Chiseled - We're all a work in progress - with Rob Commodari

When Miriam McKinney got divorced in the early 2010s, she ended up in a financial hole. Depressed and broke, she wallowed a bit and wondered what to do with herself. But her self-pity didn't last long. As an already successful realtor, Miriam did what she advises her clients to do — invest in real estate."It's the best long-term investment; it's the best way for wealth. That's what we tell our clients," she said. "So, I knew that's how I could make up ground."Invest she did. But not before spending two years living a stoic life, turning down the finer things that her hometown of Asheville, North Carolina, offers, so she could squirrel away some savings and buy a property with cash.With her scrimping, Miriam was able to buy a foreclosure in 2014. She fixed it up, leased it to long-term renters, and sold it years later for double what she bought it. Then she did it again.Using investment strategies like a 1031 exchange, Miriam is now not just a realtor, but a highly successful investor with multiple properties."It's just one of those things that when you get a little bit of success and you have the mindset that 'I can do this, I got this,' then it's just like a snowball."Miriam says she relied on three things to push past her early fear — her faith, her experience as an educator, and her decision to surround herself with people who share her mindset, including fellow members of her "Buffini family" real estate coaching program."When you want to change your mindset, and if you've got goals, you have to surround yourself, you have to saturate yourself with other people ... (who) can help your mindset," she said.As an avid reader who is on a personal development journey that includes being a founding member of the John Maxwell certified coaching team, Miriam says she believes her purpose includes teaching investment strategies, particularly to women."Along my journey I have helped other people, encouraged other people, and shown them a path: how you do this, how you invest in real estate and become a millionaire, a multi-millionaire just by thinking long-term."Miriam's southern drawl and thoughtful responses to my questions may charm you into considering an investment strategy of your own. She is happy to help you get from where you are to where you want to be. You can learn more about her success and her process on this week's episode of Chiseled. 

At age 21, Ty Nichols was "cooking" as Comcast's top Mid-Atlantic region salesman for 19 months in a row. He was looking to buy property in Panama and create a successful life and career — until he ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.Hanging out with friends he had known since preschool, Ty found himself caught in a massive brawl. Though a bystander, he was arrested and charged with first-degree assault and second-degree murder."I'm staring down a million-dollar bond and I didn't even do anything," he said. Ty ended up getting sentenced to 15 years, which was suspended to five. He served three years in a state penitentiary.A former Catholic school student, Ty turned to the Bible on his first night in jail. He opened up to a random page and landed on Psalm 1, whose first line starts with "Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked." Ty knew that he had to steer clear of troublemakers and eliminate from his life the people who got him into his mess."Those that you surround yourself with do have a massive impact on your life," he said.After his release, Ty did everything he could to say on the straight and narrow path. After several attempts to find work, Target finally gave Ty a chance. He worked his way up, eventually becoming a store manager, team leadership trainer, and recruiter. After 14 years at Target, Ty moved on and opened up his own business. He now teaches professionals and leaders how to be more productive, more impactful, and more influential through behavior design and habit formation.To get to his success Ty needed motivation, skills, and the will to succeed. It wasn't easy, but thanks to a little help from new friends, a supportive wife, lots of dedication, and a clear vision, Ty is a public speaker, a behavioralist, and the "habit strategist," who helps individuals reach the mindset they need to achieve their goals.I was fortunate to be introduced to Ty by our mutual Toastmaster friends, Karen and Frank Story. Ty really teaches us that anything is possible — both good and bad — and how we use the lessons from our experiences will determine how our futures will progress. I'm pleased to share Ty's engaging story and insights on this episode of Chiseled.

Rich Bernstein always wanted to get back to his roots. Born into a Jewish family in a rural area up north and originally expecting to become a farmer, Rich ended up in Baltimore, MD, as a pre-med student at Johns Hopkins University. Detouring from that plan, he instead became a highly successful financial analyst and funds manager. Rich then took another unexpected route: he converted to Christianity and moved his family onto a farm."I'd always been interested in agriculture," he said. "I never lost that love for farming."His wife, Carol, who was supportive of the move, insisted they don't just buy more land to have more stuff but to till it for the glory of God. So, after Rich got baptized in 1997, he asked six worshipers from his church — all of whom had grown up on farms — to help him launch a project to provide fresh, nutritious food for the needy.Between his management expertise, the group's agriculture acumen, and evidently some help from above, Rich and his fellow "pioneers," all of whom are still involved in the project, turned a garden that was just one-third of an acre into a 281-acre farming interest producing three million pounds-plus of food annually. All of it feeds the hungry, but First Fruits Farm distinguishes itself from other meal services by nourishing the spirit as well as the body. "God knew what he was doing. I wasn't going to have a vocational career in agriculture. I was going to have a ministerial career," he said.Run entirely on volunteers, Rich says in addition to food, First Fruit Farms offers educational programming that attracts students from all over the area, whether kids attending wealthy private schools or children who have never seen a farm living in the inner city. All the students visiting the farm learn the same lessons: they are uniquely individual souls for whom God has a plan — and the place isn't called "First Fruits" for nothing."We're not giving people rotting vegetables and saying, 'Hope you're OK with that,'" he said. "Jesus is pretty clear: 'Whatever you do for people, it's as if you did that to me.' ... I wouldn't dream of giving Jesus apples that were smashed by a bulldozer."Little-known fact: according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Baltimore County has more than 70,000 acres of farmland producing $93 million in agriculture sales each year. If a small piece of that market is going to establish God's kingdom on earth here in Baltimore, then the produce from First Fruits surely tastes delicious.I have volunteered at Fresh Fruits Farm, and it was a meaningful experience that I hope to do again. I encourage you to get out there sometime and try a little harvesting of your own. In the meantime, you can reap the benefits of Rich's wisdom on this week's episode of Chiseled.

When Marc Allen was in his 20s and desperate for cash, a man hired him and his then-girlfriend to help prepare a seminar for 25 paying guests on spirituality and self-improvement. Five minutes before it was supposed to start, the guy bolted.Left with his own bills to pay and a crowd to enlighten, Marc and his partner, Shakti Gawain, gathered together all they had learned about spirituality and personal growth from years studying in the heart of the 1970s' "spiritual smorgasbord" — Berkeley, California — and hosted the five-day seminar.The results were better than he could have imagined. They were asked to host another event in Los Angeles. Using what he had typed out for his guests at the seminar, Marc self-published a book, then another, then another. Shakti published the same material under another title, and sales took off.The two then started the New World Library, which has published hundreds of books that inspire and challenge people to improve their lives and the world. Some of its famous authors include Eckhart Tolle, Alice Walker, Deepak Chopra, and Richard Carlson.From that first seminar, Marc built, refined, and distilled his philosophy into his most famous book, The Millionaire Course: The Visionary Plan for Creating the Life of Your Dreams. In it, Marc asks eight essential questions. He also teaches how to create affirmations and adapt them to one's own circumstances and situations."We're all such individuals that words that resonate with one person will not resonate the same way with another," he said. "You just keep playing with it. ... When you find that right affirmation, you feel energy from it."Even if, unlike me, you haven't read Marc's book a half-dozen times, it won't matter because in this week's episode of Chiseled, Marc recites from memory some of his favorite lessons from the book as well as lines from poems and meditations like the Tao Te Ching and the Kabbalah.Marc describes himself as a "cultural creative." He is not a fan of Western philosophy — calling it too intellectual and not spiritual enough. He sees himself as a Christian practicing the most fundamental of Jesus' message."'A new law I give unto you, love one as I loved you,'" he said. "That's the essence of Christianity."  I welcome you to join this week's "book club" on Chiseled, discover Marc's pick for the best spiritual book of the 21st century, and "dare to dream." As he says, "Whatever happens, you will never regret it."

Mary LouKayser is a best-selling author of seven books, a podcaster, educator, writer,and mother of two. She is also a listener of the universe. And when it sendsher a message, she's ready to receive it. But at no time did she expect amessage to tell her that she needed to write a book of poems.However, when her father unexpectedly passed awayand a new person came into her life who had a profound influence on her, shewas tuned in for the signs. And she got one."I started getting downloads from a highersource and they were coming to me as poems," she said. "So I juststarted collecting and writing them down."Months later, she found she had a collection thathit on four themes: leaving, grieving, loving, and being. She put them togetherand published the set in her new book The FarUnlit Unknown, which she describes as a take on "non-obviousleadership development."Mary Lou calls her newest book a gift to herselfand an opportunity to move toward her next calling, whatever that may be.Indeed, Mary Lou teaches that resistance or preventing yourself fromgoing after new goals is the enemy of a fulfilled life."At the end of the day you're the only personwho stops you," she said. "It's up to us to say 'yes' to ideas."I was fortunate to meet May Lou through our mutualconnection Tommy Breedlove. She has amazing insights and I'm happy to be ableto share some of them with you in this episode of Chiseled, the podcast for those of us who are still a work in progress.

Glenn Morshower knew as a child that he wanted to be an actor. It wasn’t just because he watched a friend perform at a local theater—it was because he never treated other people’s doubts as anything more than a challenge. That mindset has carried him through a career spanning more than 250 films and television shows, including 24, Law & Order, NCIS, ER, Baywatch, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Voyager, Moneyball, Black Hawk Down, and Air Force One. He even played a character named after himself—General Morshower—in the Transformers films and is a voice in the Call of Duty video game series. But Glenn believes his success isn’t just talent or luck. It’s purpose. He says his mission is to help people reconnect with something many have been running from for years: their feelings. “Human beings for the longest time have been running from feelings. Colossal mistake.” Born in Dallas, raised by a Southern Baptist–turned–Jewish mother, and married to his high school sweetheart for nearly five decades, Glenn is far from the Hollywood stereotype. Instead, he lives with a deep awareness of what he calls the “protective whisper”—a higher power guiding us toward where we are meant to be. “If you close your mind, you’re going to miss out on some really significant broadcasts.” Glenn and I first connected while contributing chapters to the book The Network Effect, and after sitting in on one of his acting classes, one message stuck with me: “The biggest flaw with humankind is that it’s not aware of its own specialness.” In this episode of Chiseled, Glenn shares how listening to that inner voice can change everything—and why discovering your own unique gift may be the very reason you’re here.

