The Executive Appeal with Alex D. Tremble

A 28-year retired Wells Fargo team member, Dexter R. Hall has held numerous roles with the firm and most recently served as Regional Banking Manager in Wells Fargo’s Texas Region covering the Waco Brazos Valley Market with responsibility for over eighty team members and over $896 million dollars of assets under management not including property.With 37 years of financial service experience, Dexter is currently the Principal/Owner of Noir Kith Consultants.Noir Kith is a business and consumer financial management consulting firm assisting both businesses and consumers in the reach of their stated American Dream and Goals from Ideation to Implementation and Growth to Maturity. Noir Kith specializes in assisting it clients with access to capital, business/personal management, personal/business marketing, organizational development, corporate social responsibility, social justice, executive coaching and working with city and county government in creating community initiatives including small business development.Hall’s greatest joy is being the Dad to his three presidential daughters, Reagan Alexandria age 26, a burgeoning entrepreneur as the owner/operator at The Make-Up Artistry where we get in-touch with your inner beauty to bring out your outer beauty, Kennedi Anna-Louise age 21, a junior at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA studying Early Childhood Development in anticipation of her dream as the Principal and Educator of Raising Children Grandmother's Way in a Silicon Valley Environment to ensure they begin with a leg-up in this fast changing world, and Madison Olivia age 19, a Pre-Med major at Fisk University in Nashville, TN.With a firm belief in whom much is given, much is required, Hall has served on numerous non-profit boards and as mentor/sponsor to many individuals on their journey to greatness.With a deep faith in God, it is Dexter's firm belief that, "If any man aspires greatness, he must first be a servant."It is with this belief that allows him to go forward each day undeterred to do what he can, while he can, to make this world a better place.MAIN TAKEAWAYS:00:04:21 American Dream is individually defined.00:05:51 Exposure shapes the American Dream.00:11:07 Importance of diverse sponsorship connections.00:16:23 Create a safe space for vulnerability.00:21:30 Representation matters for success.00:29:09 Intentional legacy planning for children.00:32:23 Open up about money conversations.00:35:30 Importance of intentional DEI efforts.Purchase your copy of "Relationships that Work" on Amazon today at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CD2KJX17?ref_=pe_3052080_276849420

On today's episode of The Executive Appeal Podcast host Alex D. Tremble interviews SiberZincir CEO and founder & President of CyberMagus, LLC, Sinan Eraydin.Sinan Eraydin is a Turkish American entrepreneur based in Washington DC. He holds BSc Software Engineering and MA International Relations degrees from the Istanbul Bahcesehir University, as well as an MPS Strategic Cyber Operations & Information Management degree from the George Washington University. Mr. Eraydin runs cybersecurity and software development startups in Istanbul and Washington DC, developing infrastructure to train cyber operators in cyber intelligence, offensive and defensive cyber operations. He also serves at the NATO Center of Excellence Defense Against Terrorism as an Academic Advisor and an Instructor and continues his 2 nd track diplomacy efforts as a Senior Fellow at the Cyber Security Forum Initiative in United States.Main Takeaways:Eraydin said privacy and security and what is acceptable are often dependent on circumstances and culture. People often make decisions based on their own experiences and precautions. It often changes with time and circumstances. The show Black Mirror had an episode about rating citizens based on behavior. Eraydin said in Asia this is happening with citizens getting grades. The info must be safe and secure and used correctly. When a person feels like their country will use that info against them it becomes problematic. There’s a huge expectation of truth when collecting information for the economy or safety, but even when doing the right thing, there’s a risk of cyber hacks, cyber terrorism, and breach of consumer information. With AI and advancements in technology, there’s always a risk of using helpful information against you (ie identifiable information) Eryadin said all of our information is in digital files and some of it is valuable, accurate, and designed to be used to process for the customer and service providers to have better processes. Limiting the information may lead to mediocre services. However, the more identifiable the info is, the more likely it is to be valuable. How much accuracy and efficiency do you give up to protect against possible cyber threats?There are a lot of difficult questions about the balance of providing personal information and how it impacts your privacy and security. Eryadin said there are social norms about giving personal information ie social media. There are things people don’t mind everyone knowing, but also we are all liable for our decisions in what we share. How do you train cyber security? Well first, the word “hacker” may be offensive to some, but it’s a phrase everyone understands. It will be a profession for some in the near future, like if someone was a doctor. Some will become what they call “ethical hackers” Hacking became the dark side when people began making financial gains, but before that, it was anarchists who wanted freedom of information. It was when people pirated so people would get free things. It was more “noble” in the past vs. hackers today who use their skills for nefarious illegal reasons.You have to learn to hack to know how hackers think. It’s called offensive cyber which is only legal through government authorities. You also have defensive cyber. AI is misused a lot by non-technical people who may think it’s a magic wand. But AI is more technical and involves multiple techniques and plans to incorporate AI modules into cyber security and have multiple languages readily available for consumers. People’s fear of AI becoming “self-aware” and making decisions for humans sounds scary. Eraydin is doing academic research about AI Ethics and said currently AI isn’t at the point of “agency”

