20 Minutes with Bronwyn

If there’s one thing i’ve learned in this life, it is this: Everyone you meet has a backstory. Everyone has a history full of highs and lows, celebration and tragedy. And it’s so easy to forget this when we’re in our 500th meeting of the day. That each face (or name if cameras are off) has a story. In our minds, we think in terms of title. Or position in the power hierarchy. Well, my friend, you are about to meet someone with a backstory that will take your breath away. You’re about to meet Tina Tran. Upon first meeting Tina, you would immediately know you were in the presence of a badass. Tina is a director of business development, leading mobile platform and OEM partnerships for a small company you may have heard of called Microsoft. Tina serves on the board of directors at Hello Neighbor, an organization that strengthens communities by matching resettled refugee families with dedicated neighbors to help them thrive in their new lives in the U.S. She is also an advisor for Nomi Network, a non-profit that fights modern day slavery and human trafficking through economic empowerment programs. In 2018, Tina graduated from the prestigious Presidential Leadership Scholars Program, a partnership between the George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Lyndon Johnson, and George Bush presidential centers. She is one of 59 national up- and-coming leaders recognized for her commitment to solving some of our nation’s most pressing problems. See what I mean? BADASS. But she’s also just a good human. She’s someone who loves to connect people, support people, and she just exudes energy. But instead of telling you all about Tina, I want you to meet her. So put your feet up, or strap on your walking shoes, and settle in.

I have always been fascinated by the human experience of time.   How to move through it. How to BE in it. How to make the most of it.   We humans seem ill equipped to make time work for us. It’s either going too slow or too fast.   I have found that the only way to make some kind of peace with time is to have a set of sacred daily rituals. And by far, the most important of these rituals is the Morning Ritual.   Think of this episode as a roadmap ... a guide for constructing a morning ritual that feels like Home.

I am beyond excited for you to meet my guest today, the incredible Ed Latimore. Ed's resume seems like he's lived three lifetimes, not just one. He is a former professional heavy weight boxer—His professional record includes 15 fights, 13 of those were wins.   Ed is also the best selling author of two books: "Not Caring What Other People Think Is A Superpower: Insights From A Heavyweight Boxer" and "Sober Letters To My Drunken Self"   Ed is also a veteran of the United States Army National Guard. And at the age of 33, he went back to school and got a Bachelor of the Arts degree in Physics.   Ed is also a VERY active online and over-the-board chess player, was featured in American Chess Magazine. Ed has been featured on Ryan Holiday’s fantastic blog, The Daily Stoic, and is featured in one of my favorite books EVER: Atomic Habits by James Clear.   The man defies categorization. So pour yourself a cup of coffee, and get ready. It is my delight to introduce you to Ed Latimore.

In the last episode, I gave you three questions to close out 2020. And here’s the thing: 2020 served up a million reasons to feel victimized, and the three questions I posed were part ONE of a two part meditation on moving *out of* feeling victimized by circumstance, and *into* feeling the power of our own agency. One of the only true sources of power we possess. 2021 is our opportunity to flip the script ... without burning ourselves out in the process. It's an opportunity to reclaim our imagination, and our will to thrive. Grab a journal and a hot beverage, and let's do this.

You know what is adorable? My New Years resolutions for 2020. And here we are again on the edge of an ending year, peering hopefully around the corner to 2021.   But this time, the phrase “New Year’s Resolution” seems hopelessly naive.   Quaint. A throwback to a simpler time. I get it. We all got our asses handed to us this year. It gave new meaning to the old saying, “Want to make God laugh? Tell Him your plans.”   But here’s what I know: Resolution and plans and dreams need to be build on the solid ground of introspection. Before we dreamscape 2021, we need to tend to the wounds of 2020. This episode is part one of a two-part series designed to prime us for excellence in the coming year. Grab your journal, and join me!

This episode is for all the solopreneurs and entrepreneurs out there, trying to raise their visibility in this crazy, noisy world.   My guest today is someone I’ve been observing from a far for a while now. Keenya Kelly is a branding and business coach who has been blowing up on … wait for it … TikTok.   If you’re like me, you probably associate TikTok with your kids, or with impossible choreography. But friends, TikTok actually represents one of the biggest public relations and branding opportunities we’ve had in a good long time.   Get your coffee, and get ready to meet the delightful, bright light that is Keenya Kelly.

In 1944, Ingrid Bergman starred in a film called Gaslight, for which she later won an Oscar. In case you've never seen it, Gaslight is a film about psychological abuse in the Edwardian age, but the behavior is so archetypal, so familiar, that the term has endured and is popular even NOW in 2020. Maybe even MORE so in 2020 than ever before. I myself have been the target of gaslighting, but I’ve learned how to spot it, how to stop it, and how to fortify my own mind so that I’m not quite so vulnerable to it. Today’s episode is focused on helping you to become Gaslight resistant … literate … averse.

I recently saw a Netflix documentary that rocked my world, and I'm guessing you've seen it too. It’s called The Social Dilemma. Netflix describes it as a “documentary-drama hybrid” that explores “the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations.” What makes this film extraordinary is that it’s forcing us to face what we already know to be true about social media … That our mental health, our democracy, and our humanity are in the balance. My guest today is Dr. Anna Lembke who you will recognize from the film, as she offered her wisdom on the addictive nature of social media. Dr. Lembke is an Associate Professor and Medical Director of Addiction Medicine, Stanford’s School of Medicine. She is also Program Director of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Fellowship, and Chief of the Stanford Addiction Medicine Dual Diagnosis Clinic. In 2016, she published a best-selling book on the prescription drug epidemic, Drug Dealer, MD – How Doctors Were Duped, Patients Got Hooked, and Why It’s So Hard to Stop and is currently at work on a new book, out next year. Without a doubt, my favorite part of this interview is when she discloses her own personal form of addictive behavior. You’re not gonna believe it. And I BLESS her for her vulnerability and openness. Get ready. You’re gonna LOVE this conversation.

I am thrilled for you to meet Keita Williams, professional butt-kicker and founder of Success Bully—an elite accountability practice dedicated to supporting high performing “Type A”s who are looking to take their great to GREATER.  I talk to lots of performance coaches, but what interested me about Keita's work is the focus on systems of accountability. Research shows that if we set specific accountability appointments, goal accomplishment goes up to 95%. Success Bully merges this powerful combination of strategic goal setting and accountability for real action, and I am VERY interested in real action. The Success Bully team has facilitated workshops for notable brands like: Amazon, Alley to the Valley, Apptio, DomainTools, Facebook’, Ladies Get Paid, Microsoft, Meredith Corp., PartnerTap, O’Reilly Media, and WeWork Labs. So get ready and gird your loins. Because she’s about to kick butt, in the best possible way.

If you’re like me, and so many people I work with, people are relying on you to bring your A game every single day. To the sales pitch. To the team meeting. To your family. To your community. The problem is that these days—unlike our pre-Covid lives—there are no natural transitions and breaks in the day. We don’t have the car ride to work. The subway ride home. The shutting down of the laptop so we can pack up our bags and head home to sort out dinner. It's the perfect storm for burnout, friends. In this episode, I share one of the most powerful practices for avoiding burnout, and why I think it's time each of us cultivated a proper Transition Ritual.