In this episode Dan O'Dell, a real estate agent in Oakland Park, KS shares with us the importance of building relationships in business and in life. More important than negotiating real estate deals, Dan discusses the importance of negotiating relationships.

Bill Hampton is not from the south, but he got there as fast as he could. At age 24, while moving from Atlanta to Nashville to build his music management and concert promotion business, he tuned into a radio station and heard a "hillbilly" talking about money. And Bill understood every word he was saying.As someone who was making money but never had any, when Bill arrived at his new apartment complex, he immediately went upstairs and called the show. And that's how he became a lifelong friend and a longtime business colleague of Dave Ramsey."I got through because he had no listeners back then. He was probably just happy to talk to somebody," Bill recalled.Bill signed up for Dave's Financial Peace University class and started applying the principles. Three years later, Dave asked Bill to teach the class. From there, they built an empire.During their 13 years together, Bill helped Dave sign book deals, build the marketing and digital business, design high school and college curricula, and launch a new radio show, one that today is heard by 4.5 million listeners each week on 500 stations.Dave Ramsey's company rose from a $2 million to a $70 million business by the time Bill left. But Bill had to leave. Gobs of money, private jets, and living on his achievements left him in search of a new challenge.In this episode of Chiseled Bill shares the journey from joining Dave Ramsey to founding Hampton Strategies, a consulting firm that helps businesses grow. He tells how he built a multimillion-dollar peach business from the back of a truck and engineered an Amish shed company, and he discusses the guiding principles and spiritual forces behind every decision along the way.

Dr. Christina Paul felt a calling — help people to live better, healthier lives right up to the end. The root of her dedication, she says, came from what she calls a gift from God to be able to study science and grow up in a household where wholesome living was fundamental.She also spent a lot of time in the critical care units of hospitals encountering patients with life-threatening chronic illnesses that could have been prevented.Fortunately, as she explains in this week's episode of Chiseled, a "chronic illness" no longer has to be a permanent or terminal one."If you're leg is broken and you fix it, it's not going to stay a broken leg forever," she said. "Ninety percent of things that are labeled as chronic diseases, individuals who are labeled as having chronic disease, (these) are still reversible."​Dr. Paul dedicates her time to making sure that people live at the top of their game for as long as possible by pairing traditional medical science with personalized deep dives used in the practice of functional, longevity medicine, also known as precision health care.Much of her practice falls into categories that most people innately understand, but don't always address — adequate sleep, healthy food, and stress reduction. But the science extends beyond that to epigenetics — how genes are expressed, hormones, and the microbiome, or gut health."That's our second brain," she said. "Our microbiome is such a huge player with our neurological health."Unlike traditional medicine, actuarial tables and diagnostic codes have little to do with her decision-making matrix. In fact, she describes insurance as "reactive care." Instead, she uses an analogy comparing her practice to skydiving, which, if you know me, personally resonates."It's like having a parachute. You're ready, you jump off the plane, but it really doesn't open until you're close to the ground. So, you're just falling. It's going to save you, but just at the very end," she said. "But you want to have checked if that parachute opens before you got on the plane and you want it to open right away. That's the kind of health care strategy that we empower our patients to take."As a big believer in the idea of investing 10 percent of our income into our personal well-being, I couldn't agree more with Dr. Paul's assessment of taking care of ourselves to take care of others."If we're not able to take care of our inner health or self, you can't show up for your partners, your families, your business," she said.For those unfamiliar with longevity care, or those who want to learn more, I urge you, for your own health, to take a listen to this week's episode of Chiseled.

You may remember David Sidoni from the 1990s. He was the PatSajak of the tween set (were they called 'tweens' back then?). David had abrief but successful career on TV and in music videos, most notably on thesketch comedy show Roundhouse and as host of Wheel 2000,the kids' version of the game show Wheel of Fortune. But David decided to put his acting career behind him and gointo real estate. "As I got into real estate, everyone said, 'Oh, you'regoing to be great in real estate (because) you're an actor.' Eh. You're more astage manager. You put out fires all the time," he said.Nonetheless, David was happy getting chiseled into the'David' he wanted to become. But after years in the business, he startednoticing a trend that unsettled him and he realized he wanted to focus on theparts of the job that he loved.From there he launched his podcast, How to Buy aHome, now in its fourth year. It focuses primarily on first-timehomebuyers, a third of the market but a segment that David says most real estatecompanies ignore. "Go to all the big ones, I don't care who it is —Keller, eXp, Compass, Coldwell, Sotheby’s. It's listings, listings, listings.What other business totally ignores one third of the customer base? It blows meaway."I met David not long ago and I am trying on my unicorn hornas one of his referral partners. It seems to fit nicely. More so, I'm happy tohave a "guy" on the show with boundless energy and true passion forwhat he does. I am sure you will feel his energy and joy in this episode of Chiseled.If you would like to get in touch with David, all of his contact informationcan be found on HowtoBuyaHome.com.

Born in a town called St. Paul, Minnesota, you would figure that Matt Birk was destined to be Catholic. And he is. But while he followed the rules growing up, the essence of his religion got away from him as a young man, especially after having been accepted into Harvard University and then winning an opportunity to play professional sports.Matt thought he had it all figured out. But the 15-year offensive lineman discovered along his NFL journey that there was much left to learn."When you're given a gift, you don't always appreciate it," he said. "Those seeds were planted in me at an early age. I guess it just kinda took a while for them to blossom fully."Getting married and having his first child — and working in a sport that "hurts" — led Matt back to his faith. Combined with the great fortune of being surrounded by professional players and coaches who embraced and mentored him, Matt discovered that like football, Catholicism teaches you to push through the "passion" to experience the divine.After 11 years with his hometown team, the Minnesota Vikings, Matt became a free agent. It only took a short while after sitting down with another God-fearing Catholic, John Harbaugh, Matt knew it was time to head to Baltimore."I just thought this guy's going to get the most out of me in every way," he said.Matt played with the Ravens for four years and ended up winning a Super Bowl ring with the 2013 champion team. That's when he decided it was time to pack it up and turn toward building on all that he had learned.Working in and out the NFL League Office, Matt focused on doing good and being good. He started programs to encourage more than 100,000 students to read. He promoted not just child literacy, but family learning.Returning to Minnesota in 2019, Matt launched a faith-based high school in an underserved area. He also developed a program called 4HG, "For His Glory," a project to create a healthy sports culture in elementary schools. He's been especially active in the pro-life movement and had a short-lived fling with politics before deciding it wasn't for him.Now with eight kids, Matt looks at his family the way he imagines God looks at His children."Sometimes I just want to be with my kids. I don't need them to perform. I just want to sit with them," Matt said.In multiple stories on this week's episode of Chiseled, Matt shares how football prepared him for faith and vice versa. He describes how the NFL treats religion and describes how "suffering" — in both sport and church — is not merely physical, but a mindset to achieve glory.This week's episode is perfect for anyone who wants to learn more about the history and practice of Catholicism, but it's also great for anyone who really loves football. And as Matt puts it, they're very much the same thing. You will hear all about it when you tune into this week's Chiseled. Amen and enjoy.

A.J. Yager's grandfather had a lot to do with where A.J. istoday — a highly successful hypnotherapist, emotion and performance coach basedout of Eden, Utah."My grandfather was a mentor early in my life," he said. "Hechallenged me to have a self-study course outside of school or sports."When A.J. was a boy and wanted to achieve a goal, his grandfather would makehim read a book, watch a video or listen to an audiotape by Tony Robbins,Napolean Hill, Dennis Waitley, and others. His granddad told A.J. to studythese and other self-development leaders for 45 minutes per day and write downhis thoughts. At the end of the week, A.J. and his grandfather would reviewwhat he learned."All these different self-development topics that he wanted to startingraining into my unconscious mind at a young age," A.J. recalls of hisstudies. "Basically, that got me into a place where I wanted to help otherpeople."A.J. started his career path when he was just 10 years old.By age 17, he owned a computer maintenance business and was attendingdevelopment seminars with his grandfather. He has been professionally coachingsince he was 18 years old.Now 42, A.J. helps people recode their unconscious mind and move out ofunhealthy patterns of suppression into healthier patterns of connections. Healso helps business owners translate their data into growth.I had the pleasure of interviewing A.J. a few months back and am glad tofinally get this episode of Chiseled out to you. A.J.'s knowledge of how themind works and how to surface the unconscious to achieve what you are set outto do is the true meaning of chiseling. If you're like me, you will befascinated by what he had to tell me.Want to reach A.J. and learn more about how your mind can affect your physicaland mental wellbeing and what you can do to evoke the incredible amounts ofpotential in your brain? You can reach him on his website and connect for a complimentary introductory call. I'm sure you will immediately tap into some new insights about yourself and your relationship to the world around you.

