Shows
Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursHuman Choices, Real LeadershipHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.We revisit five leaders whose choices show how humanity shapes real decisions under pressure. Fulfillment, empowerment, grace, resilience, and agency move from ideas to habits you can use right away.• Integrating identity with leadership choices• Choosing fulfillment after loss and fear• Shifting from expert to team builder• Leaving with dignity and clear boundaries• Treating joy as a resilience strategy• Practicing agency and narrative fit• Translating values into calendar and habits• Preparing fo...
2025-12-1614 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursLead Through The SwirlHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.Uncertainty isn’t just noisy—it quietly warps how we lead. Beki digs into the hidden cost of a chaotic year: not only drained calendars and frayed nerves, but a distorted leadership identity that turns visionary thinkers into reactive firefighters. Instead of piling on more habits and rigid routines, we step back and rebuild the architecture that protects attention, steadiness, and influence when nothing else cooperates.We start with a counterintuitive idea: reduce your surface area. If you’r...
2025-12-0922 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursTrust Your Voice: Two Interviews Reveal the Heart of My WorkHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.Start with the person, not the playbook. That simple shift runs through Beki’s journey from HR leader managing mergers and reorganizations to a coach who helps thoughtful, questioning leaders turn inner clarity into outer results. Across two candid radio conversations with hosts Jim Masters and Doug Llewellyn, we unpack why boundaries attract respect, how authenticity doesn’t require oversharing, and what it takes to move from performance to practice as a leader.We share honest lessons...
2025-12-021h 00Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursNo, Not Every Challenge Is A Gift, But Gratitude Still WorksHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.I explore gratitude as a daily leadership practice that turns ambition into belonging and presence into progress. There's a simple three-direction exercise—upward, outward, inward—to make gratitude real at work and at home.• gratitude as a lens for work and life• recognition as everyday noticing• self-compassion as part of gratitude• how leaders show gratitude through trust and time• the shift from I to we• a three-direction gratitude practice• gratitude as discipline and anch...
2025-11-2505 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursWhen Vision Meets Uncertainty, Choose PresenceHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.Plans rarely survive contact with real life, and that’s where leadership truly begins. Drawing on Kaila’s leap from solopreneur to agency owner while becoming a parent, we explore how to trade grind for grace and control for connection without sacrificing results. I walk through the practical tools that help leaders stay human and effective when the ground shifts: shifting language from I to we to build ownership, setting boundaries that protect strategic focus, and designing systems that let...
2025-11-1824 min
Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursShifting Leadership From Me to We — Kaila Sachse’s StoryHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.Ever built two babies at once—one human, one company? That’s the real-world tension Kaila brings to the mic as she shares how a leap from solo designer to agency owner collided with a surprise pregnancy, forcing her to redesign time, pricing, and identity in a matter of months. We walk through the strategic moves that made it possible: shifting from hourly to value-based pricing, rolling out subscription services for predictable revenue, and turning I into we so clien...
2025-11-1145 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursRewriting the Story of SuccessHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.What if safety and fulfillment were not opposites, but partners you could design on purpose? We walk through a practical, human path from control to contribution—using a true story about shifting from programming to journalism as a lens for smarter career bets and better leadership. Rather than glorifying big leaps, we unpack how small, low‑stakes experiments reveal fit, build confidence, and protect what matters.We get specific about the leader’s role in growth: reflecting...
2025-11-0426 min
Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursStarting to Shift with a What If — Holden Galusha's StoryHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.What if the safest choice isn’t the most honest one? That question frames a candid conversation with science journalist Holden Galusha, who started in programming for stability and found his voice by following curiosity, not clichés. A personal loss forced a new lens—regret minimization—sparking a shift from IT to writing that wasn’t a reckless jump, but a series of smart, low-risk experiments that grew into a career.We talk about the power of smal...
2025-10-2847 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursYou Don’t Need Confidence. You Need PracticeHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.The ground will shift—so what do you train for? We dive into resilience you can actually use: the steady, repeatable practice of recovering with intention, not the myth of unbreakable confidence. Sparked by Greg Stephens’ honest story about near-misses and next steps, we explore how leaders build credibility through consistent recovery, not perfect outcomes, and why the quiet choice to pause can change the course of a hard conversation.We unpack the small moves that make a b...
