Amplify Your Mindset with Ricky Kalmon

Dr. Tim Bono is a faculty member in the Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis where his teaching and research focus on positive psychology and college student development. His work has been featured in a number of national media outlets including NBC News, CNN, Fast Company, and the Associated Press. Over the last decade, thousands of students have taken his popular courses on the Psychology of Young Adulthood and the Science of Happiness. He summarizes the research from those courses, along with how his students have put that information into practice in their own lives, in his book, Happiness 101: Simple Secrets to Smart Living & Well-Being. 

Michelle Routhenstein is a thought leader and expert in heart disease management and prevention. Globally, heart disease is the number 1 cause of death. However, research shows that 80% of heart disease is preventable through nutrition and lifestyle change. Michelle’s mission is to reduce this burden. Michelle has a thriving nutrition counseling and consulting private practice, where she helps clients optimize their heart health. She utilizes science-based nutrition and lifestyle medicine to yield high success rates and astonishing results. She helps reduce the risk of heart disease by counseling clients, delivering engaging speeches that empower others to take ownership of their health, and by leveraging her social media to increase awareness worldwide. She approaches nutrition through a dynamic perspective that tackles the underlying root causes of chronic disease to protect individuals' hearts for optimal longevity. She also is a Forbes Health advisory board member. Michelle is the author of the cookbook  titled:  The Truly Easy Heart-Healthy Cookbook: Fuss-Free, Flavorful, Low-Sodium Meals

When Mark was six, his mother took him into Manhattan every weekend for singing and ballet lessons. When he returned to school each Monday and showed his fellow Bronx classmates what he had learned, the class would gather around and beat him up. Mark’s mother smartened up and enrolled him in karate lessons, but those came to a halt when the karate teacher beat him up. When Mark was twelve, his parents took him to a nightclub. There, live on stage, was Rodney Dangerfield doing his act. At that moment, he knew the path he had to follow. Mark has headlined in all the major casinos and clubs across the country and has appeared many times on both The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Night with David Letterman. He has had both HBO and Showtime specials and has been the featured act at the Montreal Comedy Festival. He has written for and guest-starred in Mad About You – starring Paul Reiser and Helen Hunt.  His new book is available where ever books are sold titled:  Why Not?: Lessons on Comedy, Courage, and Chutzpah

Walter Schindler is a lawyer, investor, entrepreneur, strategic advisor and project developer internationally recognized as one of the US pioneers and global leaders of sustainable impact investment. Walter has won more international awards for his sustainable investment vision and game-changing achievements than any other American. He has been selected by international judges based in London “Game Changer of the Year” for each of the last seven years.

In 2020 Walter accepted the invitation of Forbes Magazine to join the Forbes Business Council and has published twelve (12) articles in Forbes. Through his current company Transformation LLC,Walter is providing strategic and legal advisory services and project development and management services to large global clients pursuing sustainable energy, water, agriculture, healthcare and other sustainable projects throughout the world. He serves as Chairman of the International Advisory Boards of two world leaders in sustainable innovation. 

Bruno has over 20 years of experience in management across several different industries in senior executive roles such as CEO and COO. His talents thrive in business development, change management, transition and transformation, sustainability, business consulting, and organizational agility. Due to his wealth of experience in various global business roles across Asia, Europe, and the Americas, Bruno developed a profound interest and knowledge of how people from different backgrounds and cultures best work together to achieve success within matrix organizations. With the vision “Accelerate Customers,” Bruno's aim is to accelerate his team in Switzerland to the next level, creating more value, building more experience, and driving digital innovation on the market – empowered by the employees and partners.

Rob Fisher is the President and Director of Operations for Fisher Improvement Technologies. They provide education and consulting services in Human & Organizational Performance Improvement, Incident Analysis and Corrective Actions, and Improving Procedures. He is a pioneer in Human and Organizational Performance and all aspects of organizational learning, including incorporating the understanding of personality diversity into risk management.   Rob is a sought-after executive mentor, coach, and trainer, and is routinely invited to speak both locally and internationally. He is the author of the book Understanding Mental Models.

Jon Grauman is a real estate agent, developer, and former mortgage broker with over 20 years of experience, Jon Grauman, Founder & Principal of Bond Collective, prides himself on understanding every facet of the business. The featured Senior Agent on the Netflix series, Buying Beverly Hills, Jon demonstrates close to unparalleled skill within the high-stakes world of LA's luxury real estate market. In 2022 alone, Jon and his partners sold over $1.4 Billion, ranking them among the top teams in the country. For his work, Jon has been recognized by The Wall Street Journal, L.A. Business Journal, Los Angeles Magazine, and more as one of the leaders in the luxury real estate market. 