If you're a lover of words, you're going to love listening to Thomas Blackwell. Like the water whose molecules change based on how you talk to it, Thomas has a way of making you change the way you think, and more importantly, how you convey it.Thomas is the author of The Liberty of Our Language Revealed, We Bring About What We Talk About. Now a highly successful entrepreneur and public speaker, Thomas went — in the space of five years — from earning $87 per month in commissions to running an insurance company earning seven figures per year — largely and simply by picking his words carefully.He learned during that time that by paying attention to the way he spoke to others, he changed the way he talked to himself about himself. Rather than thinking he was in a "losing" situation, he flipped the script and chose to say he was on his way to winning. It started to work. And people started to connect with him."Sometimes the universe is conspiring for things we don't want to happen but oftentimes we're unconsciously making those decisions," he said.Thomas explains that our success depends not only on how well we connect with others, but how we perceive ourselves — because how we perceive ourselves is how others will be trained to see us.For instance, a salesperson afraid to ask for a referral conveys disbelief about the value of what he or she offers. Likewise, if we view others in our industry as competitors, we miss out seeing them as partners.These redirects in our thought and speech can be applied to our personal and spiritual lives as well."In order to reach the next level of achievement ... my value has to be congruent with that," he said.It may sound at first like Thomas is talking about the power of "positive thinking," and that's part of it. But Thomas is a master of language, and he coaches on turning thought into speech, which then stimulates action. The law of attraction works better when we give our words the power we seek.These insights on how to use language successfully started working for me immediately. Here's an example for you: instead of saying, there's nothing wrong with putting out some positivity, instead I will tell you that everything right can come from it.When you listen to Thomas speak and then try it yourself, you too can create maximum opportunity to be of service and success. I hope you enjoy putting into practice this week's episode of Chiseled.

Greg Kettner got started in comedy on a dare. After watching hockey with his buddies one night, on their way home they passed a pub that was holding an open mic night. After a couple drinks, he got the courage to stand up and tell some stories. The rush was so big, he returned the next week, and kept up the weekly routine until he got a call to become a comedy club emcee.From there, Greg hit the comedy circuit. For almost a decade, he toured North America, opening for no less the likes of Robin Williams, Jim Gaffigan, Norm MacDonald, and Gilbert Gottfried.But it was a lonely and financially unsatisfying place."The downside was I wasn't getting paid that much so it took me about six years to figure out that I like money more than I like standup," he said. "But now I've been able to combine the two."About four years ago, Greg founded WorkHappy, a coaching program that teaches corporate leaders how to communicate, remember where they want to go, how they want to get there, and how to blow off steam rather than "bottling it up and just blowing a gasket.""We spend two-thirds of our day, a lot of us working, and when we're not happy, it's a grind," he said.Working in suicide prevention and mental wellness, Greg also founded Men in the Middle, a fellowship program in his hometown of Walla Walla, Washington. The program enables bonding experiences and teaches men how to care for themselves and talk openly about mental health."If we take care of each other, take care of ourselves, the world's a much better place," he said.I met Greg through a mutual friend and I'm so glad I did. He made me laugh throughout this interview, and I'm sure you will too listening to his stories and natural timing. I'm sure I will be following his mantra to "laugh every day. Put it on your calendar."Greg also runs the Facebook group, The Humor Lab, which he launched during the pandemic lockdown. Nonpolitical and PG-13-rated, the group now has more than 38,000 members. I encourage you to look it up when you need a laugh. If you'd like to reach Greg, you can do so on LinkedIn or on his website, GregKettner.com. I hope you get a bellyfull of laughs from this episode of Chiseled.

Being a pastor’s wife can be lonely. The work is never done, your life is always on display, and there will always be critics. None of that has deterred Heather Reed. Heather pours into her husband’s ministry while building a thriving real estate career—one that has taught her and her husband powerful lessons about what it means to shepherd people well. “All of life is ministry, including business,” she says. “It’s all loving people.” When they moved to Centennial, Colorado in 2016, money was tight. Heather had a new baby and worked as a personal trainer. Her husband drove Uber to keep the family afloat. After getting her real estate license on a whim, she went six months without a single deal. But she didn’t quit. Through discipline, tenacity, and faith, Heather became a 2024 REMAX Torchbearer—one of the top REMAX producers in the country under 40. Her business now helps support the ministry and strengthens their mission. Heather shares what she’s learned about time-stacking, perseverance, grace, and staying focused when pressure comes from every direction. This episode is a masterclass in winning—and redefining what “winning” really means.

Jim DeCarlo has had a very full life. He is the proud son of Art DeCarlo, a champion Baltimore Colts defensive back and end. He lived in Australia for 24 years, lured by the offer to play indoor lacrosse professionally. After 22 years of success in the financial services industry down under, a $19 billion buyout of the firm where he worked as a senior executive proved to be a transformative opportunity. He decided to quit the firm and move his family of six back to Baltimore."I told my kids and my wife, we have two choices, we either sell the house and move to Sydney or we sell the house and move to Baltimore and everyone voted feet and hands, Baltimore," he said.Upon his return, Jim discovered that transitions in the financial services industry in the United States were taking root more slowly than in Australia. It was another opportunity for transformation."It was a gift to see around the corner a little bit," he said.Jim started working with large financial services firms, but decided his mission in the U.S. would be more than technological transformation. It would also be a chance to build an environment where capitalism stands by its original promise to help employees reap the rewards of their commitments.In this episode of Chiseled, Jim shares when he realized the move back to Baltimore was a leap of faith, why he's energized to change the organizational culture of financial firms, and what we all can do to find more joy, purpose, and value while we still have time on this Earth.It was a pleasure to speak to Jim for this episode of Chiseled, and I am really moved by the insights, perspectives, and honesty he brought to the conversation. If you would like to contact Jim you can find him on LinkedIn or Instagram.

The idea of whistling while you work takes on a whole new meaning when talking to Chris Ullman. The four-time international whistling champion was at his job one day when his boss came in and told everyone the staff meeting was cancelled. He turned to Chris and ordered him to follow him next door.So, the government spokesman grabbed his coat and walked over to the Oval Office to whistle for President George W. Bush.It was in 2001, and Chris says it was a relief to learn that his boss, Office of Management and Budget Director Mitch Daniels, wasn't firing him."When you're a spokesman in the White House you are just one bad quote away from losing your job," he joked.Chris has spent his entire life whistling. He would whistle for hours while delivering newspapers on his bicycle as a kid. At age 25 or 26, a guy in a parking lot heard him whistling Beethoven's third piano concerto and recognized it. With that affirmation, Chris decided his talent was worth developing.Chris has performed the National Anthem for the Wizards and the Baltimore Orioles, has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra at the U.S. Capitol, and whistled on the Tonight Show, among other gigs.But not everyone loves it."Some people hate whistling and can't stand the sound and think it's stupid," he said, noting that the former House Speaker, Newt Gingrich, was not a fan.For Chris, whistling is more than puckering up and blowing air. It's a metaphor for finding your gifts."We live in a society where it's always big, more, better," he said. In actuality, it's the small things that matter. Just like practice makes perfect, learning how others perceive your skills helps develop tools to change the lives around you."Think small. Don't worry about changing the world. And more importantly, be courageous," he advised.Chris has been extremely successful as a spokesman at the top level of government. He has worked for corporate leaders and billionaires. As you will discover in this week's episode of Chiseled, Chris not only teaches the art of storytelling he also shares how to perfect your own.This week's Chiseled is a great episode to kick off the new year and learn how to develop your best self. So, make it your resolution to tune in and enjoy.

This week's episode is the quintessential study in excellence for real estate agents, but you don't have to be an agent to gain insights in how to conduct your own business or life of service.I've known Mike Gandolfo for nearly 20 years. In fact, he's the voice of Chiseled — my announcer and voices my commercial. He also made the cool new intro clip for this podcast.In any case, Mike has been on a journey to discover why real estate agents are held in such low regard. Just Google the expression "realtors are ..." and see what the autofill shows you. It's not good, but it may be a true reflection of what people think."There are not too many realtor Halloween costumes floating around out there. There weren't too many people growing up wanting to be a realtor," he said.Mike says the reputation may be deserved. Most agents don't think about themselves as a "person of influence" and many arrive in the industry on a whim or as a last resort. Sixty percent of real estate agents do not close one deal per year, and 87 percent of realtors quit the business within five years."Most people go into the real estate business because it's a path of least resistance," he said.That is partly because the industry does not demand excellence. Real estate classes don't come close to meeting the demands of the job, which require wearing many hats, including financial adviser, therapist, lawyer, advocate, and negotiator."You literally are taking people who have low self-esteem, who have imposter syndrome, and you're putting them in an almost impossible situation," he said.Mike is out to change all that. He has stepped back from the production line to help agents change their perspective about what their role is — consultants and insiders helping individuals going through the biggest financial deal of their lives while also experiencing at least two of the biggest stressors of their lives — moving and whatever is impelling them to move.Mike is now bent on making the changes that are going to tweak the Google algorithm. I'll let you hear more about it on this week's episode, but his goal, starting with an incredible new app called Requity, aims to transform client relationships by giving realtors and their clients the tools they need to connect on a deeper level.Anyone who wants to be more service-oriented will benefit from this week's episode of Chiseled, but for the realtors in the audience, this week's episode is a must. Enjoy and let's go get chiseled.

Michael Schiff admits he could have been in thecriminal Hall of Fame by the time he was in 8th grade. Arrested six timesbefore age 16 on drug possession, shoplifting, destruction of property, andother charges, he ended up in a juvenile detention center followed by a rehabcenter followed by a state-run military school.It was there, in 11th grade, that Mike found hisfirst mentor, a football coach who taught him and his teammates their firstlessons in self-respect.  "He was a father figure to me. He was afather figure to many other guys. He really taught me that relationship betweencoach and coachee," Mike said.Mike rose in the ranks, becoming captain of thefootball team and a battalion commander in charge of 250 corps cadets. Butafter 19 months clean, he fell backward again when he started taking medicineto manage the pain of a root canal."I thought it would be a good idea to doubleup on my meds — what the nurse would dispense out — and save them all for aFriday night, and by doing so ... I released my addiction all over again,"he said.After a second attempt at recovery, Mike wasaccepted to the University of Florida in Gainesville. There, he relapsed oncemore and started down another dangerous path. Arrested again, he was sentencedto one year and one day in prison. As an imprisoned senior fearful for hisfuture, that was the final straw. Mike has been in recovery, clean and sobersince Nov. 18, 2003.Mike eventually graduated college, a day he callsone of the top five of his life. He also succeeded in getting his recordexpunged. He considers himself extremely lucky and tries to pay it forwardevery day.Mike is someone whom I call a friend, and I aminspired by his leadership. Earning his real estate license in 2004, he now owns a real estateteam that sells $100 million in real estate and 350 homes a year. He works to find recovery housing space in the Baltimoremetro market for others dealing with addiction, and he runs a private Facebookgroup for real estate professionals who are active in recovery.Mike has faced setbacks, but he says they are no longer atrigger for relapse. Even so, he says when he thinks he's got it allfigured out, he knows he, like all of us, is still a work in progress. That'sone reason why I am so happy Mike is my guest on Chiseled.If you'd like to reach Mike, you can find him on Instagram or through his closed Facebook page REPAIR: Real Estate Professionals Activein Recovery.

