Your Next Success

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Starting a business after being laid off is the path Sara Skowronski took. For twenty years she was the person every company leaned on, hired for HR and soon running IT, finance, and whatever else needed an owner. She was let go by a new owner on a Monday, and the first thing she noticed underneath the shock was how much lighter she felt. Now a fractional HR partner and Certified AI Consultant, Sara walks through the pattern that ran through a dozen jobs and the moment she chose to stop repeating it.<...

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Dr. Kevin Snyder: The Story He Wished He'd Heard

Every choice carries a consequence you can't always see at the time. Kevin Snyder became Dean of Students at High Point University, a role he'd worked toward for years. It came with one condition: give up his public speaking. He agreed, figuring it didn't matter much. Then he realized he'd given up too much.

Most of us have made a version of that trade. We take the promotion, the safer path, the thing that looks right, and we quietly set...

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Career reinvention rarely arrives as a plan. For Graham Kuhn, it arrived as a series of jobs that looked unconnected until the day they became one calling.

Graham grew up working farms and wrestling in small-town Wisconsin, trained in opera, sang professionally for years, managed gyms, and eventually landed inside a church making videos every week. He never set out to be a business owner. The videos he made drew the attention of executives sitting in the pews, they started asking who made them, and a company formed around the answer.<...

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What happens when you reach the career milestone you were certain would settle everything, then find a bigger question waiting at the top? Stan Phelps built a career at the top of sports marketing, running tennis promotions for Adidas and managing the New York Yankees relationship from an office inside Yankee Stadium. Each time he reached the role he had aimed for, the view asked more of him than the title had promised.

Following his curiosity, Stan gave himself one year to write about every part of his field, searching for...

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You can reach every career goal you set and still catch yourself wondering what it was all for. Patrick Kamba knows that question well. He built the kind of career that looks complete from the outside, leading global programs in pharma, becoming a director, writing a book. And somewhere along the way he started paying attention to a smaller, more honest measure of success: whether he was actually around for the people he loved.

Patrick and Caroline walk through his whole path, from a kid who chose engineering while his family...

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Nobody trains you to lead. Jen Heemstra found that out the hard way, then wrote the book on it.

She became a chemist by accident. Almost went to law school. Took an industry job that quietly convinced her she was mediocre. And then came the moment most academics dread: the tenure vote where half the room votes no.

Here's the twist. That's the moment she found her purpose.

In this episode you'll hear:

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If you're a high achiever, this one's for you.

Dr. Jen Heemstra figured out early that achievement was the one thing she could control. So she controlled it. Grades, awards, being the person who had it all together. She literally calls it her drug, and here's the part that gets you: it worked. It built the kind of career most people chase their whole lives.

Then she got to the top, and the drug stopped working. That's where part one begins.

In this episode you'll...

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From Nice to Kind | Deidre Beacham on Nice Girl Syndrome, People Pleasing, and Radical Self-Ownership

Nice girl syndrome is one of the most invisible programs a woman can run, and Deidre Beacham ran it for decades before a single conversation finally made her see it.

By her 50s she had lived through more than most people face in a lifetime. And still, standing in front of her stepfather when he told her she was not being nice, she felt herself shrink. Everything she had built, everything she...

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Find Yourself | Alex Dumas on Identity, Belonging, and Coming Back to Who You Are

Finding yourself after years of performing, surviving, and building from the outside in is the real work underneath every career story, and Alex Dumas traces his own path back with rare honesty.

He grew up feeling out of step, performing for the laugh to keep people at arm's length, carrying a verdict about himself he made at age six. Then someone saw him, really saw him, and he wanted, for the first time...

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Who Are You Without the Title? | Michele Novack

Career reinvention after corporate is rarely just about finding the next job. Michele Novack invested 30 years in banking and finance building her identity from the outside in, and eventually had to rebuild it from the inside out.

Her arc moves from a Yonkers childhood marked by early trauma, through single motherhood and night school, to VP roles at Bank of America and Capital One, to founding CardinalsByte, her cybersecurity risk management firm for small businesses, entirely from...

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How to Build an Event Production Career From Curiosity and Calling, With Cameron Magee

Building an event production career from scratch looks a lot like Cameron Magee's story: a curious kid, a mentor who pulled up a chair, and 20 years of showing up and giving more than he took.

