Finding the Bright Side (in a bad news world)

10/22/19 • 33 min

Today my guest is Jess Ekstrom. Jess is the founder and CEO of “Headbands of Hope,” which is a company she started as a junior at North Carolina State University. For every headband Jess sells... a headband is given to a child with cancer. Today, “Headbands of Hope” is in over 2,000 stores across the United States and Canada. Plus, Jess has been featured on the TODAY Show and Good Morning America, as well as in Forbes, Seventeen, Vanity Fair, and People Magazine. Listen To The Podcast: RESOURCES: www.chasingthebrightside.com Jess on Instagram Jess on Facebook Jess on Twitter MORE ABOUT JESS: Jess will be quick to say her biggest accomplishment has been donating hundreds of thousands of headbands reaching every children's hospital in the United States and across 15 countries. Jess has a new book coming out early next month called, “Chasing the Bright Side” and we talk about that. You’re going to want to grab a copy for yourself... and grab a few for your friends too. Oh... and I have to mention two more things that’ll make you love Jess even more: ONE... She launched her entrepreneurial endeavors at 12... when she auctioned off all of her toys on eBay. And... TWO... Jess currently lives in an Airstream with her husband Jake... and their dog Ollie. Let us know what stood out to you from the interview by leaving a comment below! I can’t wait to hear from YOU! Quick Episode Summary: 0:02 What to expect today 1:31 Welcome, Jess! 4:38 The beginning of Jess's entrepreneurial journey 9:00 The power of giving back 10:45 How Jess got branded with no budget 13:35 The biggest struggle Jess had to overcome 18:48 What most entrepreneurs have in common 20:59 Why Jess wrote her book 22:43 Jess's favorite chapter in her book 25:10 The thing that doesn't come naturally to Jess 29:00 How to connect with Jess 29:42 Wisdom of the week 31:04 Mitch's biggest takeaways Listen to Mitch Mattews Top Podcast here

Previous Episode

3 Keys to Beating a Mid-Career Slump!

3 Keys to Beating a Mid-Career Slump My guest is Antonio Neves. Antonio is an expert on Career Success and he’s an internationally recognized speaker, coach and author. He’s become a great friend over the years and one of the things I’ve learned about him is that he helps successful people to become even more successful. He helps them to take things to the next level and break out of those slumps and plateaus that can happen to the best of us. Listen To The Podcast: RESOURCES: Antonio’s website: www.theantonioneves.com Antonio’s books on Amazon: Click here MORE ABOUT ANTONIO & THE EPISODE: You can read Antonio’s unique and powerful career advice on Inc.com, Entrepreneur.com, and TheMuse.com... to name just a few. Plus, his two most recent books are a “one-two punch of raw career wisdom.” Antonio’s also an award-winning journalist. In fact, he worked in the television industry for over 10 years in New York City as a business correspondent, host, and producer with top networks including NBC, PBS, BET Networks and Nickelodeon. Antonio earned a master’s degree from Columbia University and now lives with his beautiful family in Los Angeles, California. He’s been on DREAM THINK DO twice and you can go back and check those episodes too: Episode 004: www.mitchmatthews.com/004 Episode 077: www.mitchmatthews.com/077 “True ‘Allies’ provide ‘good friction.’ They hold you accountable and support you in doing what you say you’re going to do!” - Antonio Neves Here’s some of what we talk about: The BIG question: “How do you know you’re in a mid-career slump?” You just do "good enough" work Getting promoted seems more like a burden than a reward You've stopped building relationships You've stopped taking action on your ideas You've stopped learning The BIGGER and MORE IMPORTANT question: “What can we do about it?” Start learning again Regularly finish something Surround yourself with allies Quick Episode Summary: 0.02 What to expect today! 1:18 The opportunity you don't want to miss 1:48 Get to know Antonio Neves 3:47 How Mitch and Antonio met 6:21 The professional journey 7:59 What Mitch loves about Antonio's writing 11:08 Learning how to never settle 13:15 The importance of learning 15:49 How to work your way out of a slump 19:13 Breakthrough comes in small steps 21:13 Finishing something for you 25:04 The importance of community 27:22 What happens when we support others 29:06 Wisdom of the week 32:25 Mitch's biggest takeaways

Next Episode

4 Keys for Achieving Unstoppable Health

My guest is David Hauser. David’s a serial entrepreneur and the author of “Unstoppable: 4 Steps to Transform Your Life.” He’s perhaps best known for co-founding and managing notable tech startups like Grasshopper and Chargify. (BTW... Grasshopper sold to Citrix for $170M in 2015) David is known as a true optimizer. In the last few years, he’s taken his approach to business (constant and intentional trial and error) and applied it to his health. Listen To The Podcast: RESOURCES: David’s book:www.unstoppablebook.com Today, David has shifted his optimization focus to health & fitness, sharing his journey of personal transformation in “Unstoppable.” In the book, David documents the radical shifts he made in diet and exercise, as well as what he learned from taking nearly every test imaginable (blood tests, stool tests, sleep tests, DNA tests, etc.). David and the book have been featured in the New York Times, FastCompany, Business Insider, Forbes and CNN... just to name a few. He’s now on a mission to bust long-standing myths around fad dieting, trendy workouts, and quick fixes, specifically calling out the health sacrifices that entrepreneurs are likely to make while pursuing lofty business goals. “Unstoppable” is a testament to the power of micro-adjustments in driving huge, lasting changes for a healthier, more successful life. In fact, Sumo.com’s founder, Noah Kagen said: [Tweet ""That he doesn’t know anyone who has spent more time, money or effort on health optimization than David Hauser. Now we’re going to be able to learn from his findings.""] Today we’re going to talk about some of the most important lessons he’s learned along the way, as well as dig into specific lifestyle changes we can ALL make to achieve optimal health. Quick Episode Summary: 0:02 What to expect today 3:18 Welcome, David to the show! 3:40 Why David became passionate about health 6:36 How to get a better night sleep 9:12 Preparing for a good night sleep 12:34 The best thing to do to lose weight 15:34 Eating whole foods 17:56 How the body is designed to consume things 18:45 The blood test we should take every year 22:53 Wisdom of the week 23:23 Mitch's biggest takeaways Listen to Mitch Mattews Top Podcast here