Robert Taylor Jr. will never forget 12/1/21 and not just because the date reads the same backward and forward. That's the night that Coach Taylor survived a massive cardiac event thanks to "everybody (doing) what they were supposed to do that night perfectly."Rob is a physical trainer who has worked with Olympians and NFL sports teams as well as youth and college athletes. You'd expect him to be tough.But when he woke up that December night to the feeling of a "singular 18-wheeler" hitting him in the chest and running down his right arm, he wasn't sure what was going on. Moments later, a "highway of 18 wheelers" went through his chest and he was thrown to the floor from the pain."I'm 240 pounds. I'm not normally knocked on my rear end," he said.Unsure about whether he was having a heart attack since the pain was in his right arm, not his left, his wife got him into the car to drive to Baltimore's St. Joseph's hospital.They never made it.Through a series of wild events that he describes in this week's episode of Chiseled, Rob shares through laughter and tears the details of that night, how it has affected his life and business, and what he does with the knowledge he gained from the experience.You may want to grab a tissue for this episode. It's an emotional roller coaster in the best kind of way.I've known Rob for about eight years. Our friendship dates back to the days he trained my soccer-playing daughter while she attended Maryvale High School in Baltimore (she also played soccer for four years while studying at Salisbury University on the Eastern Shore). He is a tough but lovable coach and his philosophy and skills have changed the lives of countless athletes. My family is fortunate to have had him come into our lives and we're glad he's still in them.If you'd like to reach Rob, you can download his ebusiness card from callcoachtaylor.com. His information will be entered directly into your phone's contact list. You will also receive great coaching videos and other information about Smarter Team Training. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this episode of Chiseled

Did you ever just do what you had to and then found yourself in the middle of a firestorm? That's what happened to Lindsey Graham, better known as "Patriot Barbie," six weeks into the COVID lockdown of 2020.A serial entrepreneur, Lindsey and her husband owned six brick-and-mortar service businesses. Think hair salons, tanning salons, and gyms. The power couple was a pinnacle of their community, at the peak of their careers, and even talking about retiring early.Then the pandemic hit. Everything shut down. "Two weeks to stop the spread" turned into an unforeseeable end. Lindsey and her husband were facing bankruptcy as the lockdown dragged on."We were doing the math, and I was like, dude, we are going to go bankrupt."Knowing that she could face a backlash from local authorities, Lindsey decided to reopen her hair salon. What she didn't expect was the global media coverage and attention she soon received."Some people did not like that I was reopening and called me a murderer and a racist and all kinds of other crazy things, and then the other side said, 'You're a hero, you're brave,'" she said. "All I'm doing, to be honest, is hair."Oregon officials threatened Lindsey with $50,000 per day fines, jail time, and the removal of their three children, including their infant son, from the family home.Nasty memes and threats to her family and employees soon followed. Lindsey and her husband became outcasts and targets.It took five months for "cancel culture" to destroy all six of the businesses Lindsey and her husband had built. Moreso, Lindsey was fearful she could be killed by an enraged activist."I didn't know any of that was going to happen, or perhaps I wouldn't have done it," she said.  But something else was happening behind the scenes in the early days of the media conflagration. Someone attempted to insult Lindsey by calling her "Patriot Barbie." Not seeing it as an insult, Lindsey adopted the name with pride. Her alter ego was born, and she quickly became an icon among political and religious conservatives.Unsure of the next step, she and her husband moved out of Oregon that September to start over doing something different. After listening to the whisper in her ear, she began writing her testimony."I have a beautiful testimony, a beautiful and sad testimony, and I wasn't sharing that in Oregon," she said.Now a Texas-based conservative activist, speaker, "faith-fueled Christian, and a freedom-fighting mama bear," Lindsey has launched a new clothing line called Pretty Little Patriot, which she says is a way to minister to women."All of the merch is either patriotic or Jesus," she said. "People are so blown away at how bold my brand is in Jesus, and so it's attracting people."Lindsey says cancel culture ruined her life, but only because "that was not the life God would have for me." She found her voice amid an attempt to silence it. Speaking her truth is how she is getting chiseled.Tune in to this week's Chiseled to hear how Lindsey managed to find her true purpose in one of the darkest periods in modern history.

The call is coming from the inside ... no, not from inside the house, and no, it's not a scream. The call is the moment when you hear God talking to you. You can choose to ignore the voice, or you can jump in with both feet and follow the path less chosen.It takes some nerve, especially when you're at the top of your game, to muster the courage to walk away from it all, listen to the voice, and wait for the unknown to be revealed. But that's what Mark Viviano did when he left his highly successful 40-year career in sportscasting.Raised in the St. Louis area, Mark was inspired early to get into sports reporting — by his mother and the legendary commentator Jack Buck."The sound of his voice and his description of the game is truly, I will say, what pulled me into the beauty and artistry of reporting," he said. "She gave him the confidence in telling me I'd be good at it."Mark started broadcasting college and professional sports while still a student at the University of Missouri. After college, he was hired in big sports markets in Iowa, Ohio, Atlanta, and Baltimore working at top news stations.Mark's illustrious career included reporting from locker rooms and on the field. He had a daytime radio show and delivered evening and late-night television reports. Most of the time, he did all of it in the same day."I became a workaholic," he said.After decades in a career he loved — one in which he was named Maryland sportscaster of the year FIVE times — Mark was driving down the road when he received a message he could not ignore. It wasn't a heart murmur, but it was a literal pressing on his chest that he says was undeniably God telling him to slow down."I was shaking, scared, but in awe," he said.Twenty minutes later, he arrived at the station and put in notice that he was quitting the radio show. One week after that, he met the woman who would become his wife."This was somebody that I had worked with for two years and I didn't even know them because my head was always down. I was always working."It didn't take long after he and his wife Megan had their second son that Mark decided that family was his true passion. He retired from television in 2024 and has since focused on being a fulltime father, parishioner, volunteer, and youth sports coach."It's a blessing and I'm blessed to be in the position to do it," he said.If you're a sports fan from the Baltimore area, you probably know of Mark Viviano, but I'm sure you don't know this side of him. I invite everyone who enjoys talking sports and God to hear him bear all on this week's episode of Chiseled.

If you're a business professional who believes in the notionthat "givers gain," you're probably familiar with Bob Burg.Bob, an entrepreneur and leadership trainer, is known for his "Endless Referrals" sales training classes. He alsoco-authored the book TheGo-Giver with John David Mann. The Go-Giver has sold 1 million copies and has been translated into 30languages. It is listed by Inc.Magazine as No. 10 of the most motivational booksever written.Motivate is what Bob does. He teaches salesprofessionals and leaders how to communicate their value to acceleratetheir business growth. He is an "unapologetic" believer in the freemarket system and says the amount of money one makes is directly proportionalto how many people one serves."The people who are most successful in sales,most sustainably successfully, (are) always the ones who (are) more focused ongiving value to others," Bob told me.In this episode of Chiseled, Bob shares the principles behind The Go-Giver, which draws on storytelling and parables to teach the fivelaws of stratospheric success. These are defined as the laws of value,compensation, influence, authenticity, and receptivity.I'm not going to give the whole podcast away and Icouldn't possibly tell you all the valuable nuggets in the book, so you'll justhave to listen to Bob's summary. Bob is full of wisdom, which he relays soclearly that you may instantly want to go out and buy his books. It was myhonor to interview Bob in one of my shortest but most jam-packed podcasts yet.If you'd like to reach Bob and get a copy of hisDaily Impact email, you can sign up at burg.com. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this episode of Chiseled.

Well, this is going to be a little awkward. Dan Faulkner, Jr. should be sending you this message since he is my guest host this week and interviewed none other than ... me. 😉If you've been following my journey for a while, you probably know that I have dedicated my life to learning. My love for personal development began when I first read Og Mandino's classic, The Greatest Salesman in the World, while working as a penny stock broker in Boca Raton, Fl. After reading Salesman in one night, I went the next day to Barnes and Noble and bought all of Mandino's books. Since then, I have read more than 1,000 books, and my interest in self-help and personal growth has become a passion for helping others discover the best in themselves.  Even after all that reading, I still had doubts about my worthiness to write my own personal growth book. Nonetheless, and despite my hesitation, I published Better Than You Think in 2020. The book focuses on 16 principles of awareness to build a more fulfilling life. With its release came a workbook, a website, and several personal appearances. You already know how to reach me (just reply to this email) but I would be grateful for you to visit RobCommodariauthor.com where you can learn more about Better Than You Think, order a copy for yourself or a friend, and download the accompanying workbook. Better Than You Think turned out to be a beginning, not an end, to my efforts to share stories of impact and growth. As I describe in this week's episode of Chiseled, I had an epiphany before starting this podcast. I do believe it's part of a larger plan. At the very least, it has been hugely rewarding and I learn something new from every guest. After more than two years of episodes, Chiseled has spawned a new project -- a 16-module course with stories, lessons, and exercises to help people realize that we all are a work in progress, and each of us is a work worth pursuing. I will be introducing it shortly.Meanwhile, I have recently embarked on a related project. Next month, I will be hosting Living the Chiseled Life: An Introspective Look Inside live at Gramercy Mansion in Stevenson, Md. We will be bringing stories to life in an evening to remember. I am confident this will not be a one-night-only event.I sincerely hope that you enjoy this episode of Chiseled, in which Dan asks some great questions about my getting started on this journey, stories I shared in Better Than You Think, and intense conversations between me and God.