In this conversation, the founder and CEO of avad3 shares how a small-town Arkansas boy with no entrepreneurial family background launched a company from his dorm room and grew it into a national production firm trusted by Walmart...

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Money Mindset, the Enneagram, and Why Your Financial Patterns Go Deeper Than Money, With Doug Lynam

Money mindset work rarely begins with a monastery in the New Mexico desert, but Doug Lynam's story does, and that is precisely what makes his insights so hard to forget.

Doug is a former Benedictine monk, Marine Corps Officer Candidate, bestselling author, and financial advisor who built his practice around a single conviction: the way you handle money has almost nothing to do with math and everything to do with the...

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How to Dream Again and Rebuild Your Life After Grief and Loss, With Chanoa Inez

Rebuilding your life after grief and upheaval is possible, and Chanoa Inez has lived the full arc of what that actually takes. She followed her instincts toward beauty and meaning through fashion, copywriting, and entrepreneurship until the kind of loss that changes everything arrived suddenly. What followed were years of pushing through without tools, a body that started carrying what her heart could not release, and an inner transformation that became the...

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Mastering Your Mind With Madelaine Weiss: Career Pivots, Life Transitions, and Getting to GREAT

Mindset mastery is the through-line of Madelaine Weiss's entire life, from grieving teenager to Harvard-trained psychotherapist, from lab technician to executive coach, from student who nobody believed in to author helping others believe in themselves.

In this conversation, Madelaine shares what she has learned across decades of reinvention: that the inner compass exists even when we cannot hear it, that transitions are not detours but invitations, and that a great life begins with...

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How to Leave Corporate and Build a Business Before You Quit | Tabatha Jones

Tabatha Jones — Executive Director turned Corporate Escape Sherpa — built her coaching business one hour a day while still inside corporate, and left with a plan already in motion. In this episode, she shares how she navigated four mergers, learned to negotiate after a decade of waiting to be recognized, and finally walked away from a Fortune 50 career when her body made the cost undeniable.

If you're a midlife woman wondering how to leav...

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When you reflect on your life, can you recognize the moments that shaped who you’ve become?

In this episode, I talk with Marcy Axelrod about her life and career journey, starting with an early experience that changed how she saw herself and the world around her. We walk through her path from childhood, to Cornell, to Wall Street and global consulting, and into the work she does today.

What stood out most is how closely her work is connected to her life. This is a conversation ab...

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What happens when you’ve built a career you’re good at… and something in you starts to shift?

In this episode, Megan Applegate shares her journey from a 20-year career in hospitality into business ownership, recruiting, and career strategy. She opens up about the moment she realized the work no longer felt the same—and what it looked like to move forward without a clear plan.

This conversation explores what it means to recognize change, trust that awareness, and step into something new that aligns more fully wi...

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Have you ever woken up at 3 a.m., wondering if the life you’re living is truly fulfilling?

In this episode of Your Next Success, Dr. Caroline Sangal sits down with Jennifer Mecham to explore the mindset shifts that can redefine success and unlock human potential. Raised in the coal mining towns of Utah, Jennifer’s journey was shaped by resilience, legacy, and a powerful lesson from her father that inspired her to think beyond circumstance.

Through her work in elevated thinking, Jennifer helps individuals and organizations expand their visi...

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What if you experienced what some have called the most devastating loss imaginable, and discovered a path to healing in its aftermath?

In this episode of Your Next Success, Dr. Caroline Sangal talks with Annah Elizabeth, author, speaker, and creator of the Five Facets® Philosophy on Healing. Annah shares her powerful journey through profound grief, heartbreak, and betrayal, revealing how tragedy became the catalyst for transformation.

Through vulnerability and wisdom, Annah explores the question that changed everything: Why do some people find meaning and fulfillment after profound l...

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Camilla Calberg knows what it feels like to bring strong ideas, deep contribution, and genuine effort into a workplace… and still feel unseen.

In this episode of Your Next Success, she joins Dr. Caroline Sangal for a thoughtful conversation about career alignment, trusted influence, and the moments that reveal whether you are forcing yourself to fit or paying attention to where you are truly meant to contribute.

Camilla shares how early experiences in her career shaped her understanding of environment, communication, and the difference between trying harder to...

