Future Optimist

Brianna Kilcullen worked in the clothing industry for big brands, and she was disappointed in what she saw. So she built her own eCommerce company selling hemp towels. It turns out that towels have historically been a pretty wasteful product, so she created an eco-friendly alternative. She did 100k in sales in her first year, and she got big press coverage from outlets like Good Morning America and more. Started in 2018, her carbon-neutral company has already saved 6 million days worth of drinking water with more sustainable practices. Her story is that sweet spot of personal satisfaction and changing the world, so I just know you’ll love our chat. All episodes: beattheoftenpath.com Follow me on YouTube.

Abigail Harrison is known as “Astronaut Abby”, and she set a goal at a very young age to be the first person ever to set foot on Mars. Her path has led her to becoming a major advocate for STEM and particularly STEM education for girls and marginalized groups—people historically left out of the space conversation. She's built a following of over a million, and I could spend a long time singing her praises. Follow me: @therosspalmer Watch this interview on YouTube. See all episodes: beattheoftenpath.com

Spencer Burleigh is the founder and president of Rent the Backyard, a Y Combinator-backed startup that’s aiming to solve the housing crisis in the Bay Area and beyond. His innovative approach involves building pre-fabricated ADUs (or additional dwelling units) in the backyard of people who have them. The result? Affordable housing for the people living in the backyard, greater population density, less wasted space, and extra income for homeowners. It’s a really cool win/win/win that’s taking off, and it just might be coming to an area near you soon. Let’s learn how this man saw a big problem and came up with a solution, getting the attention of Silicon Valley’s top brass.  Show Notes/Highlights: beattheoftenpath.com Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer Subscribe on YouTube.

Rebecca Eyre has a remarkable story that led to her becoming the CEO of Project HEAL, an organization dedicated to providing eating disorder treatment to people historically denied access. In this episode, I learn the true scale of eating disorders, and it’s shocking. But just as importantly, I learned how Rebecca didn’t truly “come alive” until she attached herself to a cause that she truly believed in. Very inspiring stuff!

Beaumarchais: A Biography by Maurice Lever is one of the most fascinating biographies I've ever read. As you know, I seek out unusual success stories to provide us with better templates for our own life, especially if we feel weird, misunderstood, or like we "missed the boat". There is SO much to learn from this man's story. I give you my take in this special episode. Follow me on YouTube. Follow me on Instagram.

Dr. Sara Murdock has made it her life’s mission to bring diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging to companies and organizations around the world. She works with executives and organizations to either proactively create a better workplace or to bounce back from PR disasters and rebuild in more conscientious ways. In her career she’s worked with 10,000+ people over 20 years, doing consulting, seminars, training, and sessions for 200+ people at once.

Adam Hewett is quite literally revolutionizing music as we know it. It turns out that music can interact with our brains in a way that is completely unique to humans—no other animal on the planet is impacted by music the way we are. Adam has dedicated his life to using science and brain data to create brain-influencing audio—audio that can put the brain into states such as a “flow” state, deep sleep, productive spaces, and more. No, this isn’t snake oil. It’s extensively researched, and now scientifically accepted.

Stefanie Sword-Williams is the founder and author of F*ck Being Humble. Stefanie created a business to encourage individuals to be unapologetically proud of their achievements and overcome the fear of self-promotion. Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 in Europe, she has delivered workshops for global brands. Her story of how she turned her expertise into a mission is profoundly inspiring.

Jamey Mossengren quit a lucrative 9-5 job to become a professional unicycling unicorn. Now he enjoys a life of greater fulfillment and freedom than he ever had before, and he gets to make thousands of people happy everywhere he goes.

Dr. Kyle Grant is an ex-NASA scientist who created a venture-backed start-up called Oxwash. His company has raised millions of dollars from Silicon Valley VCs like Biz Stone (co-founder of Twitter) and more. Dr. Grant has developed groundbreaking new methods for reducing microplastics from laundry, dramatically reducing energy and water consumption, and just generally transforming and disrupting this horribly polluting industry.