The Jason Wright Show

Sabina Nawaz is a leader. So much so that Sabina Nawaz coaches leaders. There are so many times I pinch myself for the amazing guests I get to visit with on the Jason Wright Show. This was one of those times. Enjoy this conversation with a remarkable human being. Coaching is not just about the skill and experience of a coach but the chemistry between the coach and the client. Here’s some information about me that might help you better understand my approach and whether you would enjoy and benefit from working together. Who I am as a coach I have walked in your shoes. I worked at Microsoft for more than 14 years, first launching products and then managing leaders. I’ve built organizations, hired employees, dealt with performance issues, and coordinated complex cross-organizational initiatives. I have empathy for your challenges. At the same time, I know when to be direct and push you towards your goals. I’ve been fortunate to have worked directly with many of the leading experts in leadership and organizational development. While I’m always current with the latest thinking on leadership, my work is about street smarts first, book smarts second. I combine theory with my own road testing and the collective experience of the clients I’ve worked with around the world. The results for you are practical, real-world skills that get results even in an evolving business environment. My philosophy I believe that each person has many of the answers they’re looking for already inside of them. What they need in order to fully play out their strengths is an abiding understanding of who they are. It’s a level of acceptance that eludes most people. And I help leaders to discover and cultivate the strength to tap into their own authentic talents. I believe in seeing with clarity. The facts and the perceptions of others simply exist. By illuminating the dark corners, I help bring truth to light. It’s much easier to do the work once you can fully see what’s under the table. I believe in the power of multiple perspectives. Often when people are stuck, they think there is one way to solve a problem and that way will cost dearly. I work with you to develop many different alternatives and see other viewpoints. I believe that you are an individual. My work is rich and rewarding precisely for that reason. Your humanity is sacred to me. Solutions and frameworks will always be tailored to your particular needs. I believe in helping you to skill-up rather than saving the day. I am more likely to accompany you on a journey in which you uncover answers yourself. This paves the way for you to be self-sufficient and create the solution that works for you and your organization now and over time.

Goals are great. I love goals. I have goals. However, goals don’t change your life. Behaviors and habits change your life. If you were to say to me you had a goal to lose 20 lbs. there is nothing you could do to lose the 20 lbs right here and now. However, you could go for a walk right now and proceed to go for a post dinner walk every night. One is an aspiration. The other is a behavior. The latter is the only one you actually have control over. Understanding the difference is how you execute massive change and goal attainment. It’s what Nick Saban calls the process. Create processes for goal attainment. Don’t just stop with setting the goals. Improve always in ALL ways. Happy Friday!

So this guy keeps coming up in my feed on YouTube. He’s funny. He offers quick, sharp political commentary with a conservative slant. Comedy, conservative and comedian are not three things you see a lot. Wes Austin has found a way to satisfy is creative outlet in a funny and engaging way. I admire anyone willing to step out and nurture their passions, and Wes is doing just that. I also admire anyone who can use intelligence and creativity to help us laugh at these absurd political times we find ourselves in while not being mean spirited and overly insulting. Wes has found the balance. Wes Austin is a lawyer, and stand-up comedian. He grew up in a family of eight children in a small town in northern Utah. As a former electrical engineer, now lawyer, husband and father of three, Wes brings a unique and fun perspective to comedy.  In 2014 Wes wrote and produced a television pilot for “The IP Section,” a scripted autobiographical drama/comedy (“dramedy”) that takes a fictional look at Wes’s first rocky attempt at comedy while trying to keep it a secret from his clients, co-workers and family. The pilot was accepted by the ITVFest and San Francisco Independent film festivals. For his role in the pilot, Wes won Best Lead Actor in a Short Film at the 2017 Utah Film Awards. In March of 2019 a web series based on “The IP Section” pilot was released on both Facebook and YouTube. The web series has over a million views on Facebook and continues to grow every day. Wes wrote, directed, and starred in “The IP Section” comedy series that is an autobiographical look at Wes, a patent lawyer, going after his dream of being a stand-up comedian. The CBS affiliate in Utah (KUTV) did a feature story about Wes and the pursuit of his dreams in June of 2019. From the story, “Austin is now inspiring others to pursue their dreams as well.”