2025-10-2120 min
Close Up RadioPart 2: Close Up Radio Welcomes Back Leadership Coach Beki Fraser of Introverted SkepticDetroit, MI - Beki Fraser is a business and leadership coach with strong values and human resources expertise that combine to empower her clients. Her work transcends genres and can incorporate leadership development, skills training, and life coaching. Since she had already been acting in advisory and mentoring capacities, coaching was a natural flow from her career in Human Resources. In those roles, she experienced the difference it made when skills, workstyles, and personality were the right match for a specific organization and its culture, and she began to realize that her last situation wasn’t a good match. Aft...
2025-10-1432 min
Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursEverything You Create, Promote, or Allow — Greg Stephens' StoryHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.Some choices don’t arrive with fanfare—they hit like a shove out of the nest. Greg Stephens shares the moment he was on his own at seventeen and the vow that followed: choose the path that honors your gut, then move one step at a time until the dream is real. That commitment led him to Baylor without a safety net, into door-to-door sales to fund tuition, and eventually into a career coaching leaders through their toughest conversa...
2025-10-1439 min
Close Up RadioPart 1: Close Up Radio Spotlights Leadership Coach Beki Fraser of Introverted SkepticDetroit, MI - Beki Fraser is a business and leadership coach with strong values and human resources expertise that combine to empower her clients. Her work transcends genres and can incorporate leadership development, skills training, and life coaching. Since she had already been acting in advisory and mentoring capacities, coaching was a natural flow from her career in Human Resources. In those roles, she experienced the difference it made when skills, workstyles, and personality were the right match for a specific organization and its culture, and she began to realize that her last situation wasn’t a good match. Af...
2025-10-0733 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursFrom Drifting to Driven: Building Career Ownership and GrowthHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.Ever feel like your career is steering you instead of the other way around? We dig into the shift from autopilot to agency and unpack how development-minded leadership turns growth into a daily practice rather than a once-a-year form. Drawing on Tammy’s pivot from partnership to solo work, we explore how intentional choices, clear boundaries, and visible value help you build momentum without burning out.We walk through practical ways to invite aspirations on your team—h...
2025-10-0717 min
Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursNo More Autopilot: Claim Your Leadership Agency — Tammy Daniels’ StoryHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.What happens when you finally take control of your career? Tammy Daniels' story reveals how one pivotal decision transformed her professional trajectory and personal understanding.After years of following the work at established law firms, Tammy found herself at a crossroads. The legal work had become "mundane and perfunctory," leaving her in a state of complacency. When faced with yet another firm transition, she made an unexpected choice: starting her own practice. This decision marked the firs...
2025-09-3057 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursLayoffs and Job Hugging: Leading Through UncertaintyHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.Layoffs shatter our sense of security and challenge our professional identity in profound ways. Whether you've just received the news, survived while colleagues departed, or sense the anxiety of possible workforce reductions, this episode offers crucial guidance for navigating before, during, and after these difficult transitions.The shock of job loss often comes with confusion about what happened and what it means about your value. Let's be crystal clear: being laid off is fundamentally different from bein...
2025-09-2324 min
Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursRedefining Success After a Layoff — Steve Jaffe’s StoryHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.When the rug is pulled out from under your career, what comes next? Steve Jaffe knows this disorienting experience all too well. After weathering four layoffs across his 25-year marketing career, he's transformed from someone devastated by job loss to someone who "sails right through it like water off a duck's back."Steve's journey reveals a profound truth about career disruptions: they're detours, not roadblocks. "The layoff experience will change you," he explains, "and it's up to y...
2025-09-1644 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursBreaking Old Scripts: The Courage to Choose Your Own Leadership StoryHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.What happens when the version of success you've been told to follow no longer fits who you really are? Chris Blount faced this question head-on, making the brave choice to honor his authentic self by leaving behind security for something unknown but true.Our lives are shaped by countless messages about who we "should" be – from parents, community members, and even strangers. These influences create stories and narratives about our identity that aren't capital-T True but built...
2025-09-0921 min
Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursFrom Burnout to On Purpose: Rewiring Work & Life — Chris Blount’s StoryHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.What happens when the blueprint you've been handed for success starts suffocating your soul? Chris Blount's journey offers a compelling answer to this question that many of us face but few dare to confront.Growing up in a blue-collar New Orleans family, Chris absorbed the message that a man's worth was measured solely by his ability to provide. "You work until you don't. That is everything that you're worth," he recalls being taught. This belief system prop...