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John DeDakis told other people's stories for 45 years. In this episode, he tells his own.

It begins with a curious kid in La Crosse, Wisconsin who knocks on a radio station door during a bike ride and discovers something that will shape his entire life. It winds through the Vietnam era, the White House, 25 years at CNN, a 48+ year marriage, three children, profound loss, and a creative life that kept expanding even through the hardest seasons.

John is a man with integrity and perseverance who kept writing...

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What does performance actually mean—and how does it shape the life you’re building?

In this episode of Your Next Success, Dr. Caroline Sangal talks with high-performance coach Rob Tracz about the role performance plays in personal and professional growth. Rob shares how his early experiences in sports introduced him to discipline, structure, and personal development, and how those patterns carried into his work with entrepreneurs and leaders today.

Together, they explore how performance evolves over time, the importance of mentorship and self-awareness, and how individuals can...

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Mike Barefoot served 27+ years in staffing and recruiting, placed 1,000+ professionals (primarily in IT), generated $50M+ in revenue, and built a profitable boutique firm. In this conversation, we trace how his early life changes, competitive drive, and decades of martial arts discipline shaped the way he evaluates people, protects reputation, and plays the long game in hiring and leadership.

What We Cover:

Connect with Mike: mikeb@redzoneresources.com

...

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Ben Stein transitioned from executive leadership in advertising and tech to founding Purpose Up, where he now coaches professionals navigating career pivots with clarity and alignment.

In this episode of Your Next Success, Dr. Caroline Sangal speaks with Ben about the internal evaluation that often precedes visible career change and how that season ultimately shaped the work he now does.

In this episode, we discuss:

Connect with Ben:
...

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Some chapters of life arrive without permission.

In this episode of Your Next Success, Judy Pearson shares her story of resilience, reinvention, and what it means to keep moving forward when life does not go as planned.

Judy opens up about the chapters she never would have chosen, including divorce, cancer, and starting over, and how those experiences shaped her perspective, her writing, and the way she now serves others through the stories she tells.

This is a grounded, honest conversation about courage, second acts...

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What if burnout is feedback?

Meggi Rombach has spent over 20 years leading teams and driving change across the private and humanitarian sectors, from Procter and Gamble to UNICEF and the ICRC. Constant high performance eventually led to burnout and health challenges that forced her to pause.

That pause reshaped her definition of success.

In this episode, Meggi shares how external validation can quietly drive leadership identity, how a formative teenage experience shaped her authority patterns, and how closure opened the door to a...

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You can have a retirement plan that works on paper and still feel uneasy about what comes next.

In this episode of Your Next Success, Dr. Caroline Sangal talks with Chris Pollard, West Point graduate, U.S. Army veteran, and principal of Great Path Planning, about retirement planning beyond the spreadsheet.

Chris shares his personal story, including the early loss that shaped his awareness of time, the pressure and intensity of West Point and Iraq, and how those experiences inform the way he now helps...

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Growth changes direction.

In this episode of Your Next Success, Cecilia Zapata-Harms shares how nearly 30 years of leadership in life science and healthcare prepared her to build something new, something aligned with who she had become.

Cecilia is the Founder and Executive Director of Women, Life and Science, the community behind the annual Women, Life and Science Conference. She also supports early-stage innovators through Palmetto Innovasphere, helping strengthen the life science startup ecosystem.

This conversation explores:
• Recognizing growth-driven shifts
• Leading with expansion rather than...

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Lin Wu fled China as a child during the Communist revolution, came to the U.S. at sixteen, and had to start over completely on his own—right down to working in a broom shop to afford school. He went on to study engineering, enter the computer industry, and help build some of the fastest computers of the era in the early days of Silicon Valley.

In this conversation, Lin shares the turning points that shaped his life: leaving everything behind at six, being dropped into America at sixteen wi...

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What happens when your life looks full — yet something inside you knows you’re meant for more?

In this episode, Dr. Caroline Sangal talks with author and global speaker Cortney McDermott, whose journey moves from a chaotic childhood in Chicago to London, France, Italy, corporate boardrooms, global stages, and ultimately, a profound internal awakening.

Cortney shares how achievement became a substitute for belonging, why success didn’t feel like success, and what shifted when she finally listened to her intuition.

