Best Ever Podcast

What keeps you grounded when everything around you feels chaotic? For many leaders, the answer isn't another productivity hack or time-management tool, it's a spiritual routine that keeps them connected to purpose and perspective.

In this special Best of Best Ever episode, Scott Eblin shares practical insights from five season one guests on the spiritual routines that help them stay centered and aligned with what matters most - even in the middle of demanding, unpredictable days.

You'll hear how leaders use intention, reflection, faith, breathing, and meditation to reset, zoom out, and reconnect...

If there’s one relational routine that underpins every positive leadership outcome, it’s listening.

In this Best of Best Ever, Scott brings together some of the most powerful lessons from Season One to explore how intentional listening builds trust, strengthens relationships, and improves results—at work, at home, and in the communities we care about.

Across conversations with CEOs, physicians, nonprofit founders, and elite athletes, a consistent pattern emerged: leaders who listen well create the conditions for connection, collaboration, and sustainable performance.

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Your mind is your most important leadership tool. But in a world of nonstop inputs, it’s also the one that gets overwhelmed the fastest. In this episode of Best Ever, Scott Eblin brings together Olympic champions, CEOs, and innovators to unpack the mental routines that keep them grounded, clear, and intentional.

From activating your parasympathetic “braking system” with three focused breaths, to five-minute visualization resets, to lunchtime movement breaks, nightly curiosity rituals, and annual reflection retreats—these leaders show how small, consistent practices create outsized impact.

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Physical routines fuel everything—your energy, your focus, and your ability to lead and live well. In this Best of Best Ever episode, Scott Eblin brings together standout moments from season one guests who share how they’ve built simple, sustainable physical routines to support their performance and presence.

From morning movement to mindful rest and daily fuel, these conversations reveal how small, consistent choices create the foundation for long-term success, on and off the job.

Learn more about The Life GPS™: https://courses.eblingroup.com/p/best-life-ever-course

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What if hope itself is one of the most powerful treatments we have? In this conversation, Scott sits down with Dr. Richard Bedlack: renowned neurologist, Duke ALS Clinic founder, and star of the new documentary Stitching Strength. Known for his bold blazers, rock-and-roll spirit, and groundbreaking research, Dr. Bedlack shares how fashion, curiosity, and an unwavering commitment to hope have transformed his work and his life. From his pioneering ALS Untangled and ALS Reversals programs to deeply personal lessons on joy, resilience, and gratitude, Dr. Bedlack shows us how leading with authenticity and optimism can change outcomes, both inside...

What unseen patterns can erode a leader’s clarity, confidence, and impact? Often, it’s not external obstacles but the hidden beliefs we carry. In this episode, Scott talks with executive coach, author, and Coaching Real Leaders podcast host Muriel Wilkins about the inner game of leadership.

Muriel shares her journey from fast-rising executive to sought-after coach, why she wrote her new book Leadership Unblocked, and the seven “hidden blockers” that quietly hold leaders back, including the trap of always needing to be right. Together, she and Scott explore how to shift from single-loop to doubl...

How do we thrive as humans in a world shaped by constant technological change? In this episode, Scott talks with Richard Culatta, CEO of ISTE and ASCD, former Director of the U.S. Office of Educational Technology, and author of Digital for Good: Raising Kids to Thrive in an Online World. Richard shares how he’s navigated a career spanning classrooms, government, design thinking, and global education leadership, always with one mission: to make learning more human and more meaningful.

From practical ways to use AI as a baseline for self-management, to the nightly “rabb...

What if leading through uncertainty starts not with control, but with connection? In this episode of Best Ever, Scott sits down with Lara Lee—Fortune 50 executive, former Harley-Davidson and Lowe’s leader, and now an award-winning board director—to explore how culture, strategy, and execution come together to drive transformation. From revitalizing Orchard Supply Hardware to helping shape Harley-Davidson’s legendary customer community, Lara shares how focusing on people and purpose creates lasting results. She also unpacks the personal mantra that guides her leadership and how it can serve as a framework for any leader navigating today’s brittle, anxious, a...

What if the fastest way to transform a team wasn’t about processes or technology, but about creating safety, trust, and genuine connection? In this episode, Scott talks with global digital innovator Donagh Herlihy, whose career has spanned leadership roles at Wrigley, Avon, Bloomin’ Brands, and Subway, and now as an advisor to AI startup Incept. Donagh shares why he starts every morning with gratitude, how “safe to try” experiments fueled billion-dollar innovations, and the leadership shift that comes from treating the executive team as your first team. From the sandwich line to the C-suite, Donagh’s stories reveal how cultur...

