What 7 Conversations Taught Me About Life, Career & Why I Started This Podcast

Seven episodes in, and I needed to have this conversation.No guest today. Just me.In this solo episode of The Conversations with Florid, I'm sharing the story I should have told on day one — why I started this podcast, what seven real conversations have taught me, and why I'm not stopping.I was scared to show my face. Genuinely. For a long time I sat on this idea, worried about what people would think. Then Raji RV and I got on a virtual call and I told her I'd been sitting on this dream for a while. She didn't give me a pep talk. She just said: "You start. I'll be your first guest." That was the push I needed.I also want to publicly thank my future wife, who has shown up to every single recording — managing cameras, lighting, focus, and batteries — while I got to be fully present in every conversation. This show doesn't exist without her.Here's what I cover in this episode:- Why I almost never showed up on camera- The one sentence that made me finally start- What Chris Kulbaba taught me about identity over credentials- Rashidi Kabamba's 1% rule and why rest is not the enemy of growth- Reid Lucier on betting on yourself — and what you'd still do if money wasn't the thing- James Smith on why emotional intelligence is the competitive advantage of our era- Adam McNeill on why startups fail even with funding — and what founders get wrong- Meagan Furnivall on building a MedTech company from 15 years of lived experience- Why I keep going: the knowledge, the growth, the connections, and the communityIf you've been sitting on something — a business, a project, a conversation you've been putting off — this episode is for you.Subscribe so you never miss a guest. And if you know someone whose story belongs on this show, the guest submission form is in the show notes.The Conversations with Florid drops new episodes regularly. Real people, real lessons, no fluff.