As a three-time entrepreneur, Andy has successfully coached, managed, or run businesses for 500 plus businesses over 20 years. As such, he can provide invaluable insight and experience to those looking for advice. Whether clients are struggling with a startup or running an already established company, business owners are all going through the same thing hustling day after day. Andy’s expertise lies in his knowledge of different business types including everything from small family-owned firms to Fortune 100 companies. He understands how it feels to struggle and push through chaos. Having experienced his own fair share of losses as well as tremendous success, in early 2000 Andy created a 34-billion dollar beverage category while not losing out on what mattered most at home. This is where we'll find true success - when we don't give up on the things that matter most during these chaotic times.

Financial Professional with over 30 years of experience in the financial field, encompassing financial advising, business development, and brokerage/trading. Consistent record of exceeding sales goals and organizational objectives through strong networking, negotiating, and follow-through. Howard shares his personal story and challenges to stay sober and help others. 

Sam Bishop has over a decade of experience working with elite performing athletes and professional sports teams. His clients range from Premier Leagues, Women’s Super League footballers, Premiership rugby players, Professional Golfers, and Cricket players. Sam is also an Executive and Performance Psychology Coach for senior executives and business leaders. He has adapted a unique performance coaching style from the sports fields to the boardroom. He has taken his techniques from elite performing athletes and teams.. to business professionals and senior leaders. Sam specializes helping people and organizations rise to elite performance levels.

A sales guru with more than two decades of experience in Sales and Marketing at the corporate level, Crispin enjoys the art of relationship building and closing deals. His diverse work history combined with his multifaceted viewpoint towards business strategy and sales methodologies is one reason why Sales Arbiter is so effective. Crispin is a trusted advisor for the sales/marketing space and provides strategic support, identifying customized opportunities to accelerate sales growth. With an experience toolkit built from a diversity of multiple industries and locations across the nation, Crispin trains thousands of sales professionals at all levels. His goal is always the same: build a highly functional and sustainable sales process that takes business growth to the next level, regardless of the scale or environment.

Julia Williamson started riding horses at the age of four. No one in her family has any background in horse or ranching. She grew up in a typical suburban neighborhood.

Horses have always been part of her life. She never stopped learning about and from them. She eventually turned her passion into a profession at the age of 18. A lot of her work is focused around “problem horses” and rehabilitation.

Throughout the years of being exposed to the main problems she sees going on between horses and humans, she has learned that compassionate horsemanship is what gets the long-term results, change, and connections that people are looking for and longing for.

Heart-to-heart connection is an understanding of how the horse communicates and what the horse tries to tell us, and why.

She believes that by learning what to look for and how to correctly interpret the signs, we can prevent further problems in the future and generally raise the level of education and awareness in the equestrian community.

Julia has the purpose and passion for spreading the wisdom of horses and for sharing the joyful moments they bring to her life. She has over 163,000 followers on Instagram in a very short time, and the videos that she posts are mesmerizing.

Steve Beechman is a speaker and author specializing in helping companies and individuals grow their businesses by leveraging professional and social connections more effectively.  With40 years of sales and entrepreneurship in various industries, he is the author of three business books: What’s Your Buzz?, --   Bass-Ackward Business:  The Power of Helping Without Hustling;  --- and The Tapes We Play in our Head. Founder and President of Home Town Mortgage Inc., in based in Atlanta. Past President of the Georgia Association of Mortgage Brokers. 

Andrew Dorfman and his wife, Aimee, have been in the comedy business for over 35 years. He started his career as a young comic and as a comic manager's assistant in the mid-80s. Realizing that the road was not the path for their life. Andrew and Aimee decided to open up a comedy club. In 1992 in Vernon Hills, Illinois, they opened up and partnered with Rick Uchwat, Zanies Comedy Club. From there, the club business grew to where Aimee and Andrew own multiple clubs and own multiple club names; Improv, Zanies, Stand Up Live, and comedy zones. In his later life, Aimee and Andrew have chosen to slow down “haha” and ventured into the orchard business. They own a successful orchard/country store and winery in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, just outside of Nashville. They have three beautiful sons, two pigs, five mini horses, one full-size horse, six goats, four cows, one donkey, 50 chickens, three dogs, a turtle, two snakes, and a cat. They are trying to live the best life they can.

Rick Balkin is a Professor, Department Chair of Leadership and Counselor Education, and Coordinator of Educational Research and Design in the School of Education at the University of Mississippi. He is the author of Practicing Forgiveness: A Path Toward Healing. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief for the International Journal for the Advancement of Counselling. Rick is a Fellow of the American Counseling Association. Rick began practicing counseling in 1993 with a focus on adolescents in crisis-care and has been working in universities since 2003. He has published in the areas of religious diversity, forgiveness, counseling youth, and research methods.