Looking to embrace creation over preservation? MeetCeleste Interrante, CEO of Turf Envy who shares her professional insights on this topic. MAIN TAKEAWAYS:Celeste Interrante, CEO of Turf Envy, tried many paths as she progressed through her career and says she had the emotional resilience by working on her personal development along with coaches to help her overcome obstacles and achieve goals with success. She admits it’s not easy and taking breaks are essential. But leading her team means leading herself. Plus, wine helps. 🍷 😜Retention is part of good leadership. To elevate your team, you must elevate and lead yourself first. Celeste brings her coaches in to talk to her staff (financial, health, and transformative coach) and motivate them as a team.Alex said having a marriage counselor helps him and his wife in good and bad times. It gives them the tools. They see the counselor together and separately and it gives a whole POV. People first is the right way to lead a team. Influence is key because people will start to care about each other. It’s ok to care for your leader, too. Brand Pillars are essential to being authentic when making decisions as a leader. Value your employees. Check on them. Care about them. Celeste explains a situation where she was advised by HR to fire an injured employee. Instead of replacing such a good employee she cared, checked on him and was able to retain him as an employee. Balancing caring about your employees vs tough business decisions. Celeste had to once let 6 employees go after a big client left and while not easy she had to outweigh the dollars and cents. As a leader, in-person interactions help us know how people feel through their energy. Celeste developed a hybrid-work environment. It keeps good talent and gets the work done.Don’t give 8 hours to your job and yourself 10 minutes to eat. Being a busy person isn’t always good for your health. It can be being a high- functioning person dealing with depression. You have to take care of your mental health and balance your work and life in a way that contributes to your wellbeing.

How do you plan ahead for estate planning in your will? In this episode host Alex Trimble invites Shari Fleming, Maryland licensed estate planning attorney to The Executive Appeal table to talk about mortality, estate planning, and the benefits of estate planning and having a will. Main Takeaways:“When you work hard for your money,” you need a person like Shari on your team! Shari works with Maryland residents who want to preserve and protect their wealth for future generations. She also oversees real estate transactions for business owners. Most people don’t engage in estate planning. AmericansOver half of Americans, of all backgrounds, have wills. About 26% of African Americans have a will, not a full plan. It’s not surprising that people don't have estate plans and the number one reason is they say they can’t afford it. Shari said we afford what we value. We pay for what we want. Many don't value estate planning although it’s needed. Another reason people don't have an estate plan is they don’t feel they have anything of value. Estate planning is a conversation about the purpose of life as some people see little value in the things they’ve worked hard for. The third and prime reason people don't have an estate plan is because people don’t want to face their mortality. As Americans we don’t do a good job in dealing with death and it’s different in other countries.We have an arrogance that we are going to live forever and we don’t want to deal with it. We have to deal with who and what we are leaving and having a great plan will show that you care for your family. Not estate planning can take the opportunity to grieve away from your family. It’s worth spending the money now. Estate planning is the last act of love, your last gift to your family. Estate planning is detailed and includes death and disability. Shari gets people to consider the quality of life they want to have if they are incapacitated. Shari said she keeps herself together so in her estate planning she has directions about her nails, hair, and the details for her funeral based on things that matter to her. When these things aren’t talked about it leaves family in the dark and makes it harder. Alex tells a story about a person who was incapacitated and the family was split on whether to resuscitate the person or not. It’s best to make that decision for yourself so families can be at peace.Black families need to have estate planning conversations regularly and recurring during holidays and family gatherings. Have difficult discussions early. Have the decision with yourself first and once you’re settled with your decisions, then have the talk. Shari said she was challenged that she wouldn’t succeed at estate planning because Black people don’t estate plan and don’t have wealth to pass along. She said the challenge has made her work harder to educate the Black community through her organization “Our Legacy Matters.” There’s a need for cultural translation of information for many people when it comes to estate planning. 

