Future Optimist

Have you ever had a moment… where without warning, the path of your entire life was irrevocably changed? That’s what happened to my guest today. Aaron Baker was a professional motocross rider, with sponsors and a promising career. His bike stalled mid-air, leaving him with a career-ending spinal cord injury. He was given a 1 in 1,000,000 chance of ever regaining function. He’s turned that all around, using entrepreneurship and extreme dedication to build a center for people in similar situations, becoming an advocate and ambassador for the cause. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer

300 million golf balls are lost in the US alone each year. They take between 100 and 1,000 years to decompose. We NEED a better solution. Mitch Schols is a founder of biodegradablegolfballs.com, a fledgling company with goals to make a high-performance, eco-friendly golf ball. I dream of a day when we can shank our ball into the lake and not cause an environmental catastrophe! Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer

Lisa Lindahl is the inventor of the sports bra, or as it was known back then, the Jogbra. Her invention has changed the world of women’s sports forever, earning her a place in the Smithsonian and in the National Inventors Hall of Fame in Washington alongside legendary inventors like Thomas Edison. She’s also an author, a champion of epilepsy education and empowerment, and the inventor of a device for people recovering from breast cancer. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer

Ben Stern is the CEO and founder of Nohbo, Inc., a high-growth start-up that eliminates single-use plastic in a variety of consumer-facing products, like shampoo, bath products, and more. At a young age, Ben was featured on Shark Tank, where billionaire Mark Cuban invested in his company. Now he’s on a meteoric rise to greatness, with a mission that’s really worth rallying behind.  Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer

In 1989, Sharon Rowe built a business with no outside funding called ECOBAGS. She helped pioneer the greater shift away from single-use plastic and towards more sustainable business packaging and practices. She’s also the author of The Magic of Tiny Business, and she’s built an amazing life for herself, her employees, and her family. Oh and she also has a background in theater, so we’ve got that in common too! What an inspiring story we have today… Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer

On your quest for unusual success stories and inspirational tales, I’m sure you’ve noticed that many coveted jobs are all remote. From Tim Ferriss’s iconic-if-possibly-misleading 4-hour Workweek to the DJs I’ve interviewed to record label managers to songwriters to thought leaders à la Simon Sinek, Marie Forleo, and more -- many of the world’s most coveted jobs/businesses are remote or at least, location-independent. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer

Leah Bonnema is a stand-up comedian and writer who recently moved from NYC to LA. She’s done performances on network television and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (a personal hero of mine), and she’s also written full-length books and scripts in addition to co-hosting a weekly podcast, Were You Raised by Wolves with Nick Leighton. Today we talk about making it as a comic in this crazy world. Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer

Are your goals big enough? Are you chasing after something that you could consider your life’s work? Or are you like me, still searching for that unique combination of awesomeness? Tune in either way, because today’s guest is Vidjay Beerepoot, composer for Disney and TV/Film in Hollywood. We’ll talk about how he set the right goals and chased them down with relentless persistence, setting his targets in spans of 20 years, not 20 days. It’s such excellent stuff for someone who’s as impatient as me. His story is nothing short of remarkable. He packed up and moved to LA with a dream, and now he’s making that very big dream a very big reality.  Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer

That's a wrap on season 3 of the podcast! We've had some remarkable guests this season, from entrepreneurs to charitable organization founders to social media experts to a reporter for the NHL and so much more, the range of talent and skill this season has been immense. I'm beyond honored that these fine people have shared their wisdom with me! Follow me: @therosspalmer on Instagram

Once upon a time, Vikrant was down to his last dollar. He wrote several books—even though he doesn’t consider himself a writer—trying to get a bestseller. From there the idea was born to create an “angel writing” service for people who want to create a bestselling book but aren’t writers, and that idea has blossomed into a successful business for him. This episode talks about what it takes to sell a book if you want to make one, and we also talk about how he created a successful business.  Follow me on Instagram: @therosspalmer