Patricia Gagic is a world-renown artist, photographer, and author. Her work has appeared in the Vatican Museum Library, the Société National des Beaux Arts in Paris, and the Whitney Commons Gallery in Toronto, to name just a few, and she has won dozens of awards and recognition of the highest order.Her skills developed young. Patricia picked up her first pencil and started drawing Elizabethan ball gowns at age three."I would finish a drawing. I would take it to my mom and dad and say, 'Oh, look at this,' and they would just stare at me like, 'Who are you?'"But art wasn't her first career. An avid reader who excelled in school, she was encouraged by her parents to start a practical career, so in the 1970s she decided to join the good old boys' network of Canadian banking."I loved the whole idea of the business of banking," she said.By time she was age 25, she was a branch manager. But that wasn't all. She excelled at property management and built a large portfolio of properties. Her studies and successes helped her mentor young business students.But something else lingered. A polymath, Patricia felt the "spark of God" drive her not just toward artwork, but also to the relationship of art to math and the universe. This sense of unity with everything inspires her creations.It also helped her to come out the other side after the death of her daughter."When you have the awareness that you have Christ consciousness, Buddha consciousness, that you have consciousness, it's like I've been able to separate and look at it in that duality and not let it be an absorption," she said.  Patricia has been on a karmic journey of detachment and connection her whole life, and it is a strength that has propelled her to dizzying heights of discovery and contentment."When you allow yourself to experience being in the fullness of time ... your Zen, your bliss, when you see that you're exactly where you need to be then you are allowing spirit to emulsify," she said.Patricia has worked in multiple artistic media, though she gained her mastery in the Matisse palette — the result of years of study under a master artist in France. But she has also impacted communities around the world, including in Peru, Nepal, and Cambodia, where she has built a library and schools.Patricia's success is impressive, but her spirituality and her empathy are truly inspiring. I could talk to her for hours, but we had to stop somewhere. I am certain you will feel the fullness of connection after listening to this week's episode of Chiseled.

When we hear the word "intimacy," most of us thinkabout sex. But in reality, intimacy refers to honest connections with others,whether they be with a partner, child, friend, or even God.Dr. Stormy Hill, whom I met while working on my book chapter for NextLevel Your Life, takes a broad approach to enhancing intimacy.An occupational therapist, mental health and substance abuse specialist, andintimacy coach, Dr. Stormy dove into studies on intimacy while navigating thewaters of raising an autistic son."It was interesting, sort of a mom-world collision with aprofessional-world collision," she said.Dr. Stormy, who is one of the celebrity authors of The Transformational Journey: Lessons from Bus…, now helps individuals and couples explore how to buildintimacy through self-confidence, self-love, bliss, and pleasure in and outsidethe bedroom. Dr. Stormy says having a growth mindset for life, love, and sexteaches us how to develop relationships for maximum satisfaction and spiritualfulfillment."The only thing about emotions is that they will change,which is why I don't think love is an emotion, it's a force," she told me.In this week's Chiseled podcast, Dr. Stormyshares effective tools to connect with your partner, children, friends, andGod, and to overcome the challenges that confront us every day withpsychological and physical mastery. If you're interested in how your brain andbody work together, you must hear her insights.Once you listen to this podcast, which is full of tips andexercises for building intimacy, you will probably want to learn more. On her website, Dr. Stormy offers a free"Compassionate Self-Care Guide," which is full of practices, videos,guided mediations and links to additional resources for developing intimacymore deeply. I'm betting you will want to check it out.If you have questions or want even more of her incredibleguidance, you can reach Dr. Stormy by email or follow her on Instagram. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this enlightening episode of Chiseled.

One day business and health coach Kelli Calabrese thought she had the perfect life — a successful career, a beautiful home, a 25-year marriage, and two great kids. But the next day, her husband came home and told her the marriage was over. He walked out, filed for divorce, and soon after married someone else.It was a huge shock to Kelli, who had spent her marriage trying to be a great wife."It took me to my knees, it emptied me out," she said.After three years of doing a deep dive and peeling back the layers of her trauma, Kelli emerged a new woman. You might have thought there were five stages of grief, but Kelli says it's more like 14. And she knows because she went through all of them and now teaches them as a divorce and mental health care coach.Kelli explains the stages of grief concisely and powerfully in this week's episode of Chiseled. But her story isn't just one of turning lemons into lemonade. It's one of personal discovery, finding joy, and falling "madly in love" with God.Her journey is also not the only one she's offering. Kelli is making available to Chiseled listeners an e-copy of her latest bestselling book, Success Habits of Super Achievers, which shares the stories of 80 people who had something "unreasonably difficult" happen to them and made something great out of it. Just go to her website to download a copy or email her at [email protected]. You can also find Kelli on Facebook or LinkedIn.  

This episode of Chiseled is intense. If you're exploring your faith or are hard-core religious — whatever your religion — Rob Foy has some deep thoughts about having a "real" relationship with God.Rob is a long-time friend of mine and a real estate agent in central Maryland. He grew up in an Irish Catholic household, but his family stopped attending weekly services around the time he was nine.Flash forward 20+ years, and Rob and his brother found themselves one weekend abandoning a golf vacation in Myrtle Beach with a bunch of their buddies to check out rumors of Virgin Mary sightings in Conyers,Georgia.It changed his life."So much grace was put on me at once that Ididn't know which way to go," Rob said of the experience.  The event, which he describes in detail on this week's show, triggered a spiritual journey that has taken many ups and downs,including an incredible physical challenge that he explains in this episode. But through it all, Rob persisted, and has reached a level of faith that few of us can imagine.This week's episode of Chiseled isn't just for the Catholics among us. It's for anyone who wants to hear another person's spiritual awakening and the incredible impacts that it has had on his life. Rob is extremely knowledgeable about his faith and discusses it in emotional and intellectual terms that you will find deeply engaging.I promise, you're going to be intrigued by this episode of Chiseled. It may even inspire you to explore your own relationship with God. If you do, Rob's happy to discuss your journey with you. You can reach himat [email protected]. Or if you want to reach out to me, I am curious to hear what you think.

You must be a pretty good comedian if your roommate is Drew Carey, your opening acts are Rosie O'Donnell, Chris Rock, and Sam Kinison, and you’re sharing the stage with Eddie Murphy, Jerry Seinfeld, and Ellen DeGeneres. That’s how big Steve Rizzo was in the comedy world. But his story is about much more than laughter. In eighth grade, a guidance counselor told him he’d never amount to much. In high school, he was voted “least likely to succeed.” Instead of accepting those labels, Steve used them as fuel. With support from his brother, he earned two college degrees and returned to that same school — as a teacher. Then, one night in New York City, he jumped on stage during an open mic and completely ad-libbed a seven-minute set. The audience gave him a standing ovation. In a flash, his life changed. He went from classrooms to comedy clubs — headlining across the country and earning a Showtime special. But deep down, he knew there was more. The real calling wasn’t just to make people laugh — it was to help them laugh their way to success. Inspired by Tony Robbins and guided by faith, Steve left Hollywood behind to share a message about mindset, humor, and God’s sense of timing. Now, as one of the top motivational speakers in the country, he combines laughter and life lessons to help others find joy in the process and faith in the journey.  Tune in to this week’s episode of Chiseled for stories, laughter, and a few divine punchlines. You’ll walk away inspired — and smiling.

"I do not fit into a box. I'm certainly not a typical attorney."Brandy Wilson Edwards was experiencing hardcore burnout.Working as an attorney for many years, she wondered where her passion went. She loved speaking, writing, and helping people live better lives, all activities she did as an attorney. But it wasn't fueling her own sense of fulfillment.So Brandy took a "pause" to figure out what drove her happiness. She realized that she didn't have to choose between professional and personal goals. She could have it all — if she knew how to pursue it.Now working as a motivational speaker, author, yoga and mindfulness instructor — and attorney, Brandy turned her passion for personal wellbeing into a mission to empower the legal community and other professionals to become zealousadvocates for themselves, not just their clients. You could say it's not even work at all for Brandy."I turned burnout into a blessing," she said.In this episode of Chiseled, Brandy shares the difference between contentment and complacency, and gifts and skills, and shares how to "PAUSE," her five step method for setting priorities, taking action, understanding the consequences of your choices, self-care, and existing with intention to "live with more courage and less regret."Brandy is a bundle of energy and I can see why sitting at a desk is not the greatest use of her talents. I am blessed to have met her and look forward to seeing what she does next to craft memorable messages and spread her contagious spirit.Interested in hearing more from Brandy? You can take a look at her website or email herat [email protected].

Growing up in New York, Jim Poole wrestled, played football, and earned two black belts in martial arts. The downside? A lifetime of head injuries. “I was hospitalized 14 times with concussions,” Jim recalls. “And I was probably knocked unconscious 20–30 times without going to the hospital.” Despite the damage, Jim graduated with honors from two universities and became a successful entrepreneur. Years later, while exploring his next startup, fate intervened. He met Dr. Blake Holloway, a neurologist and inventor who gave him life-changing news. “He said, ‘Jim, you have traumatic brain injury. When you turn 50, you won’t be able to tie your shoes.’” That was in 2009. Rather than succumb to fear, Jim tried Dr. Holloway’s creation — a technology designed to calm the brain and help it heal. What started as a personal test became a shared mission. Dr. Holloway told him, “I’ll keep you healthy if you make me wealthy.” Jim accepted. He became CEO, chairman, and president of NuCalm, a neuroscience company that developed a first-of-its-kind system to slow brain waves, improve recovery, and optimize focus. Originally a $6,000 medical-grade device used by doctors and even in surgeries instead of anesthesia, NuCalm evolved into a mobile app in 2021 — making this groundbreaking technology available to everyone. “Now things have gotten a lot easier,” Jim said. “We’re not where we should be, but I’m not sure where we were supposed to be anyway.” Curious if it works? A quick search reveals countless unsolicited reviews describing profound calm, clarity, and mental reset. As someone who battles the same daily struggles — overthinking, overworking, and an inability to fully rest — I was intrigued. Whether you believe in the science or not, you’ll be fascinated hearing Jim explain how the brain evolves, adapts, and heals. As he says, “You’re never going to get bored in brain science.” You won’t be bored listening to this episode either — and I promise, you’ll walk away with more questions than answers. 🎧 Tune in to this week’s Chiseled and join me on a journey into the mind. 

