The Idea Climbing Podcast

Designing and living your ideal life is possible IF you have the right strategies. A big part of that is creating fulfillment in your own life while positively impacting the world around you. In this episode I discuss how to do just that with my guest, Mo Salami.

Mo is a High-Performance Coach and International Keynote Speaker. He speaks multiple languages, fluent in English, French, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese.

Mo is a former Senior Mentor for World Class Peak Performance Guru Tony Robbins. Whilst part of his

California-based team, Mo...

In this episode we’re discussing how to turn obstacles into opportunities with my guest, Lasada Pippin.

Lasada was raised in an underserved community as a young African American and defied the odds to build a successful career in engineering and become a first-generation college graduate. His journey reflects the resilience and determination that now fuel his mission as an inspirational speaker.

Lasada’s signature keynote series, “Say It Better: Communicate with Clarity & Lead with Confidence” draws directly from that path: Empowering corporate professionals, educators, and youth to overcome obstacles and pursue meaningfu...

Today we’re discussing how to get focused and get into “flow states” (what athlete’s call “The Zone”) to achieve more in less time. My guest is Peter Wishnie.

In his younger years Peter purchased a medical practice and after one year, he made more money than the previous owner did in any one of his 17 years of ownership.

Peter has been in business for over 33 years and has made multiple 7 figures for 30 consecutive years, landing him in the top 1% in his field. During those years he has learned key secrets that h...

Storytelling is an absolute must in the marketing world. In this episode I discuss How to Create Story-Driven Content Marketing Campaigns with my guest, Katie Wagner.

Katie spent more than 15 years as a journalist. In 2010, Katie realized that she could use the skills she learned in the newsroom to help business owners connect with their clients online and started her own agency, KWSM. Katie is a proud member of Vistage, Provisors and the Young Entrepreneur Council.

She has served as a member of the Advisory Board for Web Wise Kids, a no...

Your money mindset can make or break you as an entrepreneur. I discuss how to create a successful money mindset in this episode with my guest, Robin Waite.

Robin is a dynamic and inspiring public speaker, author, and international business coach. He has a passion for helping others succeed and reach their full potential, and his energy and enthusiasm are contagious. With over 20 years of experience as an entrepreneur and business coach, Robin has a wealth of knowledge and practical insights to share with his audiences.

I asked Robin about his st...

Today we’re discussing how to sell your services without being pushy; because nobody likes to be sold to but everyone loves to buy. My guest is Eric Schulman.

Eric brings over 5 decades of business experience to the table.  A “Serial Entrepreneur”, he’s worked with both tangible and intangible products and services in B2B and B2C environments.  After building 5 businesses on his own, he started Consultants Can Sell! specifically to work with Business Owners, Consultants and Sales Professionals to provide sales training that really works.

The Accidental...

If you practice servant leadership people want to get to know you through your origin story. Sharing it will help you boost your brand and enhance your marketing. I discuss how to create and develop your origin story in this episode with my guest, Adrienne Wilkerson.

As Co-Founder and CEO of Beacon Media + Marketing, Adrienne is driven by a passion for developing people and fostering a culture where innovation thrives. In her early 20s, she realized she would make a much better boss than an employee, which led her to found her own co...

Creating a circle of trust can create explosive business growth. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Jonathan Hung.

Jonathan is a successful VC and entrepreneur. He has evolved from his role as a prolific angel investor with over 150+ pre-seed and pre-IPO investments under his belt to becoming the Managing Partner for Entrepreneur Ventures.

Jonathan believes that everyone thinks entrepreneurship is all about fundraising. That’s one aspect of building a business. Jonathan is dedicating his upcoming book to his father. He was a great entrepreneur who came to this...

Today we’re discussing how to write copy that positions you as a thought leader. There are subtle nuances that separate the average copy from the excellent copy. I discuss strategies to become an excellent copy write and therefore an excellent thought leader with my guest, Kristen Sweeney.

Kristen is a content strategist who has helped over 100 organizations communicate more clearly, especially when the subject matter is complex or highly technical. She’s the founder of Every Little Word, a boutique content and communications agency that believes great ideas—and the people who power th...

If you want great things to happen in your life you have the opportunity and power to manifest them. You just need the right strategies. I discuss some of them in this episode with my guest, Francois Lupien.

Francois Lupien is a dynamic executive coach, mentor and speaker whose experience includes successfully working with Tony Robbins, Stephen Covey (7 Habits of Highly Effective People) and as a consultant with Bob Proctor (Movie: The Secret).

