture at UNC Chapel Hill, and Seattle University School of Business. Ken also consults attorneys, business owners, and entrepreneurs regarding futuring, and pop culture trend forecasting.To learn more about Ken, visit:Blog: www.dseadvisors.com Website: www.dsetrading.comYou can contact Ken at: ken@dsetrading.com640.CALLDSE (225-5373)To learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/

Artist Zack Smithey talks with host Jason Shupp and shares his pathway to becoming a full-time professional artist.  He discusses the value of reflection, the importance of being what you want to become, and understanding the entrepreneurial side of the art world.Zack Smithey lives in St. Louis and is an interdisciplinary artist working in many different styles and media with an emphasis on the process. He is also a philanthropist, art collector and community activist.Smithey believes that the only constant in the universe is change and, in order to stay relevant as time passes, one must be willing to perpetually change, adapt, push boundaries and live outside of your comfort zone. This philosophy heavily influences how he lives his life and his approach to artistic design & production. In addition to showing in galleries worldwide, Smithey builds one-of-a-kind luxury functional art + furniture, fashion, paints murals, and designs shipping container homes with an emphasis on creativity. His home is featured on NETFLIX, Amazing Interiors, and has designed the first 3 in the St. Louis area.You can follow his work on Facebook and Instagram @ZackSmithey or go to zacksmithey.com. To learn more, visit:linkedin.com/in/jason-Shupp-18b4619bListen to more episodes on Mission Matters:https://missionmatters.com/author/Jason-Shupp/