If you know anything about me, you know I love words. I'm an avid reader, a public speaker, and a burgeoning author. Mybook, Better Than You Think, is a study of some of my favorite words and how they shape us and our relationships.I am not alone in this love of language, which is why I really enjoyed my interview with Kevin Eastman for this week's episode of Chiseled.Eastman is the former assistant coach of the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics. He is also the former assistant coach and vice president of operations for the L.A. Clippers. He has worked with the likes of Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Paul Pierce, and many others.You may know Kevin as the Amazon best-selling author of Whythe Best Are the Best: 25 Powerful Words That Impact, Inspire, and Define Champions. This was one of my favorite reads over the last year.In this week's podcast, Kevin describes some of the words that motivate him, among them "truth" and "preparation." He offers great insight into the meaning of "humility" and "curiosity." These words are just a few of the many that champion athletes internalize and live by. They are also guideposts for us to use to live with purpose.Kevin packs a ton of incredible insights into our fast-paced discussion. This episode is dripping with remarkable stories of how successful athletes, coaches, and others learn and succeed. It's no accident that he found so many of the people he interviewed use the same vocabulary repeatedly.I'm blessed to have had the opportunity to interview Kevin and I really appreciate all he shared. As a professional speaker, Kevin can be booked at kevineastman.net. You can also discover moregreat bits of wisdom from Kevin on his X (Twitter) handle, @kevineastman.

As a 9-year-old, Missouri native John O'Leary wasnearly killed while playing with fire. Burned on 100 percent of his body with89 percent covered in third-degree burns, John was not expected to live thefirst night. But then something happened, call it a miracle. Through thepower of countless people all striving to keep John alive, not to mention thewell wishes from near and far, including President Ronald Reagan, Pope JohnPaul II, sports announcer Jack Buck, NHL star Gino Cavallini and the entire St.Louis Blues hockey team, John pulled through. But that's just John's origin story. John survived, but hefelt lost trying to fit in. Throughout his youth, he would try to be likeeveryone else by taking big risks, whether physical feats, drinking, or otherextreme behavior."Anything someone else would do I would do even biggerand better to prove that I was ordinary," he said. "I wasn'tchiseled, I was bandaged. I was just raft with lies and a mask." At age 28 while working construction, John was asked to sharethe story of how he was burned — and he said "yes" for the firsttime. So, he spoke to a Girl Scout troop of three. "I did a lousy job. I was not even paid with a box ofSamoas," he joked. But one of the girl's fathers asked John to speak at hisRotary Club. That grew to another speaking gig and then more and more speakingengagements, not to mention two books, including the Number 1 bestseller,"On Fire, The Seven Choices to Ignite a Radically Inspired Life,"which has sold 250,000 copies and been translated into 12 languages."I'm not afraid of the scars anymore," John said."By saying 'yes' to others, I began to realize the dignity of my ownstory."Over the years, John has spoken publicly 2,500 times andreached several million people to reveal "what happens when we allowourselves to be used for something bigger than ourselves." I am so inspired by John, not only because of the greatbaseball stories he shares about Jack Buck and the dozens of signed baseballshe received, but also because John embodies the principles of faith, healing,and dedication to purpose. John shares his story and the lessons he's learned in thisweek's episode of Chiseled. If you'd like to reach John, you can do soon one of his two websites, JohnOLearyInspires.com and readinawe.com, whichwill also give you the opportunity to take the 21-day challenge to spark inspiration, meaning, and joy. Check it out and enjoy this episode of Chiseled.

Real estate agent Garrett Maroon has never made a cold call,hosted an open house, or bought a lead. He started in real estate in 2014 with just 40 people in his referral database and has since built a business on relationships and referrals only, doing very well selling 550 homes in under nine years.But about seven years after starting his career, Garrett felt that he was dancing around a subject he really wanted to discuss — his faith. So the Newport News, Virginia-based agent began talking about it with other realtors and even clients, and found that connecting his faith to his work could be wildly successful.Garrett turned his faith into a successful business model. He operates the "Faithful Agent," a real estate business and a coaching company of the same name. He hosts a podcast with his buddy Tyler Wilson, runs a large Facebook community, and last year began holding faith-based business conferences for agents. He is also publishing a book on his faithful agent strategy."We want to be a place ... where a Christian can say, 'I need to gettrained in my business but I want it to come from someone who has the same mentality as I do with this eternal perspective, with Christ in mind,'" he said. Garrett told me that he wants to make sure that people understand he's not using his faith to try to make a buck."At the end of the day, for me, as a Christian, my job is to first andforemost honor the Lord."I recorded my interview with Garrett a while back. He is afast-talker and extremely animated about his goals, which he is rapidly achieving. I firmly believe that Garrett, a husband and father of four young children, is going to have great success in his endeavors, and after you hear this episode of Chiseled, you will too.  Interested in learning more about Garrett? You can check out his website or email him at [email protected].

I couldn’t be more honored to welcome today’s guest on Chiseled: Brian Buffini. For more than 20 years, Brian has been a coach to me, a role model, a guide in my faith journey — and an all-around good guy. He’s someone I deeply admire, and I’m humbled he agreed to join me on this episode. You’ve probably heard me mention Brian before: he’s the founder of Buffini & Company, the largest business coaching company in North America — not bad for an Irishman who came to America at 19 with nothing but determination. His journey hasn’t been easy. Just weeks after committing his life to faith, Brian survived a near-fatal motorcycle accident that required 13 surgeries and two years of recovery. Yet he says he’d do it all again, because it set him on the path that shaped his family, his career, and his calling. As a young real estate agent, Brian rejected the “find ’em, fleece ’em, and forget ’em” approach that was common in the industry. Instead, he built his business like a country doctor — caring for clients, serving their needs, and building lifelong relationships. That relationship-first model grew into a coaching system that has now impacted millions of people around the world. In this conversation, Brian shares the faith, resilience, and perspective that shaped him — and why he believes greatness begins with service. You’ll hear wisdom, humor, and stories that continue to inspire me after two decades of learning from him. I hope you enjoy this powerful exchange. And if you want to learn more about business coaching with Brian Buffini, I’d be happy to share more or you can also go to BuffiniandCompany.com You can also watch episodes of "Chiseled" on my YouTube channel. Go to https://www.youtube.com/rcommodari to subscribe. Thanks you!

Many of you have been listening to Chiseled since I started podcasting in 2021. I love interviewing new people and hearing what they have to say. I hope you have found some useful insights from my guests on personal and professional growth.Most of all, I hope the podcast has entertained you.Turns out podcasting has brought me closer to an already strongband of brothers. In this week's Chiseled, I talk to four of my buddies in real estate who also have a taste for the mic and have launched their own shows.We're not making a lot of money from these labors of love, butthe return on investment has been enormous. Not only have we found our voices, but we've learned several profound lessons.  "Your compensation is directly impacted to how well youserve people and how many people you serve," said Louisville, Kentucky's Mike Gandolfo, who co-hosts the Horse Racing Happy Hour."If I can help other people win, I'm winning," saidBrad Noll, who explains how to become a great communicator.  The five of us had several laughs discussing our adventures inpodcasting. Hopefully, the conversation will make you laugh too and perhaps even help you eliminate any hesitation that may be holding you back from pursuing a creative outlet of your own. Interested in checking out my friends' podcasts? You can findthem here:The Horse Racing Happy Hour hosted by Mike Gandolfo.Student of the Game hostedby Brad Noll.Inspire Campfire hosted by Scott Wurtzbacher.The Karl Miller Show hosted by Karl Miller.Meantime, enjoy the five guys (not the burger joint) on this episode of Chiseled.

When Chad Kneller was in his 20s, he “was all about sex, drugs, and rock and roll.” Laser-focused on being a singer in a rock band, Kneller figured life ends at age 27, just as it did for a host of famous musicians who burned hot and diedyoung.Through the lens of that existentialism, Chad drank too much, partied too hard, and ignored basic rules of society. Eventually, the warrants piled up and Chad found himself doing a coupletwo-week stints in jail. During one of those sojourns, he picked up a Bible and read it cover to cover. He then approached the prison minister.“I said, ‘Hey, I got some questions,’ and he didn't know I have three hours’ worth of questions. He answered them all. Andthat was the beginning of a new life for me,” he said.Upon his release, Chad returned to his new girlfriend and the two set upon a path of finding their future together. A marriage, two military stints, and three kids later, Chad and his wife are nowserial entrepreneurs.Chad has also published a book called Finding Happy, which seeks to help people, especially young people, getbeyond the intensity of their emotions and gain context to get through the most difficult seasons of their lives.“I feel like if someone would have given me a booklike that when I was in my early 20s I could have saved a whole lot of time. I wouldn't have wasted almost a decade after that.”Finding Happy has received great reviews and Chad says he’s even been told it saved one person’s life, a true win if ever there was one.It was a pleasure talking to Chad and I know his chiseling is going to continue to help others. If you want to reach Chad, hisemail is [email protected] or you can check him out on all his social media channels @chadkneller or on his website.