Achieving excellence in everything he puts his mind to, Francois has been a Tae Kwon Do Gold Medal Canad...

Effective storytelling is an essential component to successful sales results. In this episode I dive into the components of “story selling” from the stage with my guest, Sylvain “Sly” Haché.

Sly is an ex-chronic stutterer who has created a new public speaking system that turns regular people into ‘‘naturals’‘—without scripts, stress or memorization. Clients include international keynote speakers, TV hosts and national trainers.

His methods have helped people from 18 to 81 years old get over stage fright and his systems have replaced yearly incomes with 20-minute talks and produced multiple 6-figure days from the stage.<...

A seven-figure income doesn’t start with a business plan; it starts with a mindset. I discuss how to create a millionaire mindset in this episode with my guest, Cole Vandee.

Cole is a strategic marketing mind behind more than 300 million dollars in found revenue generated for clients ranging from celebrity coaches to DTC brands in the pet industry. With his unique perspective to bridge the gap between what’s working now and what the future marketplace will demand, Cole has catapulted several brands to 9 figures and beyond.

The Early Pathway to Cole’...

Public speaking is an excellent way to grow your business as an entrepreneur. You just need the right strategies and ways to get started. We discuss some of them in this episode with my guest Lisa Reid.

As the Founder of Get Speaking Gigs Now, Leisa trains entrepreneurs who want to use public speaking as a soul-fulfilling business growth strategy. Clients who work closely with her “Get Their Talk Ready to Rock” and build their speaking skills and confidence through the Speaker’s Training Academy.

Leisa has booked and delivered over 600 speaking...

The epitome of leadership is the ability to share your leadership story and leave a legacy. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Shelley Goldstein.

Shelley Goldstein is a leadership development coach specializing in communications affectionately known by clients as “The Coach Whisperer”. The moniker stems from her intuitive ability to pinpoint untapped potential in leaders and cultivate it into speaking mastery with remarkable ease and speed.

As the architect of Remarkable Speaking, Shelley has created a proprietary framework that has evolved into a global leadership development platform. Rooted in 30...

Creating and embracing your leadership promise can change your life and your business as an entrepreneur. You just need a strategy for creating it and then maintaining it over time. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Jason Hewlett.

Jason has delivered thousands of presentations around the world; performed in every major casino in Las Vegas; inspired the Troops in wartime Afghanistan; and authored “The Promise to The One”. He utilizes entertainment, musical impressions and comedy to teach leaders how to capture their unique Leadership Promise and Signature Moves.

We all have an “Emotional Source Code” that is set when we were children. It’s what drives us and is why we do everything we do.

What if that code isn’t working to your advantage? You can change it! In this episode I discuss how to do that with my guest, Dov Baron.

For over 30 years, Dov Baron has been empowering inquisitive leaders and influential figures worldwide to explore their own “Emotional Source Code” and their organizations “Emotional Source Code” to discover how to generate Fierce Loyalty.

He is the creator...

Many self-help books and programs are overly complicated with dozens of steps or components. My guest, “Doc” Thom Mayer believes we can (and should) do simple things savagely well. We discuss how to do that in this episode.

Doc is the Medical Director for the NFL Players Association, as well as a prominent figure in the fields of emergency medicine, sports medicine and leading in times of crisis.

He has built a distinguished career focused on athlete and patient health, safety, emergency response, as well as the skills required to lead from t...

If you want more quality sales conversations, you must ask more meaningful questions. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Leslie Venetz.

Leslie is a top 1% B2B sales expert, sought-after speaker, and founder of The Sales-Led GTM Agency. Leslie has been recognized as a global sales thought leader and her insights have been viewed over 100 million times.

Awarded LinkedIn Editorial Top Voice, 5x top 50 Sales Thought Leader, and 2024 Sales Innovator of the Year, Leslie’s also been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Success Maga...

The digital networking scene is booming. So is a growing lack of respect for common people skills and decency. I discuss the case for bringing them back through face-to-face networking with my guest, Brian Wallace.

Brian is Founder of NowSourcing, an industry leading content marketing agency that makes the world’s ideas simple, visual, and influential. Brian has been named a Google Small Business Advisor for 2016-present, joined the SXSW Advisory Board in 2019-present and became an SMB Advisor for Lexmark in 2023. He is the Co-Founder for The Innovate Summit which launched in May 20...

Embracing Servant Leadership can bolster your business and change your personal life. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Andrew Kolikoff.

Andrew helps leaders create better journeys and greater profitability through the elevation of their people, teams, culture and customer experiences. He is considered to be one of the leading thought leaders in the world on the topic of Servant Leadership.