What if success in business didn’t require burning out, but instead came from building intentionally, listening deeply, and surrounding yourself with people who make you better? In this episode, Scott talks with serial entrepreneur and investor Scot Wingo: founder of five companies, three-time successful exit, and driving force behind the Triangle Tweener Fund. From growing up with a mainframe computer in his living room to leading coast-to-coast operations, Scot shares how curiosity, grit, and systems thinking have shaped his journey. He opens up about scaling from startup to $80M+, building teams of “go-to” people, and creating a personal operat...

What if the setbacks you face early in life are the exact fuel you need to build a legacy of lasting leadership? In this episode, Scott talks with Ziff Davis CEO Vivek Shah about the power of personal vision, bootstrapped ambition, and the habits that keep him grounded as a leader of 4,000+ people. From stacks of rejection letters to transforming a single tech site into a billion-dollar portfolio, Vivek shares how strategic self-management laid the foundation for exponential growth and how he leads with clarity, confidence, and heart.

(02:04) Vivek’s leap: Leaving Time Inc. to buy Ziff Da...

What if the most powerful leadership strategy in a tech-saturated world is as simple—and as challenging—as listening? In this episode, Scott talks with Dr. Cynthia Horner, Chief Medical Officer at Amwell, about what it takes to lead 3,000+ clinicians in a virtual-first healthcare company without losing the human connection. From her work building a hospital in post-war Sierra Leone to her efforts transforming care delivery through AI and virtual tools, Cynthia shares why active listening, humility, and compassion are still the most high-impact tools a leader can use.

Check out Amwell: business.amwell.com<...

How do you lead through chaos, adapt across vastly different fields, and still prioritize presence at home? In this episode of Best Ever, Scott Eblin sits down with Craig Mullaney: Army Airborne Ranger, Rhodes Scholar, bestselling author, and now Chief of Staff at the world’s largest photonics company, Coherent.

Craig shares lessons from leading troops through a deadly firefight in Afghanistan, what he’s learned about influence from his time at Meta and Brunswick Group, and how being a father of four helps him lead better in the boardroom. From the power of sleep and community to p...

What does it take to build a restaurant where everyone has a seat at the table, no matter what’s in their wallet? In this episode of Best Ever, Scott sits down with Maggie Kane, founder and executive director of A Place at the Table, Raleigh, N.C.'s first pay-what-you-can nonprofit café. Maggie shares how a conversation at a Golden Corral sparked a radical vision for dignity, choice, and community and how she turned that vision into a beloved downtown institution. They talk about what it means to lead with empathy, why asking for help is a superpower, and...

What does it take to win—not once, but over and over again?

Olympic gold medalist and USC Women’s Beach Volleyball head coach Dain Blanton knows. In this episode, Dain joins Scott to talk about the connection between consistency, mindset, and high-performance outcomes. From daily meditation and visualization routines to the importance of technical repetition, Dain shares how he prepares his athletes to perform under pressure—and how those same strategies translate far beyond sports.

Whether he’s coaching a championship team, broadcasting from the Olympic sidelines, or showing up as a dad, Dain brings i...

What happens when a Fortune 500 CEO makes self-reflection a daily practice for over 40 years? In this premiere episode of Best Ever, Scott Eblin sits down with Harry Kraemer—former Chairman and CEO of Baxter International, executive partner at Madison Dearborn Partners, and clinical professor of leadership at Northwestern’s Kellogg School—to explore how slowing down, tuning in, and aligning with purpose shapes extraordinary leadership.

Harry shares the four timeless principles of values-based leadership—self-reflection, balanced perspective, true self-confidence, and genuine humility—and how they guided his most pivotal decisions, from leading through crisis to building a global cor...

What if becoming your best ever—at work, at home, and in life—starts with learning how to lead yourself first? Introducing Best Ever, a podcast that explores the real-life stories, mindset shifts, and daily habits of remarkable leaders. Hosted by globally recognized executive coach and bestselling author Scott Eblin, the show features Olympic champions, Fortune 500 executives, entrepreneurial innovators, and community changemakers who lead with clarity, purpose, and heart. If you're ready for inspiration you can act on, follow Best Ever and start writing your best ever story today.