Fazeena Haniff was just seven years old when she witnessed her three-year-old cousin killed by a drunk driver. Visiting family in New York City for her birthday, she ended up attending a funeral instead of a celebration.The pain of the event was immediately suppressed in a family that tended to hide its emotions, so Fazeena never got to process the guilty feeling that she was to blame for the accident.That is, until nearly 30 years later when she found herself miserable in a failing marriage and re-traumatized by an incident while driving her own car."I clearly had been holding onto this for how many decades, and it's playing a part in my marriage, and it's blocked me my entire life," she said. "I literally would self-sabotage myself to punish myself."Having been in a self-imposed prison, Fazeena, who is now a communications and leadership coach, finally got the help she needed. She used training in neurolinguistic programming to learn how to process trauma and disconnect the tragedy from her thoughts about herself. She now uses that technique and others to help her clients recognize how their own traumas are holding them back.Fazeena is very candid and transparent, and her level of self-awareness is admirable. I think you will find her story and the lessons she learned about forgiveness to be highly recognizable and maybe even helpful.If you're moved by her story — or any of my guests on Chiseled — I welcome your feedback. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this week's episode.

Will Heaven be boring? During a trip to the Grand Canyon a couple years ago, I looked out at the vastness of it all and thought, if this is Heaven, I can't wait.One step closer to the edge and I may have found it. But I'm not ready yet. I have a lot of life left in me, plus I really don't know what I'm going to do with myself when I get there.Apparently, I'm not the only one. Many years ago, D. Scott Smith's five-year-old son asked him a similar question. In fact, seemsthat a lot of people are wondering about the afterlife when they haven't yet figured out what to do with themselves right here on earth. Scott began pondering questions about time, space, and how we maneuver through them, and he came up with some amazing ideas about how to best live our lives in the moment.Scott noted that age matters. At five years old, time feels like it's moving six times more slowly than it does for an older person. So, when he tells his son, it will be an hour until dinner, it's nosurprise his son starts questioning whether he is going to be bored in Heaven.But the questions don't stop as we age."We're notoriously dissatisfied," he said.On this week's episode of Chiseled, Scott offers his "octodecim" or rule of 18. In short, we live through seasons of life, which are designed for growing, learning, establishing, reaping, and benefiting, not to mention enjoying a little bonus time at the very end. But in Scott's theory, most of us aren't living the experience appropriate for their octodecim and are instead spending too much time evaluating the past or anticipating the future.From the first minute of this week's episode of Chiseled, I'm certain you will be pleased with how you're spending yourtime. This was a fun, logical, metaphysical discussion (if such a thing is possible) and a great conversation no matter what age you are.Want to reach Scott? You can catch up with him onhis website or follow him on YouTube, LinkedIn, or X (Twitter). Meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this episode of Chiseled.

Growing up in a "poor family" with "a lot of violence, drugs and alcohol in the house," Ken was a succesful entrepreneur from a young age, having started working at 8 years old. But by time he was 34, his success could not keep him from hitting rock bottom. "I had no business trying to run a business of any kind in the state of mind that I was in constantly, which was drunken at all times," he said. When he finally surrendered, through the "grace of God" and a lot of Alcholics Anonymous meetings, Ken knew it was time to pay it forward. And so he did, setting out to help any person he could. "If you help enough other people get what they want out of life, you will have way more than you could ever possibly imagine having in your own life," he said. Ken has had incredible success in business, with the help of some of the biggest names in the fields of personal growth and sales. It's no surprise. He is so energetic, so positive, so forceful, and so funny, you're going to be wound up listening to him, and will leave this episode of Chiseled buzzing with motivation and ready to act.

Justin Breen was an enterprising journalist in a Midwest media market when his bosses started slashing staff salaries in 2017. With a wife and two young children, Justin knew it was time to take his next step.It wasn't nearly as challenging for Justin as you'd think it might be. Tapping into his visionary mindset, Justin reached out to his 5,000-plus social media fanbase. Just six weeks later, he had started a public relations company from scratch."Someone either can get back into a plane after another one's been shot down without a parachute or they make an excuse. At the highest level, there are no excuses. You just do it," he said of launching a new venture.From there, the sky was the limit for Justin. During COVID, Justin really started discovering that he could achieve success by living with gratitude, recognizing a higher power, and developing a great networking community. In 2022, he started his next company."That's when I went fully global," he said. "The trauma creates the triumph."Working with entrepreneurs, Justin has turned BrEpic Communications into a global PR firm and runs the exclusive connectivity platform BrEpic Network. His first book, Epic Business, was a bestseller in six countries and No. 1 for entrepreneurship in the U.S. He followed up with Epic Life, which teaches, as the subtitle says, "how to build collaborative global companies while putting your loved ones first."Justin has a lot on his mind and you can almost hear the wheels spinning in his brain in this clip from this week's Chiseled. He offers so many insights about visionary traits, you need to listen closely to unlock all the tips for discovering your true potential. I encourage you to buckle your seatbelt for this episode of Chiseled.​Want to talk to Justin? Find him on LinkedIn or his website.

For Amy Somerville, life happens in the transitions. Amy was in the real estate business for 18 years with RE/MAX — as a realtor, broker, team leader, franchise consultant, and coach. She readily admits that throughout it all, she was not a public speaker.But after nearly two decades in business, Amy needed to help her young family transition to the next stage of their lives. She chose to "take one for the team” and begin a very public-facing position running the professional development department. Within two years, she transitioned from senior vice president at RE/MAX to an independent consultant to an employee with Buffini and Company, whom she lovingly describes as "monsters" in the high-end real estate coaching space (I agree).Just a year later, while attending a real estate conference in New York, she was approached by eXp Realty CEO Glenn Sanford, a fan of Jim Collins, whose Good to Great book series offers incredible organizational management principles. One of Colins’ principles says you may not know your "what" or your "why," but you are better positioned to take a leap in business when you find your "who."Sanford, who owns Success Enterprises, which happens to publish Amy's favorite magazine, SUCCESS, told her that she may be his "who."And shortly thereafter she transitioned again, becoming the new CEO of Success Enterprises.“It's heavy to carry a brand that has such a reputation and such an impact on so many people, and me included, so it's wild," she said.With its reputation for excellence, Amy is energized by the challenge of carrying the 127-year-old media group to its next level — by pursuing her own mission to LIVE — lead, inspire, provide value, and empathize.With her energy, focus, faith, and fortitude, I have no doubt that SUCCESS is in good hands. I was honored to interview her and believe you will feel the positivity and intention in everything she says during this Chiseled podcast.Amy is a source of strength and inspiration, with which I am sure you will agree after listening to this episode of Chiseled. Want to contact Amy? Listen to the end to get her email address so you can give her a buzz.

My guest this week, Dr. Robb Kelly, grew up in the projects of Manchester, England. Blessed with musical talent, he was performing on stage by the time he was 9 years old. The music career led him to college, and even to a job as a session musician at the famous Abbey Roads Studio in London, but it also led him to drink. While he was able to get his PhD in psychology at University of Oxford, his habit eventually landed him on the street, put out from his wife, children, and everyone he knew.  "I definitely had an illness, a disease that was fatal," he said.After 14 months living next to trash cans, a kindly stranger picked Robb up and took him home. A recovered alcoholic himself, his friend took him to an AA meeting, which led Robb to a fateful meeting with someone named "John."John agreed to act as Robb's spiritual adviser for 12 weeks. Not only did Robb spend the time recovering, but he also learned how he would spend the rest of his life — successfully in a faraway land, helping thousands of others to overcome their addictions.​"He was definitely an angel," Robb says, and he means it literally. John disappeared, never to be seen again. And it wasn't long afterward, that Robb ended up in America."When I got wealthy ... I spent thousands upon thousands (of pounds) at a private detective agency, and they could never find him. But what he taught me is 90 percent of what I do today," he said.As a neuroscientist, Robb studies the relationship between what you ingest and how your brain thinks and changes your perception. His deeply interventionist method of treatment teaches clients how to own their identity to make authentic choices, how self-perception changes physical health, and how the mind's fleeting decision to jump from thought to action can propel or limit you. He wraps up all this addiction treatment in the science of neuroplasticity — changing the way the mind works through neuro-linguistic programming, somatic experiencing techniques, and trauma therapy — with a side of nutritional and behavioral training."Your mind is energy, power. You can't touch it, feel it, but when it connects to another power outside you, neural pathways are changed. Your DNA changes."Dr. Kelly has treated 10,000 patients with a "98 percent, bordering on 99 percent recovery" rate. That's compared to a relapse rate of 40-60 percent in the United States.Dr. Kelly calls himself a "recovered" alcoholic. That's right, not "recovering." And when you hear him explain how he went through it and how he gets others through it, you will be amazed, even as your jaw drops in disbelief.So, sit back, adjust to the Mancunian accent, and join us for a wild story of getting chiseled.

At a tender age, Craig Moody moved with hisfamily to a new town. His educator mother and a businessman father wanted the best for their son, but while going to stay with family friends during thetransition, Craig felt unwelcome and unliked. Later, at school, he was bullied and had trouble making friends despite his best efforts.Flash forward two decades and Craig was stillfeeling uprooted. With no job prospects and trouble making fraternal and romantic relationships, a nasty look from a clerk in a grocery store pushed Craig to the brink."I went home that night and just thoughtabout that stare I got and was like 'I'm done,'" he said.And he nearly did himself in save for the beseeching voice of his father. As it turned out, however, Craig's dad wasnowhere near the house."It was God's voice," Craig said with certainty. "It was a defining moment in my life."From there, Craig decided to turn his life around.He joined a local church, connected with an old friend who never gave up on him, and jumped into personal growth, studying the works of John Maxwell andothers. It wasn't long before Craig was flush — starting his own home restoration business, getting married, and having kids. He later started several other businesses and has gone from despondent "loser" tosuccessful business coach.The co-author of the books Think Big and Next Level YourLife, in which, Craig tells a story about getting outof your own way and avoiding self-sabotage, lessons that we all need to learn some time in our lives."I acknowledge the imposter in me. It creeps up and I don't let him in," he said.Craig's story may sound familiar to you; it even may sound like your own, and that's okay — because we all can learn from each other's versions of our own stories. I know after sharing my own stories with Craig, we will stay connected in the future.Want to talk to Craig? Look him up on craigmoody.co or reach out to him at the email address he shares at the end of this episode of Chiseled.