Andrew grew up in a remarkable home where his parents were madly in love and openly affectionate and his grandparents were the same way. His pa...

Marketing is much more powerful when it’s driven by a purpose and a mission. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Ryan Chute.

Ryan leads an award-winning creative agency within the legendary Wizard of Ads® group. As an Emmy-award winning Producer and an Executive Producer, Ryan has a deep-rooted passion for powerful storytelling and pivotal moments in entertainment. He builds creative, data-driven strategies that tap into the psychology of persuasion and the science of decision-making.

What Does “Mission” Mean to You?

What is a “mission”...

Becoming a great podcast host is a blend of art and science. I discuss how to become a great one with my guest, Mark Iorio.

Mark is the host of Language of Leadership, a seasoned business culture expert, and a passionate advocate for helping organizations align purpose, people, and performance to build thriving, values-driven cultures.

Eight years ago Mark was in the studio shooting an episode of his TV show, “CEO Chat”, and his business partner was one of the co-hosts. As Mark was walking off the set a woman asked him to g...

Creativity and strategy can seem like two sides of the same coin when it comes to business scaling, but they run well together when combined. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Lysle Wickersham.

Lysle’s unique crossover skill set and insights not only transform startups and SMEs into scalable, successful ventures but also redefine the very essence of creative capitalism, masterfully blending positioning strategy with storytelling and building intangible equity to drive growth and build enterprise value.

Lysle is an combination of two career paths that...

If you want to build a meaningful personal brand online you need authenticity, gratitude, and a few other strategies. I discuss them in this episode with my guest, Vladimer Botsvadze.

Vladimer came to the United States on a work visa in 2006. He eventually moved to New York City, the best melting pot in the world. In NYC Vladimir realized how important it is to build a personal brand. He started rubbing shoulders with successful people and left no stone unturned. Vladimer became a lifelong learner, reading 400+ pages a day and working 16 hours a da...

When you create a Market Dominating Position (MDP) you’re on track to successfully scale your business. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Ed Middlebrooks.

Ed is not your typical business coach—he’s a strategic weapon for entrepreneurs who are done playing small. Ed Middlebrooks is the founder of Elite Profit Coach, where he works with driven business owners to uncover hidden profit, outmaneuver competitors, and install dominance into their markets.

Ed was the kid in the server closet for 25 years working a job in IT services. That job...

In our more and more AI driven world meaningful relationships are harder to come by and maintain over time. We’re getting more and more disconnected from our social and professional circles. We’re using AI tools because we think they will make everything better. We think they will make doing business easier, which is true in some cases. They look fancy, they have cool reporting, so we think we’ll get more leads and then maybe we’ll get more clients.

Unfortunately, often they’re putting layers of separation between us and our prospects and clients. When that...

Everyone faces emotional downturns, especially entrepreneurs. We can get caught up in a negative story. We can get caught up in an emotion that keeps us from achieving our goals. It is possible to get to that healthy place where you can feel happiness, joy, and the full spectrum of positive emotions.

Sometimes you’re going to feel anger, sometimes you’re going to feel sadness or defeat. You can come back to the joy of living and take your personal and business lives to the next level with the right strategies. I discus...

If you can align yourself with a speakers bureau your public speaking business can grow exponentially. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Brian Palmer.

Brian is the Senior Vice President of Premiere Speakers Bureau and a respected leader in the speaking industry. With decades of experience, Brian has built a reputation for helping business professionals select the perfect speakers for their events. He does this by delivering engaging, relevant, and high-impact presentations that align with organizational objectives.

Brian’s Journey into The Professional Speaking World

Community engagement and content marketing go hand in hand if you have the right strategies. I discuss how to combine the two in this episode with my guest, Behdad Jamshidi.

In the past 6 years, Behdad (or Bee) has met with and assessed 992+ marketing agencies and vetted them down to a lean 100+ preferred partners across all marketing niches. After pairing hundreds of businesses with the right partners, he’s found his skillset lies in the matchmaking process.

Getting Started with Community Engagement and Content Marketing

Bee specializes in connecting businesses with...

“All the world is a stage” is very true, especially in the business world. By becoming an engaging presenter you can succeed from sales meetings to training presentations to speeches. I discuss how to do that in this episode.

Today, we have a game-changer in the world of communication—David D. Doerrier. With a background spanning radio broadcasting, stage acting, corporate training, and even playing Santa Claus, David specializes in helping subject matter experts, business leaders, and sales professionals transform their technical expertise into engaging, high-impact presentations.

He had to learn how to g...