Ready to unveil Game-Changing Secrets of Effective Leaders? Look no further than todays guest, Jacklyn Osborne. Jacklyn Osborne is Managing Director at Financial Services and a experienced Data Management executive responsible for the design, development, delivery, and adoption of a best-in-class Data Management program to ensure regulatory compliance, support operational efficiency, and facilitate digital transformation.Osborne has over fifteen years’ experience in data governance, client data management, change delivery, and information security in the public and private sectors, including seven years at HSBC where she was the Global Banking & Markets, Chief Data Officer.With a Bachelors in Business Administration and a Masters in Engineering Management from George Washington University Jacklyn is a member of the American Society of Management Engineers, the National Association of Female Executives, and National Association of Professional Women.She lives in the suburbs of Connecticut with my husband, three young boys and beloved spirited pub Diesel. Weekends are the most cherished times and spends them doing everyday things like playing sports, hosting parties, and baking cookies with the boys. As part of her own life journey, she started a Blog and have have recently launched a Podcast with the same name 52 Weeks of Me. The goal of the Podcast is to help others find their best self through a collection of open discussions with professional experts and well as individuals sharing their own success stories as we all strive for work-life balance.MAIN TAKEAWAYS:Jacklyn is responsible for working with data, which people think involves her doing cybersecurity, database engineering or owning data- that’s not her job. What she actually does is enable and ensure the right data gets to the right place, and the right people at the right time. Her job also involves the hot topic AI and making sure the accurate data gets into the right place. AI is moving fast, with a lot of unknowns such as privacy, ethics and concerns about feeding private data into a public database. There’s definitely legitimate reason to think through AI, the “sexy legs” of data, Jacklyn said, and building that foundation of AI is not sexy.Jacklyn said trial by error (winning or learning), parenthood- the patience and persistence, and a self-care journey are things that make her a better leader and shape who she is at the moment.Immediately responding can have a negative reaction. Slowing down is imperative. Fun fact: Jacklyn was born in a car so her instinct to move fast and respond quickly was innate. Changing her perspective and slowing down helped her a lot. Opening the floor for others to speak and not worrying about always speaking and having an answer to everything immediately was forward thinking in her leadership journey. As a leader, you can burnout so making yourself “redundant” is being able to influence the collective community to function in your absence. When leaders care about people and try to do everything around the clock it can create a more stressed team. Leaders being able to go have self-care and allow the team to step up and be empowered should be the goal.. Taking vacation can empower your team. Vacation … affording it. Can you really not afford one due to the financial situation? Vacation or holiday can be staying at home and taking a break from work, chilling in your garden and not worrying or being at work. Jacklyn started her new job at the beginning of the 2020 pandemic and it made it harder to have connections with people. Only remote work will definitely affect the work relationships for this next generation.Perfection is not required for success. We’ve all made mistakes and can get back up. Executive leadership is about being human. - Jacklyn Osborne

Today's guest expert shares insights on how large organizations can nurture and empower rising leaders and unready organizations.Kwofe Coleman is President & CEO of the Municipal Theatre Association of St. Louis (The Muny). After beginning his Muny career in 1998 as an usher, he has advanced through the administrative ranks at The Muny, including staff accountant, house manager, digital communications manager, director of marketing and communications, managing director, and became president of the nation’s oldest and largest outdoor musical theatre since 2021.As President & CEO, Kwofe leads the historic theatre into its 105th season of producing live musical theatre on a grand scale. He maintains overall accountability, responsibility and authority for the management of the business and affairs of The Muny in accordance with its mission. Through this role he continues to embrace and articulate the artistic and institutional vision, develop progressive income streams and new strategic initiatives to deepen the organization’s community engagement, educational and outreach efforts. Kwofe was instrumental in navigating the theatre through the pandemic. He also played a key role in The Muny’s successful $100 million Second Century Capital Campaign.Kwofe is the board president of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) and is an active contributor to the St. Louis community, serving on the Commerce Bank Advisory Board, St. Louis University High School Board of Trustees, Cor Jesu Academy Advisory Council, and as a founding board member of Atlas School. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Saint Louis Club and supports various social service organizations.In 2020 Kwofe was recognized by The St. Louis Business Journal in its “40 Under 40” class. He was a Fellowship Advisor for the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland (2018) and a recipient of The St. Louis American’s Salute to Young Leaders Award (2015). In addition to his Muny work, Kwofe consults for various concerts, artist development, management and production projects, including executive producer for 2020’s A New Holiday, a short musical film created by LIFE Creative Group and broadcast on local PBS networks.MAIN TAKEAWAYS:Alex worked at a women’s shelter in his early 20s, which he said was emotionally taxing at times. Kwofe was a death penalty investigator for the Southern Center for Human Rights and built relationships with each person he worked with to understand their unique situation. Kwofe said the work had great value to him and any discomfort he felt didn’t trump the client's reality. Doing the best job possible for the client required an emotional investment for the client to have trust in his work.  You can do everything right in a job and do your absolute best and there’s no change. You have to figure out how to advance over the issue. Kwofe started from the bottom, but he’s now here, at the top. At 16 years old, he worked at the Muny as an usher and advanced through the administrative ranks at The Muny, including staff accountant, house manager, digital communications manager, director of marketing and communications, and managing director, and became president of the nation’s oldest and largest outdoor musical theatre since 2021. Kwofe said he stayed because it was a great opportunity and a community-based and important art institute in St. Louis.People are more aware of who they are individually and comfortable with who they are. The stories and plays at the Muny aren’t rewritten but show a wonderful world of diversity. To prepare the leadership that comes up after you, train those who look and don’t look like you. Invest in the next generation. (ie have internship and education programs for college and high school students) and show them the art form and opportunities available to them. When we get to positions of leadership, people are watching so do it the right way. Invest in others. Serve the community. Uphold your responsibilities to give back. When you say, “The Youtube” It ages you. Lol!The biggest life lesson from theater for Alex was “The audience doesn’t know when you make a mistake. Don’t stop. Just keep going.”  Kwofe said his biggest life lesson from the theater is, “Nothing happens in a vacuum. You can’t accomplish anything by yourself. When you build a network or team and trust them to be experts in their area, it gets so much easier to do everything. You can accomplish so much together.”If you reference ER vs Gray's Anatomy…it also ages you. Lol!Art improves people. It gives them a balance. Opportunities to amplify unique talents require us to look outside of our lanes and learn from others. Find those things that expose you to something new. 

Learn the Surprising Secret to Success from a Guest Who Reveals Why Being Your Own Best Friend is Key. When discussing player determination in the realm of golf, the name Christian Heavens is most likely to be included. Christian keeps his nose to the grindstone and his eye on the ball in all aspects of his life as a pro golfer and CEO of Tour Line Golf. His tenure in the sport reflects a career-low round of 61, earned in a Florida pro golf tour event, and he’s accomplished 25 tournament victories, including the St. Louis Publix Open this past May.Following a standout collegiate career, Christian made his mark professionally as a member of the PGA Tour Canada in 2012. The stealth player recorded his first two victories on the Florida Professional Golf Tour that same year and went on to compete on the Golf Channel’s Big Break, ABC’s Season 2 of Holey Moley, the Latin America Tour, and on Florida professional tours.An alumnus of the First Tee of Greater St. Lous, Christian represented the organization at the 2006 First Tee Open at Pebble Beach and in 2010 competed in the U.S. Amateur at Chambers Bay. His outstanding academic and golfing skills earned him a First Tee Scholars scholarship to Georgetown College in Kentucky, where he captured the All-American Inaugural Gimmie Golf Professional Invitational in 2018.A two-time, first-team All-Conference member of the Mid-South Conference, as a junior Christian won first place in the final individual standings at the MSC Championships. For his efforts, he was named MSC Golfer of the Year and went on to earn third-team NAIA All-America honors. In each of his final three seasons at Georgetown, he finished in the top 12 of the MSC Championships.MAIN TAKEAWAYS:Christian Heavens isn’t your “traditional” golfer. He got into golf at a time when golf for a Black man was not the norm. His grandfather, Levester Heavens, a firefighter, taught him to play golf when he was a little kid. Christian shared his grandfather’s love for the game.Not compromising who you are despite the norm is important in maintaining your identity. Christian still loves hip-hop, and R&B and brings pieces of himself to the golf course. You can be you and still enjoy golf and feel welcome at a golf course or country club, he said.  