Chiseled Ep 79 A Conversation with God - Jamie KrakofskyYou would never know it talking to mild-mannered Jamie Krakofsky that he grew up a hard partier in Ft. Lauderdale. Immersed in drugs, alcohol, women, and gangviolence, he was thrown out of his dad's house at age 17. He tried living on his own but couldn't keep a job or an apartment.Exasperated, his mom challenged him to change his life. She put him on a plane to Bangor, Maine, with a bunch of camping gear and told him to hike the length of the 2,193-mile-long Appalachian Trail. Whatever he did, he was not to return to Florida."She said, 'This is something that you need,'" Jamie recalled.But Jamie didn't realize how right his mom was until he reached the top of Mount Katahdin, the northern point of the Appalachian Trail, on his first day of the journey."I just remember being up at the top of the mountain and just truly started having a conversation with God," Jamie said.The conversation lasted overnight and by time he was done with it, Jamie was feeling detoxed and refreshed. But he still had a long way to go.He didn't make it. Three and a half months into his adventure, he got injured. Obeying his mom's wish for him to keep out of Florida, he went to Colorado to stay with his mom's friends. The first week there, they decided to go camping. While up on Greenhorn Mountain, Jamie met his future wife, Bianca. Together, the two of them forged a new path.Jamie went into the military but had to take a medical discharge after eight years. He started in real estate and succeeded beyond his imagination. They also had three children — and they fostered16 or 17 more. When their youngest child was 20 years old, the couple adopted a baby."I'd like to think I've had an impact on a lot of people's lives," Jamie said.Jamie shared his incredible story in this week's episode of Chiseled. Usually, I am familiar with the facts of my guests' stories before they come on the show, butJamie surprised me. I didn't know about all the parenting he has done, and I am truly inspired by the details he shared. If you're like me, his story will warm your heart and give you a spiritual lift.Want to talk to Jamie? You can find him anywhere on social media @jamie.krakofsky or go to the end of the episode to hear him share his phone number.Now, let's go get chiseled!

Lancaster, Pennsylvania-native Dan Armstrong was born with a cleft palate, a congenital abnormality during fetal development that leaves a hole in the roof of the mouth. While today this is frequently surgically fixed during infancy, Dan, 60, had a prosthesis put in his mouth to enable him to speak. As you can imagine, as a result of this condition, he was mercilessly bullied by neighborhood kids and classmates.While his parents always encouraged him to believe in himself, even featuring him as lead on a song recorded by his family's musical act, The Armstrong Family, Dan was angry — so angry that at age 10, he nearly killed a childhood friend for making fun of the way he spoke."I remember putting my knee next to his head and pushing until I heard a crack. I remember hearing that crack and realizing I came this close to taking someone's life," he said.Dan knew he had to work on his anger, and channeled his energy into writing stories and songs, working on his speech and singing, and even acting in school plays. With guiding love from his parents and practice to build his throat, palate, and lung strength, Dan ended up touring and recording with a band.But he was also working a day job as a cable guy, which turned out to be an unexpected love. It enabled him to develop his affinity for connecting with people."I'm like a rolling bartender. I walk into someone's house, and they immediately open up," he said.Dan turned many unbelievable stories from his career into a book, The Adventures of a Real-Life Cable Guy. Since its release, he has written or co-authored four more books with another on the way. He is also on the speaking circuit, turning his story into life lessons that others can follow."Right now, I'm very passionate about what I do. When I speak to audiences, I swear I see people crying," he said.Dan is an overwhelmingly positive guy with a love of discovery, a genuine compassion for others, and a complete lack of judgment. His insights on the way to treat people are inspirational and ingenious.I'm sure you will enjoy his easy-going nature in this episode of Chiseled. Want to connect with Dan? You can check him out on his website, contact him on Facebook or listen to the end of the episode to hear him share his email address.

When COVID-19 hit, Laura Di Franco immediately had to shut down her physical therapy business. She took that opportunity to focus on another project she had beenworking on since 2015 — Brave Healing Productions, a publishing company for health practitioners who use holistic approaches to physical healing.It was a leap of faith that Laura didn't mind taking because she already had a highly developed sense of awareness a tool that she uses to help entrepreneurs in health-based practices achieve their professional goals of sharing their story, building their business, and changing their world."With awareness you have a choice, awareness is everything," she said. "Awareness is the practice of healing."Like everyone who experiences self-doubt, usually fromlistening to the little devil who sits on our shoulder, Laura is occasionally tinged with uncertainty about her next steps. But as someone who has published more than 67 collaborations and written 13 bestselling books onAmazon, Laura's perspective and guidance offer something valuable to everyone who listens.In this episode of Chiseled, Laura speaks about how to build a purpose-driven life, how to knock out fearand self-sabotage, and how to recognize when your discernment and intuition are working for you.There are times in our lives when we meet kindred spirits. Laura is one of those for me. She has one of the clearest senses of mission and purpose as I have ever seen, and her capacity to help people overcome their self-limitingthoughts is a gift on display in this episode of Chiseled.Want to find out how to connect with Laura? You can reach out to her on her website LauraDiFranco.com or on LinkedIn. She is happy to talk about book ideas and publishing, or just to have a brain-picking session.

Marvin Phillip grew up in Trinidad & Tobago, one of the most southerly islands in the Caribbean, where track and soccer are sports that every child plays.At age 12, Marvin couldn't qualify for his school teams. It was devastating to him. So, his mom got him into two clubs, each with a coach. Within one year — through coaching and hard work — he was able to become a junior champion on the track, and within two years, he was playing soccer on a national level."Sport was a big deal and so in my heart I felt like I could've been better, but I just didn't know how," Marvin says of the essential coaching he received playing club sports.Marvin, who lives in Long Beach, California, now, credits coaching for a lifelong interest in learning and for his success in real estate, where he has had a Buffini & Company coach for over 18 years."I'm not the same person, I'm not the same real estate agent, I'm not the same friend, I'm not the same dad. You know, it has really changed my life from A to Z," he said.The mindset also led Marvin to a tremendous act of selflessness as an Ironman. I don't want to give the story away, but the short of it is that Marvin gave up pursuit of a personal record to help a fellow athlete in major trouble on the course. Instead of a personal record, he achieved a different kind of success."For me it was probably the best race experience I ever had," he said.Marvin's story helping someone else survive his own personal trial is racked with drama, selflessness, and the kind of ultimate satisfaction which we all aspire to achieve. By the way, that athlete is now one of Marvin's lifelong buddies (and a fellow Chiseled guest. You have to listen to find out who).It's the feel-good story for your weekend. I hope you enjoy this week's episode of Chiseled. 

Katie Kiliszewski spent nearly half of her life battling an eating disorder that threatened to take everything from her. At a young age, she began obsessing over her weight, counting calories, and running. She was only 14 when she was diagnosed with anorexia."I was so young when the eating disorder started, I didn't know what I was doing. It seemed like I was beinghealthy," she said. "I didn't know it then, but I know it now. I was in a lot of pain."In high school, Katie turned to alcohol to copewith the obsessive behavior. The cycle made for many dangerous situations, which led to hospitalizations and in-patient counseling on and off through her late 20s.Katie beat the eating disorder after hitting rockbottom and discovering that the "whys" in her life had become more powerful."Every time I felt like I was getting ready to lose more and more and more. That's kind of how the (recovery) started," she said.On this week's episode of Chiseled, Katie shares her "comeback story," which includes a family that never gave up on her, a marriage to her best friend, two children, and running with renewed purpose.Katie recently ran an ultramarathon to raise moneyfor a nonprofit she volunteers with that helps girls and young women overcome eating disorders. A future in public speaking is on the horizon."I have the power to change someone's life so I guess my message would be if you have a story, share it," she said.Katie's story is not just gripping and emotional,it is also personal to me. She is the daughter of a good friend of mine and I am so happy how her story turned out. I am also proud of Katie and thrilled to see her turn her challenges into a calling.If you would like to talk to Katie about her experience or if you have questions about a young person struggling with an eating disorder, reach out to Katie by messaging her on her Instagram profile, @katiekili.

Baseball fans are in for a treat this week. I had the pleasure of interviewing Baltimore Orioles Hall of Famer Mike Bordick, who shared stories about his experiences playing in the Major League for 14 years, lessons he took from the game, and thoughts on the role of sports in young people's lives.As a true lover of baseball, I was in heaven talking to Mike, who is very down-to-earth and charitable. Having never been drafted, Mikesigned a minor league contract in 1986 before being called up to the Oakland Athletics in 1990. He signed with the O’s in 1996 where he played for six seasons. He also played single seasons for the Mets and the Blue Jays.Mike has two World Series rings playing for the Mets and A’s,but still calls Baltimore, where three of his six kids were born and his family still lives, home.Mike is very humble about his career and his success, which he considers a combination of hard work, luck, and circumstance. He also gives back in a big way.An ambassador for The Baseball Warehouse, he gives lessonsand clinics to players and coaches. Mike is also chairman of League of Dreams, a Maryland nonprofit dedicated to providing special needs children and adults with the opportunity to play baseball and softball."When I see a kid, you just never know what's in there, under that skin and heart," he said.On July 16, Mike will be at the Maryland School for the Blind, volunteering his time. If you want to help him out, learn more aboutMike, or have him speak to your group, you can reach out to him at ⁠leagueofdreams.org⁠, ⁠thebaseballwarehouse.com⁠, and ⁠mikebordick14.com⁠.Meantime, tune into this episode of Chiseled to hear Mike discusshis love of trash talk, how teammates recapped their games in the clubhouse, and why Bull Durham is his favorite movie. You will also hear from his biggest fan, his dog, Emmy, who shares some of the vocals in this week's podcast.