At age 17, Alex Hackel spent four years on the US national ski team. In the 2020 X-games he received a bronze medal & was Fan favorite award. In the 2021 X-games he received a silver medal. Alex also Produced & Starred in the movie “Many fantasies Later' which was the movie of the year at the high fives film festival. He has produced five full-length ski films and is the Co-founder of a ski company called "1000 skis".  Hear his story of determination and direction.  He has no limits to what he wants to accomplish. 

Dr. Nido Qubein is the president of High Point University and a nationally recognized author, speaker, and leader. He came to the United States with $50 in his pocket and a few words of English in his vocabulary and went on to become one of America’s most sought-after speakers and consultants.

As a university president, the story of his tenure at High Point University is known to many. In less than a decade, he led the institution to phenomenal growth (5,000 students) and significant academic advancement, tripling its size and moving it to the number one spot among the Best Colleges in the South.

As an American citizen, President Qubein has been the recipient of some of the highest national awards, including induction into the Horatio Alger Association for Distinguished Americans with General Colin Powell, Oprah Winfrey, and the founder of Starbucks, Howard Schultz. He is the recipient of DAR’s Americanism Award and the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, along with four U.S. presidents. He is a member of the International Speakers Hall of Fame and, in fact, has served as president of the National Speakers Association.

As a business leader, he is the chairman of Great Harvest Bread Company, with 220 stores in 43 states. He serves on the boards of several national organizations, including Truist (a Fortune 500 company with $430 billion in assets), Savista, a leading healthcare company, and the Horatio Alger Association Board of Directors.

President Qubein is the author of a dozen books and scores of leadership audio and visual recordings translated into many languages. The Biography Channel televised his Emmy-nominated life story titled “A Life of Success and Significance.”

In his home city of High Point, North Carolina, he has been named both the Citizen of the Year and the Philanthropist of the Year. His foundation has invested millions in scholarships for deserving young people, and his family has been among the largest benefactors to High Point University and other organizations.

David Duley has been an entrepreneur almost all of his life.  He started his first company at the age of 23 in the technology world creating a website to match homeowners to contractors, then he invented the world’s first permanent escape ladder (PEARL) for residential construction, and that company was bought by Werner Ladders, the largest ladder company in the world.  He is an investor in many startups, real estate and even owns part of a successful restaurant in Atlanta called The Nook on Piedmont Park.  In 2012, his book “I Can Fix America: 52 ways to make the United States Great Again” attracted the attention of a wide array of thought leaders who helped promote the ideas and eventually led to the creation of a new Podcast called The Controversial Truth, with New York best-selling author, Robb Wolf.

Joshua Frank (JT) is a proud veteran and first responder. He started his career in the United States Air Force and has spent the last 23 years protecting and serving his country as a civilian federal employee. Through his extensive time in the military and as a first responder, he has become very familiar with both the positive and negative lifestyles and habits associated with these career fields. Unfortunately for JT, the negative habits progressively played a larger role in his life. Eventually, JT realized not only do these habits not serve him personally, they are detrimental to the long-term success and mental health of the veteran and first responder community.

In 2019, JT came to a crossroads in his life where, through personal reflection, he looked inwardly at what was holding him back from being the best version of himself. Through his exploration, JT realized the power of habit building, both negative and positive ones, in relation to happiness and success. He made major changes in his life to work towards a healthier lifestyle and building better habits for himself.

JT’s lifestyle changes inspired him to create the Consequence of Habit podcast in 2020 with the overall goal of empowering individuals and communities by bringing awareness to the impact habits have on mental health, success, and the environment.

Dee Ann is a 33-year veteran of Chick-fil-A, Inc. Prior to retirement, she was Vice President, Talent and Vice President, Sustainability for Chick-fil-A, Inc. Selected as the company’s first female officer in 2001, she was instrumental in building and growing Chick-fil-A’s well-known culture and talent systems. During her long career, she worked closely with Chick-fil-A’s founder, S. Truett Cathy, and other key leaders as an architect of their organizational culture. Turner was responsible for thousands of selections of Chick-fil-A Franchisees and corporate staff members. Additionally, she led Talent Management, Staff Learning and Development, Diversity and Inclusion, Culture and Engagement. Prior to her retirement, she launched and led Chick-fil-A’s Sustainability and Social Responsibility function. Today, she leads her own organization, Dee Ann Turner & Associates, LLC, writing books, speaking to over 50 audiences per year and consulting and coaching leaders globally. She is the author of the best sellers, It’s My Pleasure: The Impact of Extraordinary Talent and a Compelling Culture (2015) and Bet on Talent: How to Create a Remarkable Culture and Win the Hearts of Customers (2019) and Crush Your Career: Ace the Interview, Land the Job and Launch Your Future (2021).  She also hosts the Crush Your Career Podcast and is the Talent Expert in Residence at High Point University.