2025-09-0245 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursStop Doing All the Things: Get Recognized for Your True ImpactHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.Ever found yourself drowning in tasks but wondering why you're not growing as a leader? You might be caught in what I call the "breadth trap" – mistaking busyness for advancement and spreading yourself too thin across responsibilities without developing true expertise.After my conversation with Shannon King about broken organizational promises, I realized how many of us tie our worth to external validation like job titles or recognition. When these don't materialize as expected, we question our ab...
2025-08-2624 min
Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursShannon King's Story: Surviving the Fallout of Broken Corporate PromisesHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.The moment Shannon King declined a lateral position after returning from maternity leave, she knew exactly what it meant – unemployment. Yet, she felt completely at peace with her decision. After seven years of building a department from scratch and countless promises of leadership opportunities, the restructuring that happened during her maternity leave revealed a harsh truth: corporate loyalty often flows in only one direction.Shannon's powerful story explores what happens when we choose ourselves in the face o...
2025-08-1947 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursThe Mindset Shift: From Manager to Strategic LeaderHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.The leap from technical expert to strategic leader requires more than skill—it demands a shift in mindset. This episode highlights the subtle but powerful communication shifts that signal executive readiness, and the importance of creating space—for yourself and your team—to focus on what matters most. For leaders with technical backgrounds, it’s a practical look at what it actually means to “be more strategic,” and how to navigate that transition with clarity and intent...
2025-08-0504 min
Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursAaron Wilkerson's Story: The Mindset Shift That Fueled His PromotionHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.In this episode, I reconnect with Aaron Wilkerson, a former client and thoughtful leader whose growth journey offers real insight into what it takes to move from technical expert to strategic leader. Together, we explore how leadership evolves beyond having the right answers — into building team capacity, developing others, and aligning your work with broader business strategy. Aaron shares what shifted for him during our coaching, how he built the confidence and skills to lead at a highe...
2025-07-2948 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursThe Focus Paradox: Do Less, Achieve More - Skill BuilderHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.Show Notes (199 words):What’s the difference between staying busy and making meaningful progress? Focused leadership reshapes the way we work—and how we feel about that work. It’s easy to default to being available, involved, and responsive. But the most impactful leaders aren’t doing more—they’re doing what matters most. With candid insights from my own challenges staying focused, learn practical tools to help you create space for real progress: fr...
2025-07-2205 min
Short Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursNamon's Story: Choosing Growth Into HR Over Going with the FlowHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.This episode explores Namon's journey from a decade in sales to a new path in human resources. Blending his creative identity as DJ Blue with a growing passion for people-focused work, Namon shares how formal education became a tool for finding focus and making intentional choices. With honesty and insight, he reflects on the shift from “going with the flow” to choosing a direction with clarity. This conversation is a thoughtful look at what it means to evolve...
2025-07-1535 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursCelebrating a Decade of Entrepreneurship: Insights and EvolutionHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.In this special anniversary episode, we’re turning the mic around! To mark 10 years of full-time coaching through my business, Focus for Growth, I’m stepping into the guest seat. My friend and podcast producer, Richard Dodds, hosts the conversation as we look back on a decade of coaching, entrepreneurship, and leadership development.Join us as I share insights from ten years of working with growth-minded leaders, building a purpose-driven business, and growing alongside my clients. We explo...
2025-07-0838 minShort Story Long: Life Lessons from Leaders, Coaches, and EntrepreneursBoundaries for Effective Leadership - Skill BuilderHave a story or inflection point to share? Tap here to message us — we’d love to hear it.Leadership isn't just about managing others—it's about managing yourself with intention. Drawing from a powerful conversation with Alan Heyman, this episode dives deep into two critical leadership skills: setting boundaries and creating psychological safety.Connect with Beki on LinkedIn: Linkedin.com/in/BekiFraserLearn more about her coaching: TheIntrovertedSkeptic.com Learn more about 75 LEAD: FocusForGrowth.com/75LEAD Follow Short Story Long's LinkedIn Page: Lin...
2025-07-0105 min