We are living in strange times. One of the biggest misconceptions of Christianity is it’s something once you decide to adopt then you must adhere to some hard and fast set of rules. This is something many refer to as ‘religiosity’ or ‘legalism.’ In this conversation with my Pastor Daniel Turner we riff on sin, the love of God and what the life of the Christian looks like. As with any other discussion of religion, I’m sure many believers and non-believers will disagree with much of what Daniel has to say. BUT here’s one thing I think we can all agree with that comes through in Daniel’s message. We all need more love in this world. God is love. The Bible says it. 1 John 4:16 reads, “God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.” So the very essence of the Christian faith is one rooted in love. Thanks for listening. Follow me on Insta @jasonwrightnow Subscribe to my newsletter, The Vitruvian Letter, HERE

I’ve often said when I turned 40 my ‘I don’t give a sh** meter went way up. It wasn’t a cognitive thing. It required no effort. Something just organically happened. I’m not sure what, but it did. Now I’m 47 and I realize I might have had it wrong. I didn’t increase my list of things I don’t care about. I just became more acutely aware of the things I do care about. It’s funny. When you focus intently on that which matters the things you don’t just sort of naturally organize themselves without any effort on our part. For example, I once worried intently about being seen as a really nice guy. My stepmother had once told me, “People wonder why your brothers and sisters don’t hate you.” This stung and stayed with me well into my adult life. I used to obsess over it. I think I had this mindset that if everyone thought my siblings should hate me then they must hate me as well. Yikes! To make up for this I needed to be liked. I needed everyone to know I wasn’t the awful person my stepmother led me to believe I was. I needed people to know I was really kind and nice. As a result I would somewhat ‘perform’ for others. I no longer do this. I don’t worry about that anymore. Instead I focus on those I know love me and work on loving them back, which is no work at all. I focus my attention on being a good and decent person not because I need to be liked and prove my stepmother wrong but because I just genuinely want to be a good person and example. A lot of people say they don’t care what others think. I’ve found most people who say this actually care deeply what most people think. If they didn’t they wouldn’t have to make such an announcement. They wouldn’t care if you knew or didn’t know they don’t care what people think. You know? Here is a list of 10 things I’ve determined I won’t do any longer. We always hear of goals and metrics outlining those things we must do, have to do, gonna do. We’re gonna do em every day, every week, we’re gonna do do do all the live long day. I’ve written before on the power of a ‘not to do list.’ Here’s another take on the concept. Have a list of things you are determined you will focus on so you no longer do the things that simply aren’t adding value to your life.

I’m. a lucky guy. The Jason Wright show gives me the opportunity to meet truly special people and make lifelong friends. That’s the case here with my interview with Greg Cagle. Greg is a leader’s leader. He has been up. He’s been down and he’s learned from his entire journey. His ability to learn from past tragedy and apply it his ongoing success has made him one of the most sought after Executive Coaches around. Greg Cagle isn’t for everyone. Some might say he’s an acquired taste. They might even say he’s one weird dude. And that’s a good thing. If you’re content with normal, Greg Cagle probably isn’t for you or your organization, because Greg believes greatness isn’t normal—and neither are you. So if you want a traditional, buttoned-up, three-piece suit experience so you can look, think, and act like everyone else, you’re in the wrong place. But if you’re serious about your personal growth and serious about taking your business or organization over the top, Greg just might be the ideal growth partner for you. When you work with Greg, prepare to take some risks. Get ready to question the status quo and leave mediocreville behind. Every engagement with Greg is an exhilarating, inspiring experience, a fun and challenging ride—unique to you—that gets you where you want to go faster. Some have described Greg as edgy and transformational. But all that really matters is getting innovative, creative results that empower you and your team to outperform the competition. A Little of Greg’s Story Greg’s business background is as non-traditional as he is. He walked away from a college scholarship to dive into the world of business. He got his hands dirty building businesses from scratch and learned the real-world lessons—from painful mistakes and impressive success—about what it takes for a business to thrive. Over the course of his entrepreneurial career, he has started five successful businesses in industries as diverse as real estate development, engineering and tech, food services and hospitality, and advertising and marketing. Everything he’s ever done, he’s built from ground zero. He knows what it feels like to lie awake on Tuesday night wondering how to make payroll on Friday. As a coach and consultant, he’s come alongside the top leaders and businesses in even wider-ranging fields: Army Special Operations Steel and diesel engine manufacturing 5-star hospitality Cutting-edge technology and software Non-profit educational systems and higher education Financial and insurance Oil and gas engineering He has also partnered with John C. Maxwell and his company for many years as an executive coach, speaker, trainer, and business consultant. Bottom line: he’s seen it all, made almost every mistake there is to be made at least once (and then some), and figured out how to overcome challenges and achieve tremendous success. You’re not going to find Greg’s proven “Let’s do this!” approach in an outdated business school textbook. It’s a roll-up-your-sleeves-and-let’s-get-our-hands-dirty-building-something-awesome experience. Family Is Everything On the personal side of life, Greg’s family is at the core of everything. His most important and satisfying role in life is being the father of three sons. Because family means so much to him, Greg and his wife sold everything and moved to the rainforests of Costa Rica for three years to invest in family relationships. They now reside in Knoxville, Tennessee. Greg naturally brings that family-focused attitude when helping business build authentic cultures. Professional families bring a lot of the same relationships, challenges, and dysfunction common to all families. Greg gets it. He helps guide teams and organizations to get real, to create an authentic culture that positions them for unprecedented greatness. As one client put it, “Greg restored humanity to our organization.”