Alex tells a story about a joke he made during an interview, that the interviewer said they didn’t understand so they didn’t select him out of the top three candidates. Alex said he was just being himself and that should never change.Christian said the Black golf community is small and they talk. Code-switching is one obstacle they feel at a professional level. It can be exhausting as there’s sometimes pressure to adapt or code-switch in the golf world. Being himself is one of the things that drives them to make golf more accessible. Alex said there’s a difference between code-switching and being various versions of yourself. Christian said he has an at-home, chill, country club side that makes him feel comfortable. “You have to learn to go where you are celebrated not tolerated. Just being you, there will be people who rock with you and those who aren’t going to rock with you. Even if you put on a persona, it will still be people that like you and those that don’t. Be you and find and attract the people who genuinely like you. You can collaborate with your energies.”- Christian HeavensConfidence and building confidence, or faking it until you make it is key. Act as if you belong there and know where you’re going. It will get you through many doors. Success breeds confidence.In golf, there are no coaches. On the golf course, the player can be their own worse enemy criticizing their techniques. But we have to speak to ourselves like we would someone else. You have to catch yourself and be aware of it to combat that. Be your own best friend. Goal setting is important to beat imposter syndrome. Look at your progress and see success even if you aren’t at your goal. We will lose more than we win, but don’t let the losses beat you down in life. Let the wins, big and small, have more emotion attached and build yourself up. Let a loss teach you and appreciate it as a step towards your end goal. Try. Shoot your Shot. Hit your Drive. Even if you don’t get 100%, don’t let it beat you down or make you quit. Let it get you to another level. Learn from it. You win or you Learn.

It's no surprise that ChatGTP is trending, but will it and the internet cause the rise or fall of society? Guest Julie Owono shares her insight on this valuable topic.  Julie Owono is the Executive Director of Internet Sans Frontières (Internet Without Borders), an inaugural member of the Facebook Oversight Board, and the Executive Director of the Content Policy & Society Lab, a project of the Progam on Democracy and the Internet at Stanford University. At the intersection of Business and Human Rights, her work focuses on creating channels of collaboration between different set of actors of the Internet. She is particularly interested in finding policy and technical solutions to foster collaborations for a better content moderation on online platforms. Julie is an Affiliate of the Berkman Kleine Center on Internet and Society at Harvard University, a member of the Global Partnership on AI (AI) created by France and Canada, of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on AI for Humanity, of the WEF Council on the Connected World. She was also a member of UNESCO’s Ad Hoc Expert Group (AHEG) for the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, a Member of the World Benchmarking Alliance’s Expert Committee on Digital Inclusion, and a Civil Society member of the Global Network Initiative’s Board. Julie graduated in International Law from La Sorbonne University in Paris, and practiced as a lawyer at the Paris Bar.MAIN TAKEAWAYS:Julie Owono has been defending freedom of expression for many years, especially so women of color can use the space to express themselves and their rights to dignity. When advocating for the right to speak online, how do you navigate misinformation and hate speech on the internet versus freedom of speech? Alex asks.The purpose of the internet is to be a space where no government or company can stop us from expressing ourselves, but in 2016 it was recognized as needing some kind of intermediary intervention to make sure this space of expression doesn’t harm security & other values we care about, Julie responds.Julie, a Cameroon native, lived in Russia as a “visible minority,” and as a teen faced Neo-Nazis while in the park with friends. They talked to two to three Nazis who at first wanted to attack them. They were all just 15 years old. One of the Neo-Nazis said his favorite singer was Whitney Houston, a Black singer who looked like her. An important interchange occurred between the Black teens and Nazis teens that created dialogue about racism. It’s important to be confronted with things you don’t agree with to educate and be educated. This must be done in a non-harmful way and dialogue should always prevail.  It can be exhausting to fight against propaganda and misinformation especially when some are backed by the governments. At times, the internet and social media is used to influence government policy. Platforms will be weaponized and companies have to be proactive to keep spaces safe, Julie said. People weaponize by stealing identities and creating deep fakes using AI. From comedians having Twitter accounts created in their name to presidents who were sick giving a speech the next day…there have been times when platforms have been misused.Metaverse can be exciting by breaking the physical barrier and giving youth and others learning opportunities beyond their reach While technology can fix lots of problems, it may need guardrails, Alex said. We can’t look for technology to solve our social problems.It’s not the AI we worry about, it’s the creators. Who creates the AI and with what are they instilling it with.