You’ll hear:

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A full calendar can look like success. Sometimes it’s just a belief you absorbed early.

In this episode, Dr. Caroline Sangal is joined by Wes Towers, founder of Uplift 360, to talk about the definition of success he picked up as a kid: busy equals important, and how his perspective evolved into building real value, protecting time for family, and designing work around life.

We also talk about trust in a noisy world, the power of clear communication without jargon, why niching down works, and how Wes is using AI...

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What happens when your career looks amazing on paper and your body keeps signaling strain?

In this episode, Caroline talks with Nataly Huff, executive coach and founder of Inspire Forward Coaching, about the hidden cost of high performance, the “professional face” many of us learn to wear, and the moment values make everything come into focus.

Nataly shares her journey from growing up in Russia during major political upheaval, to immigrating to the U.S., to building a high-growth career in marketing and leadership. You’ll hear how success can fe...

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What changes when you choose your career with real-world exposure and honest insight before you invest years into a guess?

Mike Wysocki spent 30 plus years in tech sales, built stability, and recognized that meaning and alignment shape long-term career satisfaction. He turned that experience into action by creating Careers By the People, an award-winning career readiness resource built from candid input from professionals across dozens of career paths.

In this episode, we talk about career readiness, career exploration, career clarity, networking, shadowing, and the bridge that...

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Management is a major career decision and a lot of people step into it without real clarity.

In this episode, Dr. Caroline Sangal talks with Joanne Merrick, founder of The Leadership Recipe and author of Game On! Is Management Your Best Career Play? Joanne shares her story from Australia to Hong Kong to the United States, why neuroscience changed how she sees leadership, and why she believes impact is everything.

This conversation helps you think clearly about what management actually involves before you commit to...

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What would you do if you spent years delivering at a high level supporting leaders, carrying responsibility, being the steady presence behind the scenes, and then the promotion opportunity comes up and you’re passed over.

Not only that. You’re asked to train the person they chose.

In this episode of Your Next Success, Sybil Stewart shares what happened when she lived that moment and what it revealed. We talk about the hidden cost of corporate silence, what it feels like when your voice is valuable but...

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You can be highly capable and still feel stalled. Sometimes the work speaks for itself and the room still does not move. In this episode, Keith Anderson shares what he learned after years inside big tech watching how promotion decisions are actually made. He breaks down the hidden layer most high performers never get taught: the trust signals leaders look for when deciding who is safe to elevate.
If you’ve ever heard vague feedback like “more presence” or “advocate for yourself” and felt unsure what to do with it, this c...

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What happens when you do everything “right” and still feel disconnected from yourself. Angie Hawkins knows that experience from the inside. In this episode, Angie shares her path from being a high achiever chasing love and approval, to rebuilding her identity after an emotional rock bottom. You will hear how childhood dreams, grief, nervous system work, and courageous honesty became part of her return to self.

This conversation is for you if you have done therapy, read the books, tried the spiritual path, and you still sense there is more...

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When was the last time you felt real awe and what if that feeling is a career clue?

Filmmaker Chris Baron shares his extraordinary path from science and scientific sales to documentary filmmaking for the BBC, National Geographic, Disney+, and Curiosity Stream. Chris opens up about the turning point that changed everything: walking away from a major bonus to take an unpaid BBC internship and choosing the path that unlocked his greatest success.

This conversation is about curiosity, alignment, and defining authentic success from the inside out.<...

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What happens when success starts as survival, and then becomes a choice you make on purpose?

In this episode, Drewbie Wilson shares his story from a rough childhood and early “figure it out” mindset to building real success through sales, service, and identity-level change. We talk about the health journey behind losing 100+ pounds, the career moves that took him from insurance to software to VP of Sales, and why the fastest path forward is action backed by integrity.

If you’ve been thinking, I can’t keep doing this, this epi...

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Rob Rene’s life has been shaped by sudden impact and unexpected mercy. A Division I runner with a clear plan, he was hit by a truck during a winter training run and nearly died. That moment changed everything. Years later, he built a successful career in enterprise technology sales, while quietly battling addiction and watching his wellbeing slip.

Then came another turning point: the pandemic. Rob’s job changed, his time opened up, and he began researching health, faith, and what it means to live with intention. That season helped lead...