Creating and scaling your own networking group is an excellent investment of your time. The rewards can be great and far reaching. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Clay Hicks.

Clay is a serial entrepreneur with a portfolio of 5 different companies, an author, a speaker, and trainer on professional relationships. Clay Hicks founded his first company, H7 Network in 2008, in the hopes of positively impacting the many under-served entrepreneurs and all sales professionals.

Many years ago, Clay was searching for and trying out a variety of networking grou...

Today we’re discussing how to develop yourself personally and professionally to become a great podcaster. My guest is Junaid Ahmed. Junaid is the Founder of Humblezone and Creator of Home Studio Mastery, designed to teach you how to build your home studio.  He has two decades of video production experience, as well as designing websites & apps focused on a systematic process and seamless user experience.  He provides podcasters, speakers, and content creators with a comprehensive plan for their studio equipment, lighting, and layout.

Junaid started his creative career creating fliers for his uncle’...

There are almost too many ways to go about creating social media strategies. I discuss some strategies that actually work with my guest, Sophie Zollmann. Sophie is the Founder of FMD Strategic Partners. They take the guess work out of marketing to get real results for 7 and 8 figure service providers.

Sophie was a stay-at-home mom and got into online businesses instead of paying daycare all her money. Customer service, business management, clerical work, etc. Then in 2009, after a short break, she came back to the work world and launched herself as a virtual as...

Mentoring programs can skyrocket your organization’s success if you have the right strategies. I discuss those strategies in this episode with my guest, Ken Rusk.

Ken is a best-selling author, entrepreneur, and blue-collar advocate that proves there is no degree needed to achieve comfort, peace, and freedom. Ken spent his younger years digging ditches and working in construction.

He is passionate about helping people achieve their dreams regardless of their educational background or past. In Ken’s book, Blue-Collar Cash, he shares his insights from over 30 years of working in blue c...

Self-sabotage runs rampant in many professions, especially entrepreneurship. We discuss how to overcome and eventually eliminate self-sabotage in this episode with my guest, Shiraz Baboo.

Shiraz is a multi-award-winning author, international speaker, and Reality Interventionist. He is known for helping people to rewrite their reality to overcome challenges in their lives. Shiraz has helped thousands of people to overcome illness, poverty and unconsciously addicted struggles.

Shiraz was stagnant for decades as an entrepreneur. He made about $100,000 a year; but when you’re at that level year after year and it never incr...

You need to stand out in the sales world to be successful and video is an excellent tool to leverage if you have the right strategies. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Jason Zygadlo.

Jason, a seasoned expert with nearly 20 years in medical device sales, now channels his unique skills into Build.Your.Own.Brand., where he helps individuals and organizations stand out creatively and memorably.

Jason has always tried to do things differently to be memorable. He spent his earlier career in medical device sales. Fast forward to...

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to break the bank to get great PR. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Jill Lublin.

Jill is a 25+ year Media Magnet.  She is a world-renowned publicity expert, international speaker and 4x Best Selling author. Jill has made thousands of stage appearances alongside celebrities such as Tony Robbins, Barbara Corcoran and Jack Canfield, to name a few.

Jill got into the media like many people find their careers; in a circular and roundabout way. She originally thought the l...

If you want to achieve peak performance, you can probably benefit from creating a Performance Bubble. I discuss how to do that with my guest, Craig Domann.

Craig is a veteran NFL agent who has negotiated more than half a billion dollars’ worth of contracts for more than 300 NFL athletes, coaches and now high school and college athletes for their NIL. His journey as a sports attorney has shown him that having a Pro Mindset is key to a successful pro-athlete career. Craig released a book, Pro Mindset: Be Your Best In Your Biggest Moments, and he ha...

People love to hear and listen intently to great stories. If you can craft them for your marketing initiatives, you’ll build your business faster. I discuss how to do that in this episode with my guest, Thom Van Dycke.

Thom is a business advisor for solopreneurs and small agencies and a certified StoryBrand Guide. He works to help his clients develop strategic offers that deliver huge value to their customers.

Thom was a pastor for 19 years. When you’re in that kind of role there’s a lot of storytelling already i...

Everyone can be and probably should be a lifelong learner; that practice can change the course of your life. I discuss how and why to do that in this episode with my guest, Eric Pfeiffer.

Eric is the founder and CEO of MPWR Coaching. Eric has been in the leadership development space for over 15 years, having helped build a multi-million-dollar coaching business and trained over 150 coaches worldwide.

Eric says becoming a lifelong learner didn’t start early enough in his career. In his twenties and even into his early thirties he felt...