Ever wonder why leaders need to be more deliberate in communication?Special guest Khari Brown shares compelling insight on this specific topic.Brown is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Spark the Journey. Khari joined Spark the Journey in 2001 as the organization’s Executive Director and became CEO in 2015.At the time Khari joined, he was Spark the Journey’s only employee and has since built the organization from a niche program that reached only 50 students per year to a burgeoning organization that is currently supporting more than 500 students and has grown by 400% since 2012. By expanding its program offerings and leveraging the power of hundreds of trained volunteers on daily basis, Spark the Journey has been remarkably successful in helping its students overcome the barriers that limit most low-income students. Under Khari’s leadership, Spark the Journey has seen 61% of its graduates’ complete college on time, a rate that is nearly three times that of similar students nationally.Khari received both a Bachelor’s degree in American Studies and a Master’s degree in Education from Tufts University. A two-time captain of the Tufts basketball team, he played professional basketball in Helsinki, Finland upon graduating from college. After his playing career ended in 1995, he spent six years coaching high school and college basketball in the Boston area. He also owned and operated a fitness and sports performance business serving individual clients and offering clinics and camps for high school and college athletes. Khari’s involvement working with urban teens through his various coaching experiences led him to pursue a career in expanding educational opportunities for low-income youth.Khari and his wife are the proud parents of two children who attend DC Public SchoolsHis Personal Quote: “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” – Malcolm XMAIN TAKEAWAYS:Fun fact: Khari Brown played basketball with President Barack Obama at Camp David. He said he was invited by White House workers who also volunteered for Spark the Journey who were tasked with arranging basketball games for the president. Deciding your strengths and weaknesses is tough. Khari said he started with what he liked to do and it drew him to his passion. Starting as a team-of-one, he brought in people to help with what he didn’t know. Lesson: Surround yourself with smart people to learn from and pick people who compliment your strengths. When having to let an employee go, it’s not about harming the person, it’s about helping the team accomplish their mission. Making decisions as a leader may not always be a positive experience for stakeholders. You won’t make everyone happy, but use the information you have to make the hard calls to promote the mission of the organization and do what’s best for the team.Communication skills depend on the perception of others. You may think you’re a great communicator, but others may perceive you differently. Same as a leader. People may interpret your leadership skills differently than what your intentions are as a leader. Communication must be deliberate. You’ll make mistakes, but how you respond as a leader can lead to growth. Set an example for the people on your team as to how you respond to internal and external challenges. The way you carry yourself is important, because your team will follow your cues and that’ll become part of the work culture.It’s easy to forget your progress. Take a second to stop and reflect. As a leader, don’t be dissuaded by your mistakes. Recognize your progress. Validate and recognize your team for the progress you all made.Build your team with people who believe in your mission and want to help. It creates your team culture. When working with a volunteer workforce must be motivating with good leadership skills. Visit sparkthejourney.org for more info about the organization.

Looking for ways to think more creatively? Guest Don Wettrick shares his insight on how we can think more creatively about your business or brand.Don Don Wettrick is the founder and CEO of The STARTedUP Foundation, which hosts Innovate WithIN- Indiana's innovation and entrepreneurship programming and competition. He is also the author of “Pure Genius: Building a Culture of Innovation,” which aims to create innovation mindsets in our schools. Don is known for his award-winning work as a teacher, educational and innovation consultant, and educational speaker.Wettrick has also hosted a podcast for the past five years, where he has interviewed some of the top entrepreneurs, authors, and thought leaders in the country.  In his spare time he enjoys spending time with his wife of 27 years, Alicia, and his three children. MAIN TAKEAWAYS:When researching it’s such a time for creativity and innovation. How do you engage yourself in new ideas and thought processes?Problems are opportunities for solutions- Don Wettrick. Complaining and talking about issues garner conversations and brainstorming. Conversations with people and solving challenges that people present can present opportunities to learn.  If you don’t like something or know how to do something, know more people who do and have conversations with them about it. Many people don’t make space in their day to learn, be inspired, or brainstorm. Taking in information and uploading it is a mental process. It’s detrimental to our brains to overindulge in social media and pornographic content (still a taboo subject). People get stuck on the endless scroll. It’s damaging our brains and natural thinking process.  The hardest things to do in the world are the things you say you are going to do.  If you want to set a goal, don’t tell anybody. You’ve told your brain you’re 90% there.”Fear sometimes keeps us from accomplishing the things we want to accomplish. We fear not reaching our goals.