The Jason Wright Show Monday Mission While we might be good multi-taskers this does not mean the multiple tasks will be exceptionally performed. Further, it means we are diluting our energy as well as our effectiveness. So often people get obsessed with managing time. By this they mean getting as much done in the time they have. This is wrong-headed. We should instead be focused on managing energy toward performing better work not more. Our goal should be to do the BEST work in the time we have allotted. Think of tasks the way a sprinter things of theirs. They see the finish line. They go all out a the their highest level full of focus and energy. Tasks should be sprints NOT marathons. Have a great week!

Happy Friday! In this BFE I discuss Tom Brady’s marriage is not improving always in ALL ways. Elon Musk proves to his millennial Twitts that reality eventually smacks you in the face. Ryan Reynolds shows what it means to be a cool, decent celebrity in a an era of mostly jackass, self loving narcissists. Happy Friday!

Matt Kaeberlien is one of the leading researchers on the science of aging. I was beyond honored to have him on the show to discuss this now almost clieche question: “Is aging a disease?” Although the FDA and other health professionals don’t want to categorizes it as such, aging has many of the similarities of a disease. This being the case we can, if willing, combat aging in a pro-active manner as though we were fighting a disease. Matt is one of the leading experts in the burgeoning field of healthspan sciences. It’s not enough we are living longer. We must find ways to live healthier longer. Matt has been at the forefront of research on Rapamycin, which while not a panacea has shown to be a powerful deterrent of some of the symptoms of aging. This was such a fascinating conversation, and I feel so lucky to have been able to share this time with Matt. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did. Research Interests Dr. Kaeberlein’s research interests are focused on biological mechanisms of aging in order to facilitate translational interventions that promote healthspan and improve quality of life. Academic and Medical Appointments Professor, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2021-present Adjunct Professor of Oral Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2016-present Adjunct Professor of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2015-present Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2015-2020 Associate Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2011-2015 Adjunct Associate Professor of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 2014-2015 Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2006-2011 Education and Training Degrees Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Genome Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 2003-2006 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, Biology, Doctorate of Philosophy, 2002 Western Washington University, Seattle, WA, Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics, 1994-1997 The Dog Aging Project About the Project The goal of the Dog Aging Project is to understand how genes, lifestyle, and environment influence aging. We want to use that information to help pets and people increase healthspan, the period of life spent free from disease. LEARN MORE Follow me on insta @jasonwrightnow Subscribe to the YouTube Channel HERE

There is a power to asking ourselves questions instead of always giving our brain answers like, “You got this. You’re a badass. You’re a winner. You’re good enough, smart enough and doggonit people like you.” Instead ask yourself, “How will you fix this? What makes you a badass? What is the solution to this problem?” The simple fact is the brain loves questions. It loves to answer them. It’s why parents point to books and ask their kids, “What is this?” They know it will calm the child and engage their brain. It will turn calming them down into a game their little brains love. Calm your brain and give it something it loves. Ask it a question. Happy Monday and Happy Halloween! JW